RNZ: Sunday Morning

Tasman District Mayor Richard Kempthorne outlines the massive clean up operation still going on two weeks after ex-cyclone Gita hit the region. Some residents feel that they have been overlooked in terms of getting help from authorities.

It's Our Future spokesman Oliver Hailes talks about Labour and New Zealand First's u-turn on the TPPA-11 and the inclusion of a clause which could see foreign corporates suing the government

International political professor of law at Waikato University, Al Gillespie, talks about the possible outcomes from a potential meeting with the US  and North Korean leaders in May.

Feedback from listeners to the Sunday Morning show.

Mike Fabulous aka Lord Echo was the bassist for the Black Seeds for 15 years, before going the solo road. He's part of the supergroup Eru Dangerspiel, playing the Auckland Arts Festival.

Children love to learn but they don’t always get on with school, says author on education and creativity Sir Ken Robinson. The trouble is, we judge everybody by a single standard.

Lord West is a leading UK security specialist making a fleeting visit to New Zealand. He is a former security minister after starting his career in the Royal Navy. He talks about his ship being sunk in the Falklands War, the biggest security threats facing us today ... and ABBA.

Jane Furlong's death has been one of the country's most enduring murder mysteries - ever since she was abducted from Auckland's Karangahape Rd in 1993 aged 17. Journalist Kelly Dennett has been absorbed by the case and has written a book "The Short Life and Mysterious Death of Jane Furlong".

Barbara Ewing's book The Actresses was first published in 1997 and is the story of a group of actresses reuniting at their London drama school 30 years after they graduated. It explores how women are treated in the industry and reveals a toxic culture - 21 years before the current light was shone on similar behaviour through the #MeToo movement. Ewing was also an actress and her experience carried a lot of truth into the fictional work. Since then she's written many books, but explains why The Actresses is still important.

Professor Charlie Corke is one of Australia's leading Intensive Care specialists, and he will be speaking in Wellington as part of the New Zealand Festival on 10 March. Professor Corke says we should prepare better for our death to make death less painful for ourselves and for our loved ones. In his book "Letting Go: How to Plan for a Good Death" there are many eye-opening examples of the real-life impact of planning your end-of-life care or failing to.

The number of young people not in work or training has remained virtually unchanged, despite improving financial times. Emile Donovan explores how New Zealand can engage these young people, who now number more than 80,000.

It's Oscars eve with the 90th Academy awards set to get under way on Monday NZ time. It will probably have a more serious tone in light of the #Metoo and Time's Up movements which have emerged since last year's ceremony. Movie reviewer Dominic Corry reports from Los Angeles.

Operation Restore Hope is a charity that surgically repairs cleft lips and palates for underprivileged children in the Philippines. This is the 20th year in which a team of NZ medical staff will head there. Dr Tristan De Chalain is a paediatric and cranio facial surgeon who has been with Operation Restore Hope on every one of its 20 missions.

Nearly three decades after his maiden speech, Bill English bookended his political career with a valedictory. The House has highlights from both events.

An imposing high-rise state housing block at Number 139 Greys Ave was built in 1957 and is described as "unique". It's being bulldozed by Housing New Zealand for a modern block of social housing units. But Jeremy Hansen says the apartments designed by architect Gordon Wilson should never have been allowed to fall into disrepair.