20/20 stories 2006 

*Please note that we can only provide video of local 20/20 stories*

This week 20/20 undertakes a special investigation into Mexican Tripping Weed - a high you can buy in New Zealand for as little as $25, but which has been outlawed in Australia and Britain.

It is a hallucinogenic and has similar effects to LSD, but unlike the class A drug is completely legal and as we found out even a young teenager can buy it over the counter.

Reporter Pete Cronshaw was one of several volunteers who smoked a low strength version of the herb as part of his investigation.  But he wished he hadn't, because like many users he had a very scary bad trip that nearly put him in hospital.

Click here to watch the Magic Mint video

Nov 2:

SCARRED FOR LIFE

Almost five years ago Roger McKernan was an inspiration to us all. He was then a 13-year-old horribly disfigured with third-degree burns after a go-karting accident.

We followed Roger through countless operations, we admired his courage, his fortitute, we even gave money.

Then he disappeared from the headlines , until earlier this year when he was arrested for holding up a dairy at knife point. He had gone from hero to zero.

20/20 reporter Paul Hobbs first met Roger in intensive care when he was fighting for his life, has followed his progress over the years and was there when he was released from prison.

Oct 26:

MR SELF HELP

Levi Te Namu wasn't really supposed to succeed.  He grew up in South Auckland, lived in a garage and was on the way to a life of crime.

But, something happened, and now Levi is so wealthy, he is planning on retiring next year on his 25th birthday. So how did he do it?

Hadyn Jones brings you the secrets of his astounding success.

SEX TOURISM

When some Kiwi men go to Thailand the sad fact is that they are not visiting for the culture or scenery - it is for sex.

But there is a New Zealand woman who has made it her mission to stem the tide of sex tourists. She has left a life of comfort and given up the chance of a family to try and rescue Thailand's bar girls and prostitutes.

Lisa Glass met the crusading Patricia Green.

Click here to watch the Sex Tourism video

Oct 19:

ONE IN A MILLION
She is just five years old - courageous, funny, and wise beyond her tender years. And all Matisse Reid really wants in life is something we all take for granted. And that os simply to eat and a enjoy meal.

The Napier girl has an extremely rare small bowel disease which means she can't eat, her sustenance has always been fed through a tube. As Paul Hobbs discovered, Matisse's days are often full of excruciating pain,  her only hope of life rests with a transplant which will cost well over a million dollars.

Click here to watch the One in a Million video

MIND GAMES 
An Auckland hypnotist claims to be able to cure phobias, medical conditions and diseases by reprogramming your mind. In a controversial investigation 20/20 reporter Lisa Glass and three volunteers are hypnotised in a bid to discover the truth. Are the claims fact or fantasy?

Sept 21:

HELL DIVERS
They risk life and limb in a quest to kill fish four times heavier than they are. 20/20 reporter Pete Cronshaw joins death defying spear fisherman off the wild West Coast of the South Island as they free dive among deep sea trawlers and sharks in search of a world record tuna.

Click here to watch the Hell divers video

Sept 14:

BODY BEAUTIFUL
Carla Bennett was a West Auckland mother who tipped the scales at more than 110 kgs. With her health at risk she decided to take matters into her own hands, and streamline her life. Then she decided to set what could be an impossible goal, to get her body match fit for competitive bodybuilding. Lisa Glass tracked this not-so-ordinary Mum through five months of rigorous training, and what she achieved will amaze you.

Click here to watch the Body Beautiful video

Carla's diary and more pictures of her amazing transformation can be found at www.muscle-xpo.co.nz , then follow the section headlined Carla Bennetts Results and pics.

Sept 7:

BIG AND HAPPY
Is "fatism" the new racism?  20/20 reporter Hadyn Jones spoke to two obese New Zealanders about why they are very happy about their weight, and how they deal with others scorn. And we spoke to an expert who says surgical intervention is the only answer to the obesity epidemic.

Click here to watch the Big and happy video

The fashion showcased in this story is from the Carpenters Daughter, a fashion store in Auckland that caters for larger sizes. For more information you can head to www.thecarpentersdaughter.co.nz

Aug 31:

DESIGNER KIDS
Would you pay $700 for a child's dress? 20/20 reporter Paul Hobbs discovered an Auckland shop where plenty of Kiwi parents are spending  hundreds of dollars on designer clothes for their kids.

Click here to watch the Designer kids video

Aug 31:

POKIE MANIA
Discover just how easily poker machines can take over your life. Kiwi's are now spending over a billion dollars a year on pokies and 20/20 reporter Paul Hobbs met two mothers' whose "affair" with the machines has made them into criminals.

Click here to watch the Pokie mania video

*Since 20/20 filmed this story Jasmine has visited the pokies several times, winning, and then losing more than $1,000.

If you would like to talk about gambling issues affecting yourself or someone you know you can call the Gambling Helpline free on 0800 654 655

AN EROTIC EXPERIENCE
The "boobs on bikes" promotion caused an uproar in Auckland but what about the Erotica show itself? International model Nicky Watson and Penthouse Pet Hayley Marie Byrnes take 20/20 viewers on a guided tour of the expo.

Click here to watch the Erotica video

Aug 24:

WARNE'S MAIDEN
She's the Kiwi 'sexport' who captured Shane Warne in a compromising position and sold the pictures to the British tabloids. 20/20 reporter Hadyn Jones spoke exclusively with Coralie Robinson, who is making a career out of sex with celebrities.

Click here to watch the Warne's Maiden video

*For more on Coralie you can visit her website - www.coralie.tv

Aug 10:

WITNESS PROTECTION
Death threats, deceit and double crossings - 20/20 joins a family on the move and in constant fear of their lives on the police witness protection scheme. Reporter Paul Hobbs discovers that while you can run it is very hard to hide in New Zealand.

Click here to watch the witness protection video

Aug 3:

BLOOD, SWEARING AND TEARS
It is demanding, grueling and painful - can a week long camp repair the fractured and fractious relationship between fathers and their wayward sons? 20/20 reporter Paul Hobbs joins a special military/police rough and tough love initiative for desperate dads and their out of control teenagers.

Click here to watch the Blood, swearing and tears video

For anyone interested in further information on the Burnham Camp programme contact the following:

Sgt Jody Wanoa
New Zealand Army 
03-363-0040
027-223-3858

Llew Timpson                                        
New Zealand Police                
03-313-5743
027-322-8890

July 27:

A BLOODY IDIOT
He was the drunken driver jailed and forced to sell his home to pay nearly $50,000 to the family of the man he killed. 20/20 reporter Lisa Glass uncovers the chilling story behind the story, the disturbing facts the court never heard of and she talks exclusively with the victim's family.

July 13:

BLOODY MONGRELS
A special 20/20 investigation uncovers the bloody and violent underworld of dog fighting. Reporter Pete Cronshaw joins a raid on a man considered to be a "Don" of pit bull fighting. Upwards of 1,000 people are involved in organised fights - long and bloody fights which are sometimes to the death. Some of the images in this report are disturbing.

Click here to watch the Bloody Mongrels video

July 6:

NICKY WATSON - THE NAKED TRUTH 
She's been labelled a trophy wife - and worse - but in an extraordinarily candid interview reporter Hadyn Jones discovers there's so much more to the highly successful model now at the cross roads of her career.

Click the below links to view the Nicky Watson video

Click here to watch the Nicky Watson: Part 1 video
Click here to watch the Nicky Watson: Part 2 video
Click here to watch the Nicky Watson: Part 3 video
Click here to watch the Nicky Watson: Part 4 video
Click here to watch the Nicky Watson: Part 5 video

June 1:

HAYLEE'S HELL
As a 14-year-old she was offered a modeling contract in New York, so how did she end up a teenage prostitute, a drug addict and a sex slave for the Mongrel Mob? 20/20's Peter Cronshaw tells the remarkable story of a teenager social workers expected to end up in a body bag but who is now back on the catwalk - a story of courage and redemption.

Click here to watch the Haylee's Hell video

18 May:

MISSING
A missing daughter, a desperate father, and a determined psychic, is this the recipe for resolution to a missing persons case?  A year ago Fran Martin drove to the local service station&that was the last time anyone saw her.  Missing without a trace - the police are stymied.  How far will her father Bob Martin go to find his daughter? Well, he's turned to psychics as his last chance. We follow a well-known psychic who is convinced she knows where Fran Martin is. Her revelations turn up hope and fear, but will they turn up Fran, or will this be the latest in a string of crushing disappointments for her father Bob?  Check out Lisa Glass' report:

Click here to watch the Missing video

What was that mystery white light that went across the screen when Fran's father and brother stand on the exact spot the psychic says her body is buried? Take a look for yourself:

Click here to watch the Mystery Light video

Fran Martin was last seen on Wednesday the 20th of April 2005, at the Caltex petrol station on Naylor Street in Hamilton.

Her car was found abandoned by Taupo police near the intersection of State Highway 1 and 5 Wairakei on Thursday the 21st.

If you remember seeing her, or remember seeing her car, please contact the Taupo police on 07 378 6060. The officer in charge of the case is Detective Sergeant Dave Beattie.

11 May:

A CUNNING STUNT?
They have been described as puerile and dangerous but the creators of the 'Back Of The Y' television series have scored hundreds of thousands of tax-payer dollars for a movie. 20/20 reporter Paul Hobbs joins Danny Parker and stuntman Randy Campbell on the set of a movie they hope will shock and disgust many viewers.

Click here to watch the A Cunning Stunt? video  

4 May:

THE REAL McCAW
An exclusive insight into the life and loves of All Black captain-elect Richie McCaw. 20/20 reporter HADYN JONES talks to one of the country's most sought after men about his secret passion and the type of woman he likes.

Click here to watch the Richie McCaw video  

27 April:

TIGER WOODS
20/20 takes you exclusively into the Tiger pit, to see how a world sporting superstar risked life and limb in small town New Zealand for a kiwi charity. You'll find out why a man who commands millions of dollars in appearance fees charged not a cent. You'll also see - on a dirt track in Huntly up against some of our sporting greats - just what makes Tiger Woods a real champion.

Click here to watch the Tiger Woods video

BUGMAN 
Ruud Kleinpaste, the name behind the bugs, or is it the bugs behind the man?  Whatever it is, Ruud 'the bug man' Kleinpaste is fast becoming one of the biggest global names in the Insect World. This kiwi is chasing the tails of David Attenborough, he's bigger than the crocodile man Steve Irwin, and Jay Leno will attest 'Buggin' with Ruud' is the biggest bug show on the Discovery channel.  Peter Cronshaw bugs out with Ruud.

Click here to watch the Bugman video

ARMED AND DANGEROUS
In a special investigation, 20/20's hidden cameras uncover disturbing evidence about New Zealand's gun licensing laws. HADYN JONES shows just how little you need to know to get a license and even worse...how examiners will give you a license even if you have failed the firearms test. Watch as we take three people who know nothing about guns through the licensing process. They were shocked. Will you be?

Click here to watch the Armed and Dangerous video

SHINAE
Imagine you're just 13 years old and your mother has a chronic P-habit - she's often out of her mind and unpredictable. Worse, mum's also a dealer. People are banging on the door, demanding P and money, and intimidating the entire family. That was the situation faced by Hamilton teenager Shinae Twist. As Lisa Glass reports, what she did is truely inspirational.

Click here to watch the Shinae video

13 April:

DRIVING THEM CRAZY
A rollercoaster of action and emotion as a fair dinkum Kiwi battler and his family take on some of motor racing's elite in their $1,300, 30-year-old Cortina. 20/20's Hadyn Jones follows a self confessed automotive racist on the Targa Rally in a story which has parallels to the World's Fastest Indian.

Click here to watch the Driving Them Crazy video

6 April:

FIGHT CLUB
It's the latest craze in corporate fitness - fighting it out in the ring. But is it worth the blood sweat and tears? 20/20's Paul Hobbs follows two young women and two men through to their first ever fight and he puts the spotlight on hundreds of corporate Kiwi's who pay handsomely to see their colleagues slug it out.

Click here to watch the Fight Club video

30 March:

THE BOMBAY BOYS
Forty degree heat, concrete-hard playing fields, and the Haka. From Bombay - south of Auckland - to Bombay, India, 20/20's Miriama Kamo follows the remarkable journey of former policeman and Maori All Black selector Willie Hetaraka as he helps make rugby one of the fastest growing sports in India.

Click here to watch the Bomby Boys video

WALKING TALL
He can be lewd, rude and in your face - meet a little man with a big ambition. 20/20 reporter Lisa Glass talks to a stand up comic, entertainer and entrepreneur who refuses to pull punches in his fight to change our attitude towards dwarfs.

Click here to watch the Walking Tall video

16 March:

A LEAGUE OF HIS OWN
At 21 Benji Marshall is already a major rugby league sensation. In an exclusive interview, 20/20 reporter Hadyn Jones reveals the remarkable off-the-field story of a boy who grew up in poverty and still doesn't know who his real dad is, who has become a surrogate father and a wealthy bread winner for the family.

Click here to watch the Benji Marshall Video 

9 March:

THE FINAL CUT
For the first time on NZ television, 20/20 takes you inside a sex change operation. Reporter Lisa Glass travels to Thailand for the procedure that transforms a Kiwi bloke into a woman.

Please note the following video contains graphic medical operation content, and while warnings are given to allow you to look away before the sequences, we do advise viewer discretion. This is strictly Adult Only content.

Click here to watch the sex change video

Click here to watch the Whales (Save the Pandas) video

WHITE FRIGHT
It has been a summer of great white shark sightings - are the numbers swelling and should they be protected? 20/20 meets a man chased and tormented for 40 minutes by a great white; we talk to those attacked by them and still want them protected, and reporter Pete Cronshaw experiences his own white fright when he goes nose to nose with a five metre specimen.

Click here to watch the White Fright video

23 February 2006

THE BOOBY PRIZE
Last year 20/20 showed you the plight of the Hamilton student with huge breasts...now we take you through her breast reduction operation and her new life.

Click here to watch the Booby Prize video

PLAYGROUND PUSHERS
In a special 20/20 investigation our hidden cameras expose a drug dealing business in an Auckland park...the dealers and the buyers caught red handed in a children's playground.

Click here to watch the Playground Pushers video

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