Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald

I got an email from the power company this week, telling me about my weekly electricity use and how much of that is used during my eight hours of free power on Saturdays and Sundays. 

Despite doing all the washing and drying during the 16 free hours of power each week, it was only 20%. 

No wonder the bills are so expensive. And that’s without teenagers chewing through the power like it used to be not that long ago. 

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What’s your message to the new Reserve Bank Governor?  

Dr Anna Breman is moving from Sweden to take up the job and will begin her five-year term at the start of December.  

I thought it was interesting to hear her say yesterday that one of the first things she plans to do is to travel around the country to meet and listen to people.  

She says she wants to meet people in regular households and students, to hear what...

You know how the Prime Minister does a very good job of batting away poll results and saying that his focus is fixing up the joint after the last lot and that he’ll wait until election day to be judged?

I don’t think he will find it quite as easy to do that with these results out today from the NZ Herald’s annual Mood of the Boardroom survey. The annual survey of about 150 business leaders – 125 of them being CEOs of major New Zeal...

Is it good enough?

When you hear a doctor at Christchurch Hospital say that patients are dying in the waiting room and car park because the place is so overloaded, is it good enough?

I’ve been talking to someone who was there at the weekend and saw first-hand how overloaded it actually is, which I’ll tell you about shortly.

But is it good enough that we have Dr Dominic Fleischer saying that patients are dying in the waiting room an...

Would you be happy to pay $110-a-year for a residential parking permit, so you could get a park outside your place whenever you wanted?

Some Christchurch City Council candidates think you would. Especially, if you live in the central city or in a suburb close to town where on-street parking can be a real problem.

The council is already looking into it. That’s how we have an idea how much it would cost. Around $110-a-year.

These can...

My confidence is shot and my patience is wearing thin.

That’s my answer to the question I’ve got for you. Which is: How would you rate your level of confidence in and patience with the Government?

After yesterday’s GDP result, the knives are well-and-truly out. We’ve got former Finance Minister Sir Roger Douglas saying Nicola Willis isn’t up to the job and should resign. Add to that a new poll result which says that 55% of us think...

I wonder if the person who called me a tofu-eating, sandal-wearing, treehugger yesterday will have a bit of a re-think when they see what I’ve got to say about Environment Canterbury declaring a nitrate emergency.  

I’m with Federated Farmers, which is saying it’s nothing more than a political stunt. But it’s not just that, it’s a very naive political stunt. Because show me one of these so-called “emergency” declarations that ...

Another warning from Labour for its potential coalition partner Te Pāti Māori. 

MP Takuta Ferris has twice attacked ethnic Labour party volunteers who sign-waved in the Tamaki Makaurau by-election, claiming they were taking a Māori seat away from Māori.  

Party president John Tamihere echoed Ferris' comments yesterday, despite the party previously apologising.  

Chris Hipkins told John MacDonald the party needs to re...

Get a grip. That’s my advice today to the people complaining about the music festival planned for the area near Bottle Lake Forest, in Christchurch, over the new year period.

Because I think the organisers are treating you very well and going above and beyond.

The Rolling Meadows festival is normally held at Waipara, north of the city, but the organisers hope to have it in Christchurch for the first time this year.

And because it’s...

If the amount of money spent on ACC claims over the past five years for e-scooter injuries doesn’t convince you that tighter laws are needed, I don’t know what will.

And if the amount of money spent on ACC claims over the past five years for e-scooter injuries doesn’t convince you that NZTA made a big mistake deciding not to make e-scooters subject to the road rules - again, I don’t know what will.

The figure relates to injuries al...

Today on Politics Friday, John MacDonald was joined by Labour’s Reuben Davidson and National’s Matt Doocey to delve into the biggest topics of the week. 

On today’s agenda: the manhunt for Tom Phillips and his children has come to an end, but the coverage has only just begun. There’s a fresh plan to restore the Christ Church Cathedral, and the Government has announced some new offences for shoplifting. 

LISTEN ABOVE 

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I’m no apologist for shoplifters. I think it is appalling that retail crime costs retailers $2.6 billion a year. And that more than half of them not only have to deal with shoplifters coming in and helping themselves to stuff, close to 60% of retailers also have to put up with threatening behaviour from these thugs.    

But I’m not sold on this plan by the Government to turn “innocent until proven guilty” on its head for ...

I’ve really surprised myself. Because, even though I think it’s totally shameful that people have been helping Tom Phillips keep his kids in hiding for nearly four years, I’m torn when it comes to how important it is that these people face consequences for their actions. 

To the point where I’ve realised that it’s not as important to me as I thought it would be to me. 

Locals in the area are already poo-pooing the chances...

I was wrong and the police were right.   

After yesterday’s events, I’ll admit that I was wrong when I said over the last few years that the police were pussy-footing around with Tom Phillips.  

That instead of waiting for him to come out of hiding with his three kids, they should've been more gung-ho on it and gone after him.  

Yesterday changed all that and proved to me that the police did do the right thing. ...

What does kicking overstayers out of the country actually achieve?

With just under 21,000 overstayers in New Zealand, the Government is planning a crackdown. But the Green Party wants an amnesty. Reason being that most people living here without visas are what the Greens describe as being “active in their communities”. Plus, they’ve got families here.

Or, to put it another way, if someone overstays their welcome, they’re committing...

Sir Ron Young, who used to be a high court judge and used to be chair of the Parole Board, thinks shorter sentences could take the strain off the justice system.  

He says shorter sentences make people less likely to re-offend because they don’t spend as much time with other offenders and that would mean less people going through the courts.

There are two ways we could respond to that. We could think about it with a long-term,...

We would be mad to pull out of the Paris Climate Change Agreement.  

ACT leader David Seymour thinks differently though, saying its emissions targets are "disconnected from science and blind to New Zealand's realities".  

He says net zero targets have been set with no regard for the real cost to firms, farms, and families, and he wants out.  

Out of 197 countries, 193 are signed up to the accord. David Seymour wants ...

Labour and National appear to be aligned on the Paris Climate Agreement.  

Yesterday ACT called for New Zealand to leave unless the terms of the deal change, but the Prime Minister said no.  

Labour's Chris Hipkins echoed Christopher Luxon, telling John MacDonald leaving the deal would cause more harm than good.  

He says it would be a disaster for us – walking away from those commitments would mean people overseas w...