Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald

Quite rightly, people living in the central city in Christchurch have had a gutsful of the number of places being rented out as Airbnb-type accommodation.

They’re speaking out today, saying they don’t want to live in what they call “pretend neighbourhoods”. And they want action. And I’m with them.

Because I reckon the council has sat on its hands way too long on this one. It seems to me that it’s been happy to turn a blind eye to w...

Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger has defended the co‑governance model of the Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor Regeneration Committee, which is investigating potential regeneration of the residential red zone. He says progress had stalled, and locals wanted the council to “get on with it.”

“It was going round in circles, so we decided to grab it by the throat, sit down, and get on with it and make decisions.”

The City Council has agreed to...

I heard Barry Soper say yesterday that, despite all the hard talk, the Government’s so-called fast-tracking of local government amalgamation won’t actually happen anytime soon. 

Certainly not before the election. Which is true. Because this is a big change the Government wants to see happen. 

But, in my mind, it can’t happen soon enough. 

The fast-tracking bit is the councils being told that, if they don’t come up wi...

If you woke up this morning hoping things had somehow sorted themselves out in the Strait of Hormuz, sorry to disappoint. 

It’s still the cluster it was yesterday. In fact, worse, actually. With hostilities ramping up overnight. 

Which will probably have Singapore's Prime Minister saying “told you so” to anyone who poo-pooed the comments he made after meeting with Christopher Luxon yesterday, that he doesn’t see things ge...

ACT Leader David Seymour seems to be going all Winston Peters on it, with his party’s new immigration policy. 

There’s stuff in it I think is ok. But there’s one part I don’t think is okay. This ridiculous idea of banning immigrants from getting any sort of benefit until they’ve been here for at least five years. I’ll tell you why shortly. 

But essentially, ACT doesn’t want immigrants getting any sort of free ride. 

...

Is it a flip flop? Is it a sign of things to come? Or is it just something Labour leader Chris Hipkins said off the top of his head when he was asked about it yesterday?

Means testing the NZ Super pension.

Because, back in 2023 - when he was Prime Minister - Hipkins completely ruled out the idea of means testing the pension.

Now, though, he’s saying he’s open to the idea.

And thank goodness he is. Because we can’t go on the way we ...

Winston Peters has gone too far this time. 

Last week, Christopher Luxon and Nicola Willis were telling us not to trust him. 

They‘ll be saying it even louder now. After the NZ First leader released emails to the media which show how the Prime Minister was talked out of expressing “explicit public support” for the war in Iran. 

And I'm in no doubt that peters has betrayed Luxon's trust. 

The two of them, apparen...

There’s that saying that you should never waste a good crisis. 

And, according to Winston Peters, the trucking companies are taking that advice and using the current fuel crisis as an opportunity to get what they’ve always wanted. 

Which is a rule change to let them carry more weight on their trucks. 

The Government’s looking at allowing that as part of its response to the fuel situation, saying it would mean the tru...

Labour leader Chris Hipkins says Christopher Luxon is running away from scrutiny after he cancelled his regular weekly interview on TVNZ's Breakfast programme.

"The reality is that's part of the job. You're going to be subjected to scrutiny, you're going to be asked tough questions."

Speaking on Canterbury Mornings, Hipkins was asked by John MacDonald whether he held the same view when former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern cancelled...

Anyone who didn’t feel excited for and proud of Christchurch over the long weekend might need to check if they’ve still got a pulse. 

Because what a ripper.  

And anyone who thinks our brand new One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha isn’t going to be Christchurch's greatest asset then, maybe, they were at home all weekend and didn’t see what was going on.  

Thousands of visitors in town for the Super Rugby Super Round. ...

Make no mistake, today is a massive day for Christchurch.  

Normally, you’d say the official opening - when the ‘hoi-polloi’ gather to cut ribbons and make speeches - is massive. 

But today’s the day. Because today, the stadium becomes ours. 

And I’m with Mayor Phil Mauger who is saying that it has been worth every penny. 

It’s a spend that not everyone has been and will be happy about. But as the mayor is also ...

With One NZ Stadium finally opening its doors ahead of the Super Rugby Super Round, John MacDonald caught up with current Speaker of the House and former Christchurch Regeneration Minister, Gerry Brownlee.

They discussed his role in getting the stadium off the ground by convincing cabinet of its importance for Cantabrians, and if he thinks the stadium has matched his expectations from over a decade ago.

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A dog’s breakfast. That’s the only way I can describe the National Party’s handling of the speculation over Christopher Luxon’s leadership.

Because “nothing to see here” never works. What’s more, I just don’t believe what they’re saying.

Luxon called the confidence vote yesterday and came out of the caucus meeting saying he had the backing of his MPs and that was that.

He wouldn’t answer any questions from reporters after he read o...