A primary school with a long-running problem of rotten timber and faulty cladding is to be almost completely demolished.

The cost of the leaky building crisis has grown so "gianormous" that the Government has almost despaired of finding a solution.

Owners of Ponsonby's 63-unit Blake Central are the latest to be blighted by the leaky-building disaster.

The Government is moving on with its plans to help leaky home owners and says it is up to councils whether they participate or not.

The head of the state's leaky-home court has defended its decisions after a major High Court ruling which overturned its findings.

Two victims of the rotting-homes debacle have had their compensation payout doubled, and now other victims could get more.