Morning Report

Most of the residents of the town of Mataura have been told to leave as soon as possible as the river neared its peak.

After three days of heavy rain the river is running between four and six metres above normal levels.

It's expected to peak at around 10:30am.

RNZ reporter Tim Brown speaks to Corin Dann.

A brief update on the movements in the financial sector.

The mayor of Gisborne says one in four families in the region will be affected by a blow to the forestry sector.

Logging businesses are facing disruption due to China's Coronavirus outbreak and sawmills being closed due to the Chinese new year holiday.

Companies are cutting back their harvesting rates - so there is less demand for workers.

The mayor of Gisborne is Rehette Stoltz.

Evacuees from Wuhan are now on their way back to New Zealand. The Air New Zealand plane left Wuhan just before seven this morning.

The flight will arrive at at Auckland Airport at about six thirty today.

From there, the passengers will be bussed to a military facility at Whangaparāoa for two weeks' isolation.

Dr Ashley Bloomfield is Director General of Health.

He speaks to Corin Dann.

Iwi leaders have reached boiling point over what they say is a lack of engagement by the government and they are not going to put up with it.

The Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will front up to them today at the annual Iwi Chairs Forum at Waitangi - where dozens of leaders from major iwi spent yesterday debating key issues in te Ao Maori.

The iwi chairs decided against an idea that would see them promise not to take Maori water rights to court, and they threw unanimous support behind calls to overhaul Oranga Tamariki.

RNZ Maori news correspondent Leigh-Marama McLachlan was at the hui and speaks to Morning Report.

Gore and Matuara residents living in low level areas have been told to evacuate.

This after hundreds of people in the Southland towns have had an anxious night after being told to prepare to leave at short notice. Days of rain have caused the river to rage and large swathes of farmland are under water, with many roads impassable.

The river was running at 4.5 metres above normal levels at Gore and 6.5 metres above normal just south of Mataura at 5:30 this morning.

Reporter Tim Brown speaks to Corin Dann.

The Black Caps believe in heir processes and will stick with them when they start the one day series against India in Hamilton today.

Results from voting in Iowa, the first round in the contest to pick a Democratic candidate to face President Donald Trump, have been plunged into chaos by apparent technology issues.

The state's Democratic party said the holdup was a reporting issue, adding that it expected to have numbers to report later today.

Despite the absence of results, several candidates are claiming victory already.

RNZ correspondent in Washington is Kevin McAleese.

Hundreds gathered before dawn at Waitangi to bless a new museum commemorating Māori commitment to New Zealand in times of war .

Its called Te Rau Aroha after the mobile canteen truck that served the men of the Māori Battalion during World War II.

Waitangi National Trust chief executive Greg McManus speaks to Susie Ferguson.

Andrew Little was the suprise star of the paepae yesterday at Waitangi.

The Minister for Treaty Negotiations, mired in fractious negotiations with Ngāpuhi over its much delayed and disputed settlement is no stranger to robust korero on the marae atea.

But his concerted effort to learn te reo Māori and then speak, without notes, for almost ten minutes, was well received in the heart of Ngāpuhi.

He speaks to Susie Ferguson.