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
The city is back mingling with the country at New Zealand's Royal A&P Show in Canterbury.
Thousands are set to descend on the Agricultural Park over the next three days.
This year’s event has re-gained its royal status for the first time since 2010.
Canterbury A&P Association chair Sir David Carter told John MacDonald that the Royal Agricultural Society approached them after they saw them put on last year’...
Whatever you thought of Andrew Coster as Police Commissioner, you probably felt you could trust him to do the right thing. To be upfront, honest, and certainly not hide stuff.
And if you thought the attitude within the Police towards women had changed from what it used to be – well you might be having a bit of a re-think on both of those. Because I certainly am after this damning report by the Independent Police Conduc...
Chris Hipkins: Labour Leader on IPCA report on McSkimming and Coster, Te Pati Māori, gun law changes
The Labour Leader is “absolutely disgusted” by the handling of complaints against Jevon McSkimming by former Police Commissioner Andrew Coster.
The Police Complaints Authority has released a report finding some of our highest-ranking Police didn't deal properly with a woman's anonymous complaints against the former Deputy Police Commissioner.
Hipkins is deeply disappointed in Coster, and believes the Police have a righ...
Be careful what you wish for.
That’s how I’m feeling about the Government giving Christchurch an exemption from the new housing intensification rules, which would have enabled three, three-storey properties to be built on single sections anywhere in the city.
Instead, that level of intensification is going to be limited to certain parts of town, including the city centre, Church Corner, Riccarton, Hornby, Linwood, Shirley, Me...
Just as punters hoped, showers have cleared in Christchurch in time to fling open the gates at Addington Raceway before the 122nd running of the New Zealand Trotting Cup.
The grey start's made way for some blue skies and enough sun to fry off rain that fell this morning.
Race caller Matt Cross told John MacDonald the track's in good order.
He says the afternoon forecast is pretty good, so by the time the Cup comes...
At least they’re doing something. But I don’t rate the chances of it working.
That’s how I’m feeling about the Government’s declaration of war on methamphetamine, with this new plan that will see spy agencies working with customs and the defence force to target ships carrying drugs in the Pacific.
It's also going to work with ports and the shipping industry.
The feature of the plan that I like most is this $30 million increase in f...
Slightly ironic, don’t you think, that on the day people up and down the country are turning up at work and school wearing their gumboots for Gumboot Friday, we’ve got Lifeline saying it can’t keep running on the smell of an oily rag and has to cut back on services.
Which means no one answering the phone or replying to text messages between midnight and 7am.
Call them then and you’ll get a message saying you’ve reached ...
A reminder mental health crises don't follow timetables.
Long-time support service Lifeline will now go unanswered between midnight and 7am.
It's asking the Government for help after reducing hours because it has a $2 million annual shortfall.
Labour's Reuben Davidson told John MacDonald help's needed at all hours and mental health crises don't work office hours.
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says suppo...
There are two types of people in this world.
There are the ones who have no qualms calling in sick, when they’re not. The ones who feel no guilt at all pulling a sickie. And it seems there is no shortage of them, with this report out today saying that New Zealand workers are taking more sick leave, costing the economy $4 billion.
Then you’ve got the other type, who only use their sick leave if they really, really have ...
On Saturday night I was in Lyttelton for a gig and saw a guy sleeping on the bench outside the local supermarket, which took me a little bit by surprise.
Maybe I need to get across to Lyttelton more often.
But that’s the kind of thing we will see way more of if the Government goes ahead with this idea of banning homeless people from congregating and sleeping rough in central business districts.
Because instead of ...
Mike Hosking’s interview this morning with reinstated Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua could only have gone one of two ways.
She could have spilled the beans. Or she could have danced around the legalities of a gagging order.
She could have spilled the beans and made Netball NZ look like a bunch of incompetents. Or she could have played it safe.
Funny thing is, she didn’t spill the beans - but still managed to make Netball NZ...
Buckingham Palace has announced that King Charles will remove all of his brother, Prince Andrew's, titles.
The statement from Buckingham Palace related the announcement to the allegations of sexual abuse by the late Virginia Giuffre.
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor's title will not be immediately stripped as UK Correspondent Gavin Grey said the process of removing his titles "will take some time".
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Ever since the 1930s, when American soldiers were based all around the world, people in many countries have been antsy about foreigners getting what appears to them to be special treatment or privileges.
The phrase people used back in the day about the US soldiers was something along the lines of them being overdressed, overpaid, oversexed and over here.
And the Government seems to be tapping into the same kind of senti...
Do we need more MPs? The NZ Initiative thinks we do - saying today that, instead of 120, we should have 170.
It says the number of MPs in New Zealand is low compared to other countries with similar populations and we need 50 more to keep them accessible to voters.
Another thing it’s calling for is a four-year parliamentary term. That’s a no-brainer, as far as I’m concerned. But 50 more MPs? No thanks.
However, I do think some chang...
Labour had their Capital Gains Tax policy leaked earlier this week.
The tax would only apply to residential and commercial property sales, not any other taxable areas. A decision which has led some to question if this is really a Capital Gains Tax.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins had previously said that there would be no Capital Gains Tax under his leadership. However, he told John MacDonald that, 'after the election when we lost, I s...
So another ham-fisted announcement from the Labour Party.
In fact, it wasn’t even an announcement. Because of a leak, it was forced this morning to confirm its plan to include a capital gains tax in its policies for next year’s election.
Which looks to me like a very watered-down, scaredy-cat version of a capital gains tax that won’t impress many.
Because, if they were serious, they’d apply it to everything. None of these exclusion...
Today on Politics Friday, National MP and former doctor Vanessa Weenink, and Labour's Tracey Lee McLellan join John MacDonald to delve into the biggest topics of the week.
They discuss the Government response to yesterday's wind storm, the mega-strike, the end of home economics and outdoor education in schools, political involvement in the Netball NZ debacle, and Labour's future funding policy.
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What happened to the emergency mobile alert system ahead of and during yesterday’s wind storm?
One explanation for the absence of text alerts from one government MP is that, with the power out in places, the cell towers weren’t working.
But the power wasn’t out in Christchurch city and there were still no alerts on my phone. What’s more, the power only went out once the wind hit - well after the Emergency Management Minister pre-em...
Canterbury Civil Defence Controller James Thompson joined John MacDonald on Canterbury Mornings with the latest information we need to know ahead of today's expected damaging wind storm.
The region is under a red wind warning locally, along with parts of the Southern North Island.
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Waimakariri Mayor Dan Gordon joined John MacDonald to get the latest from their district on storm preparation and damage.
There are also reports that people set off fireworks in the area last night.
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