Morning Report

A lack of air conditioning at Hawke's Bay Hospital is leaving staff and patients sweltering in 30 degree heat, and unions say it's so hot it's becoming unsafe to work.

Fans and ice blocks are being handed out and tinted window film installed to help beat the heat on the hot wards, but the unions say those solutions are 'laughable' and air conditioning is urgently needed.

RNZ Hawke's Bay reporter Anusha Bradley has the story.

Political leaders from all parties will be welcomed on to the Treaty grounds at Waitangi today.

Once again they have the opportunity to lay out for iwi, hapu and whanau what they've achieved - or in the case of National - what they could achieve if in government.

The stakes are much higher being election year. It will be playing on Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's mind, when she makes her speech from the paepae, that there's no guarantee she'll be back next year in the same role.

Corin Dann speaks to RNZ political reporter Jo Moir who is at the Treaty grounds.

The Routeburn Track has been struck by a land slide overnight, leaving 31 trampers trapped.

The slip hit the Howden Hut around 1.30am and all those inside are safe and awaiting evacuation.

RNZ reporter Tim Brown is in Te Anau where those evacuated from Milford Sound have been spending the night.

He speaks to Corin Dann.

The mysterious foundation bankrolling the New Zealand First Party has been receiving donations from entities connected with some of the country's wealthiest business people.

The Foundation has been getting the money in amounts just under the threshold at which the donors' names would normally be made public.

The donations include payments from two companies owned by New Zealand's richest man Graeme Hart.

Donations also came from entities linked to the Van Den Brink family, which has made its fortune in the poultry business and Conrad Properties, New Zealand's largest apartment real estate developer.

RNZ's In Depth reporters Guyon Espiner and Kate Newton have been investigating.

Here is Guyon Espiner.

Authorities are hoping for a break in the weather to allow them to get stranded tourists out of Milford, but more heavy rain is forecast for today.

The only road in to Milford Sound is closed due to slips and washouts and may stay that way until the end of the week - trapping just over 400 people, with just under half of them being tourists.

Angus McKay is the Emergency Management Southland controller.

He speaks to Corin Dann.

The government-chartered Air New Zealand plane will arrive in Wuhan around 2am New Zealand Time tomorrow, 9pm local time, and is scheduled to pick up 70 New Zealanders.

The flight should then arrive back in Auckland late Wednesday afternoon. Air New Zealand's Chief Pilot is David Morgan.

He speaks to Susie Ferguson.

New Zealanders stranded in Wuhan due to the city's deadly coronavirus outbreak will later today undergo rigorous testing before boarding a government-chartered plane to fly home.

Chinese authorities last night granted the Air New Zealand plane permission to land in Wuhan to evacuate the Kiwis who've spent close to two weeks under lockdown there.

As Matthew Theunissen reports, some of them won't be able to breathe a sigh of relief until they finally touch down in Auckland tomorrow.

Some relief perhaps for the Black Caps for the rest of the tour by India with opener Rohit Sharma out of the rest of the tour.

News from the business sector, including a market report.

Winston Peters says he knows for a fact the National Party will still be open to coalition talks with New Zealand First after the election, despite the party's leader Simon Bridges ruling it out.

Bridges says he can't trust Peters and his caucus is united behind his decision to rule out working with New Zealand First.

That's because at the time of the coalition talks in 2017 he says Peters was already planning to pursue legal action against National MPs regarding a leak of his superannuation overpayments.

But Peters told RNZ political reporter Jo Moir that played no part in the talks.