Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald

A Christchurch mother is calling for changes to bereavement leave laws. 

Sheena Hemens’ 27-year-old daughter Lauren was killed in a car accident nearly three years ago. 

Hemens says grief kept her from working for months, but currently, the law only provides three days of leave. 

She’s launched a petition to increase minimum bereavement leave to 10 days, saying many people don’t realise how little time they get. ...

There was a story on the news last night about the government’s push to have fewer local councils and how it’s given them just a few months to come up with a plan.

The threat being that, if they don’t, the government will force it on them.

And a couple of things struck me.

First, it occurred to me how successful the government has been in getting these councils to toe the line.

The councillors and mayors on the news last night were...

What planet is the Waimakariri District Council on even entertaining the idea of spending public money to buy the golf course at Pegasus?

You’ll know the story behind this. People living in the area, north of Christchurch, are very upset that a large property development company has bought the land where the golf course is and wants to turn it into housing.

The company - Wolfbrook Property Group - bought the land after the golf clu...

I reckon we are dreaming if we think having teacher aides in every classroom is the answer to aggro kids.

New numbers out today show that New Zealand students have been restrained more than 9,000 times since 2023. That’s an average of 15 a day.

The vast majority happen at primary schools and, when we say they’ve been restrained, we’re talking about situations where there is an imminent threat of harm and no other options are availa...

Opposition Leader Chris Hipkins says if Labour wins power at this year’s election, it's position on public funding for the Christ Church Cathedral will not change.

Speaking to Canterbury Mornings, Hipkins said the party’s verdict still stands.

“I just don’t think it’s something we can prioritise at the moment,”

Hipkins also addressed leaks from a Labour Party online Q&A, which included Aysha Verrall singing, Barbara Edmonds’ “d...

What part of no does the Christchurch City Council not understand?

Because, despite us knowing what the answer would be, councillors yesterday voted in favour of putting another $15 million into the Anglican Cathedral reinstatement project, providing the government came to the party.

And, wouldn’t you know it - within just a few hours of the vote happening - Finance Minister Nicola Willis was already pouring cold water on the idea.

Even though I understand why a new independent supermarket in Christchurch has been told by the High Court that it can’t sell meat for two years, I still think it’s strange.

The Harvest Market is in the same spot where a Mad Butcher franchise used to be until earlier this year.

The people who ran the franchise also ran a grocery business alongside it. Which the Mad Butcher was happy with - as long as they didn’t sell meat.

But the ...

I had the joy of using State Highway 1, south of Christchurch, over the weekend.

Which is a bit of a goat track. And it’s why there is a bit of excitement about the government announcing that it wants to look into making it a four-lane highway.

At least between Christchurch and Timaru. Which, to many people, is a no-brainer.

This is part of a wider study the government wants done into transport links between the ports at Lyttelton ...

Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger is defending One New Zealand Stadium for its lack of facilities for general admission concert goers.

Some of the 12-thousand people with standing tickets at Saturday's 'Once In A Lifetime' show, were surprised to have to use port-a-loos and food trucks outside the roofed venue. 

The permanent facilities were designed for the seated capacity. 

Mayor Phil Mauger told Newstalk ZB's Canterbury M...

Sometimes it feels like an easy thing to say that politicians have no idea what really matters to us. What’s important to us - the people who put them in their positions of power.

Today, it may be the easiest it’s ever been to say that sort of thing.

Let’s start with Labour leader Chris Hipkins. Who, I think, said one of the most arrogant things I’ve heard any politician say.

This happened yesterday. When he was talking about prett...

Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run album is going to be performed in its entirety in the first Come Together concert for 2026 at the Christchurch Town Hall on Friday 29 May. 

One of the musicians involved is Christchurch's Adam McGrath, from local band The Eastern. He joined John MacDonald on Canterbury Mornings ahead of the big gig and he took his guitar along to cover one of "The Bosses" biggest hits.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnys...

I’ll make a bet with you.

These 9,000 job cuts in the public sector that the government’s announced won’t happen.

It’s easy to say. But making it happen is a completely different story.

There’ll be some, for sure. But the whole 9,000? They’re dreaming. Because, from what I’ve seen and heard so far, they are flying blind.

At the moment, there are about 65,000 people working in the public service. Cutting that by 9,000 to get it clos...

First world problems and all that but, is it really ok to make people use portaloos outside Christchurch’s new $683 million One NZ Stadium?

Some people who were in the general admission standing area at Saturday night’s “Once in a Lifetime” concert don’t think so.

And I agree.

As you may have heard - or found out yourself if you were there on Saturday night - people who didn’t have seats but were standing on the pitch on front of t...

When I first heard about Winston Peters’ idea to give every newborn baby $1,000 so they can have a KiwiSaver account from birth, I liked the sound of it.

Until I did some numbers. Which I’ll get to.

Announcing the NZ First policy yesterday, he said it would be compulsory for every newborn to be signed-up to KiwiSaver and the state would throw in $1,000 to get things started.

He said the policy would ensure every child began their f...

I can understand why people living at Pegasus, north of Christchurch, are upset about the golf course there being sold to a large property developer.

But, at the same time, how long can anyone expect the area they live in to stay the same?

And, while I might not make friends with the Pegasus people saying this, I think they are just going to have to accept it.

What happened is we got a tip-off earlier this week that the golf course...