2026-06-02 - Lifeline highway closes as heavy rain heads east after 700mm downpour, floods and 9 more stories

This episode includes 10 news blocks. The gorge's closure comes as hundreds of mourners gather for the tangi of respected rangatira Tā Hirini Moko Mead. Analysis - "Freeloading" was the term Pete Hegseth applied to a country that had just put another couple of billion dollars from Budget 2026 towards the goal of doubling spending on defence. The government says the change will stop councils appointing iwi representatives as full voting members, as it was "not democratic". Reports of online chil… Disclaimer: This episode is assembled from publicly available sources (for example, RNZ and similar outlets) for educational purposes only; the script and audio are generated by AI and may contain errors, omissions, or interpretive bias; this is a non-profit project and does not constitute news, legal, medical, or investment advice.