Throng

Sunday 15 February, 7.30pm

TV ONE's award-winning investigative programme, Sunday, returns for another year.

Cameron Bennett presents in-depth investigations into the stories that matter, from a team of the country's most experienced journalists.

Message In A Bottle

What happens to all the plastic bottles we leave at the kerbside each week, the bottles we are encouraged to recycle? Why are they being shipped offshore, and why can't we process our own rubbish right here at home?

Money Pit

There's big money to be made, but it's hell on earth. Port Hedland, home of the planet's biggest open cast iron ore mine, is dizzy with boomtime. They can't dig the ore from the ground fast enough. You can earn $4000 a week if you can stand the heat and the flies, the long hours and the isolation. New Zealanders are flocking there, but as soon as they arrive, they leave.

"Vincent" - A Man And His Movies

Smoking School
Is big tobacco targeting kids? How are NZ tobacco companies appealing to the next generation of Kiwi smokers? What tactics do they use to sell cigarettes? What do young kids know about cigarettes, and how vulnerable are they?

The Great 9/11 Faker
Her story was incredible, reducing people to tears and inspiring thousands. The way she told it, she was one of the lucky few - one of 19 who escaped from above the 78th floor of the World Trade Centre's south tower when the planes went in on 9/11. It sounded too good to be true … and it was. Who was she, and why did she lie?

Child Killer
He was hardly bigger than the AK47 he toted. An 11-year-old child thrown into Africa's dirtiest war. This is his account of being a child in the frontline of the civil war in Sierra Leone.

Clean, Green … And Violent

New Zealand's Asian community is spooked over violent crime, and with very good reason. Murders, assaults and robberies are not mentioned in any of the immigration brochures. They bring their money and their skills, but Asians are living in fear in this country. They believe they are easy targets and don't think New Zealand is a safe place to be. Are their fears well founded?

Smoke And Mirrors

The West is wising up and kicking the smoking habit in droves. Now it seems big tobacco companies are targeting new and easy prey - the young vulnerable kids of Africa. Not only are they smoking by age 11, they are surviving by selling cigarettes. What is the tobacco industry up to? SUNDAY uncovers evidence of unscrupulous marketing strategies to encourage kids to smoke.

Jordan, Alex And Underpants

Catch Me If You Can

Brooke Bartlett, one of New Zealand's biggest welfare cheats, fronts up. He scammed Work and Income for hundreds of thousands of dollars. How did he do it? How did he get away with it? Brooke Bartlett, welfare cheat, tells his story on SUNDAY.

Pacific Garbage Patch

It's twice the size of Texas, a 3.5million tonne garbage dump, swirling around in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Tangles of rope, thousands upon thousands of plastic bags and other junk - our junk - are all threatening the marine food chain. This week SUNDAY meets one man whose life work is to save the seas.

How Lucky We Are … Still

He was the man on the telly who held up a mirror to the nation and showed us how lucky we really are, and we loved him for it. The legacy of Fred Dagg, farmer of Taihape, lives on, even if he's long gone - 30 years long gone. Where is he these days? What's he up to? And what of his alter-ego Fred Dagg?

The Machine

For 27 years it remained a secret in a Christchurch garden shed. Then, this week, it burst into life before the world media at an international air show in the USA. It's the Martin Jetpack hover-and-fly, the ultimate personal flying machine. In this classic story of Kiwi ingenuity, SUNDAY takes an exclusive look at the development of the Martin Jetpack as science fiction becomes a reality here in New Zealand.

The Faujis

They are a criminal network of migrant workers who sneak into England from the Punjab to do dangerous, difficult and dirty jobs for next to nothing. They have spawned a huge underground industry in false documents, passports, and driving licences.

People Of The Forest

Channel Nine in Australia has announced that after an incredible 27 years on air their version of the current affairs show Sunday has been cancelled.

My question is: have some of New Zealand's Sunday stories come from the Australian version of the show? Will this effect us in any way? Some of the stories Sunday have done are Australian-focussed (e.g. Trashed Teens, Bob Irwin, Oi! Oi! Oi.

This week on SUNDAY:

Sarah Lurajud

After 20 years in the police force, Steve made a life-changing decision. The respected officer became Sarah Lurajud, New Zealand's first openly trans-sexual cop. SUNDAY goes on the beat with a special cop - who has the courage to speak out about being different in the police force.

Real Speed Racer

Young male drivers are the same the world over. They represent an international road-kill epidemic - an addiction for speed, thrills and recklessness. But can they change? Can they BE changed? SUNDAY follows an x-treme teen driver through car boot camp.

In Pursuit Of Dancing With Danger

A tornado is one of nature's most powerful and mysterious forces, but is it possible to anticipate what sort of thunderstorm produces a tornado so people can be warned? SUNDAY looks at the daredevils who go on a death-defying twister chase to discover the dynamics of a tornado.