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
Today on Politics Friday John MacDonald was joined by National’s Hamish Campbell and Labour’s Duncan Webb to discuss some of the biggest stories of the week.
The Government will soon be issuing fines to parents of repeatedly absent students – will this work? Is it a new idea?
Campbell almost manages to explain the RMA changes in one sentence, but what do they mean for New Zealanders?
And is there a place for more ...
I can’t find an exact figure but from what I have seen online, I’m pretty confident in saying that there are hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid fines in New Zealand, and that figure is about to rise even further.
Because the Government is dreaming if it thinks people fined for not sending their kids to school are going to suddenly start sending their kids to school, and that they're even going to bother paying the fin...
I hope Environment Canterbury isn’t bothering listening to Waimakariri MP Matt Doocey.
He’s not impressed that the regional council is going to spend money doing a business case for a rail passenger service between Rangiora, Christchurch, and Rolleston.
Matt Doocey says it’s nothing more than a pie-in-the-sky idea and, given we’re in a cost-of-living crisis, he says ECAN should stick to its knitting and focus on getti...
It would be very easy for me to say that the organisers of those ridiculous Run it Straight combat sport events have blood on their hands after the tragic death of 19-year-old Ryan Satterthwaite.
And I would be saying that if Ryan had been involved in an official event. The thing is, he wasn’t.
That’s not stopping other people from piling in though. There are experts saying today that we need to ban the whole thing. B...
James Meager is responding to Chris Hipkins’ comments about the Minister for the South Island role.
The Labour Leader called the position a “PR job”, saying there would be no need for Meager’s role if the Government was actually prioritising the South Island.
Hipkins says Meager's not doing anything because he has no budget or decision-making ability, and this is just a way of telling the South Island it hasn't been for...
Labour's yet to rule potential coalition partners in or out.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters is refusing to work with Chris Hipkins next election, but has not entirely ruled Labour out.
On social media, Peters posted a Government of Labour, the Greens, and Te Pati Māori would be a "circus" and a "radical woke show".
Hipkins told John MacDonald that they actually ruled out working with Peters before the las...
“Don’t sweat the small stuff.”
That’s the message cops have been given about shoplifting.
And the powers-that-be can say as much as they like about their memo to staff about only bothering with shoplifting worth more than $500 not being worded as well as it could have been, but the message is very clear. You steal stuff worth less than $500 and you’re going to get off scot-free.
If I was a retailer, I’d be...
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Today Megan Woods and Matt Doocey joined John MacDonald following the release of the budget.
They discussed the key aspects of it including changes to KiwiSaver, will there be an announcement on the retirement as it sound like Matt is hinting towards? Should parents really support 18 and 19 year olds if they aren't working? And what is in the budget for Canterbury?
LISTEN ABOVE.
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There’s a danger that when the new stadium opens in Christchurch next year, we'll have no idea exactly what speed we should be going when we drive around the area.
At the moment, the council wants it to be 30kph on Madras Street, Tuam Street, Lichfield Street, Duke Street, Hereford Street and St Asaph Street.
But now it’s being told by the Government that it can’t do that, and I think they should just make it 50kph. I...
There's consultation on speed limits around Christchurch's Te Kaha stadium - once again.
New Government rules are forcing the City Council to ask for public feedback for a second time.
A 30 kilometre-an-hour limit was approved for multiple surrounding streets but can no longer be implemented because of the changes.
Mayor Phil Mauger told Canterbury mornings although this feels like over-consulting, this needs to be rig...
Let’s call it and say that workers going to and from Christchurch Hospital at night-time deserve better.
This is after what’s being described as a “very violent” assault on a staff member heading home after work last weekend. It’s understood the woman had been on a shift at the birthing centre, on Antigua Street.
What we know at this point is that security around the hospital’s birthing unit has been bolstered and, as a...
In an ideal world, I would love us to have more trains.
In an ideal world, I think it would be great if all our big cities had rail passenger services.
Not just Auckland and Wellington that Transport Minister Chris Bishop was talking about when he announced this morning that there’s $600 million in this week’s Budget going into rail.
I won’t go all scratched record on it and start asking where the money i...
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"I've seen some bad times in this house, but this is one of the lowest I've ever seen. When you go to that sort of standard of language, nothing's beneath you after that, is it?"
That was Winston Peters yesterday after his coalition colleague, Brooke van Velden, used the c-word in parliament.
And I’m with him 100%.
He said he was disgusted that the word was said in Parliament, and he was disgusted that the word...
“It’s like making a silk purse out of a pig’s ear.”
That’s a quote from the boss at Transporting New Zealand, which represents the transport sector, talking about Brougham Street in Christchurch.
Because it’s been revealed by NZTA that the $150 million revamp of Brougham Street, one of Christchurch’s busiest streets, will include T2 transit lanes – which the truckies are brassed-off about because they won’t be a...
Construction is booming in Canterbury – but what is the market doing?
Construction Analyst Mike Blackburn joined John MacDonald to delve into the current situation in the region, the areas that are seeing major work, and if they’re seeing an over-supply of multi-unit dwellings.
LISTEN ABOVE
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Well done to the Government for making all the right noises about dealing with truancy.
It’s going to spend $140 million over the next four years with one aim: getting more kids to turn up at school regularly.
It’s looking good. But I’m wanting to see some more creative approaches than what’s been talked about up until now, and I've got some ideas.
Most of the $140 million ($123 million) is going to go into set...
The Opposition Leader's welcoming Government investment into school attendance.
$140 million from this year's Budget will go towards a new system and better data monitoring.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins wanted truancy officers reintroduced two years ago when he was PM.
Hipkins told John MacDonald it's clear disbanding the previous truancy service in 2012 was the wrong decision.
He says it’s a good step in the...
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