Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald
Every weekday join the new voice of local issues on Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald, 9am-12pm weekdays. It’s all about the conversation with John, as he gets right into the things that get our community talking. If it’s news you’re after, backing John is the combined power of the Newstalk ZB and New Zealand Herald news teams. Meaning when it comes to covering breaking news – you will not beat local radio. With two decades experience in communications based in Christchurch, John also has a deep understanding of and connections to the Christchurch and Canterbury commercial sector. Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings 9am-12pm with John MacDonald on 100.1FM and iHeartRadio.
Episodes
I don’t often quote Albert Einstein, but I’m going to today.
“Those who believe that politics and religion do not mix, understand neither.”
And if the new pope didn’t understand that before today, he will now. Because Cardinal Robert Prevost —who will be known as Leo XIV— has only just been elected and already he’s being lobbied by politicians around the world.
He’s the first pope to come from the United States, and th...
John MacDonald was joined this morning by Megan Woods and Vanessa Weenink, to delve into some of the biggest issues of the week.
It’s been a big week for Weenink, who holds the electorate seat for Banks Peninsula – she gave an update on the State of Emergency in the area, and her thoughts on the response.
Pay equity was the big topic of the week – it's been revealed National Party members were told about the plan last w...
I’ve always been a fan of MMP. And I still am, but there’s one thing about it that I do struggle with – the list MPs.
I know it took some of us a while to totally understand why we have list MPs. I understand – but I don’t necessarily like it.
Which is why I thought retiring Labour MP David Parker raised some good points about MMP in his valedictory speech in Parliament.
He reckons we should replace it with som...
Banks Peninsula's State of Emergency remains in effect, with warning of more severe weather on its way for much of the country.
The emergency was declared a week ago during record rain and flooding.
Orange warnings have now been issued for more heavy rain for several parts of both islands, heading from south to north over the next two days.
Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger told Canterbury Mornings the State of Emerg...
Next time I hear one of our government politicians banging on about New Zealand being the first country in the world to give women the vote, it will sound very hollow.
Because while that might be something to crow about, what the Government’s doing in relation to equal pay for women, isn’t.
You’ve got to, at the very least, give Brooke van Velden credit for taking one for the team yesterday and announcing that t...
It was very clever of the Government announcing that it was going to pump $12 billion into defence before saying anything about where the money’s coming from.
A lot of us got all excited about the defence money because, even if you’re a pacifist, you would have to agree that our defence force has been running on the smell of an oily rag for a very long time. That’s just a fact.
And we kind of accepted that there would h...
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I love the way David Seymour is describing the size of cabinet and the number of government departments.
He says the whole lot are "a big, complicated bureaucratic beast". And he is spot on.
Here are the numbers that say it all: we have 82 portfolios, 28 ministers, and 41 separate government departments and agencies. If that doesn’t sound like a complicated beast, I don’t what does.
So no argument from me.
N...
If you think it’s expensive to travel around the country now, it’s about to get more expensive with KiwiRail ditching one of its ferries.
But even though flying isn’t cheap, KiwiRail can forget about me making any interisland ferry bookings. Because why would ya?
Two dungers —either of which can be out of service on any given day— no thanks.
This all goes back to the decision by the Government not long after it...
Get ready for what we now know will be a winter of discontent after the announcement by Nicola Willis that she is slashing government spending.
Which shows us once and for all, that the income tax cuts were a dreadful mistake. Because it’s not just ideology driving these budget cuts - it’s need.
The Government has much less money coming in the door through taxation - which means it’s got much less to spend.
And, m...
The Labour Leader is pushing back against criticism of emergency housing motels amid an increase in reports of concern to Oranga Tamariki.
It estimates its seen a 45% increase in reports in the year to April, and data shows that as of March 31st, there were 1,391 children overdue to be given a social worker.
Chris Hipkins is rebuking the idea the situation is a legacy of the previous Labour Government, telling John MacDonald ...
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I reckon a lot of us in Canterbury won’t be as excited as people elsewhere in the country about the Government’s plan to let builders, plumbers and drainlayers sign-off their own work.
I say that because of the bare faced lies a lot of us were told by builders after the quakes.
So this is going to apply to the construction of simple, standardised houses to try and reduce the need for so many council inspections and to speed-up buil...
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Is it ever-so-slightly ironic that, on the same day that the first highway in the South Island had its speed limit increased to 110 kph, we had the Government announce that it wants to make it easier for people to get their driver’s licence?
The highway is the main drag that runs between Christchurch and Rolleston. And the proposed driver licence changes are a range of things to make it easier and quicker for someone to get t...
The Treaty Principles Bill is history. Done and dusted. But ACT leader David Seymour, who came up with the bill in the first place, has no regrets.
And it’s not done and dusted, as far as he’s concerned.
He could bring it back again. But I think what he’s most likely to do is make it a campaign issue in next year’s general election, or try to get a more explicit equality provision in the Bill of Rights Act. &nbs...
There's a lack of enthusiasm for a ferry service between Wellington and Lyttelton.
According to Local Democracy Reporting, Waimakariri Mayor Dan Gordon believes the Government should consider reinstating the service, which ran from 1895 to 1976.
National Party's Vanessa Weenink told John MacDonald the idea is harking back to the old days.
She says she’s unsure what the business case would be, and is unsure if it w...
There's a lack of enthusiasm for a ferry service between Wellington and Lyttelton.
According to Local Democracy Reporting, Waimakariri Mayor Dan Gordon believes the Government should consider reinstating the service, which ran from 1895 to 1976.
National Party's Vanessa Weenink told John MacDonald the idea is harking back to the old days.
She says she’s unsure what the business case would be, and is unsure if it w...
I saw a brilliant cartoon the other day which had America’s founding fathers sitting around a table writing up the country’s constitution - and they had agreed that the US wouldn’t have a king, but they were thinking about having a drama queen instead.
And after what we saw overnight, I think it would be pretty hard to argue that the current US president is anything but a drama queen. He’s also an economic vandal.
Don...
John MacDonald was joined today by Mayor Phil Mauger.
They discussed the potential for Christchurch to be home to the delayed Erebus Disaster memorial – is Christchurch an appropriate home?
The central city has been overrun by birds and their droppings, does the Council have a plan to deal with the mess? And what measures will the council take regarding the new build’s in the city’s east, given the recent findings that...
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