Top Stories for Tuesday 1 September 2020

Mataura residents have their bags packed and are ready to evacuate, in case a potentially lethal ammonia gas is released from toxic waste being stored in a warehouse in their town. We speak to the education minister about the thousands of students in Auckland staying away from school. Covid sees a surge in people seeking help - new figures show the biggest rise in benefits in 24 years. And we'll have the latest on the fire blazing in scrub and wilding pines in the Mackenzie basin.