x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

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

news politics

All Episodes

12:25

Gavin Grey: UK Correspondent on Prince Andrew being...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/10/31

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". LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

4:56

John MacDonald: Employers should be able to hire...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/10/30

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 sentiment with this crackdown on employers not following the rules when they want to

en-US

4:24

John MacDonald: Do we need more MPs?

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/10/29

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 change is needed because of the size of some of our electorates. Which is

en-US

10:36

Chris Hipkins: Labour leader reviews the latest in...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/10/28

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 said, well, everything goes back on the table.' LISTEN ABOVESee

en-US

4:26

John MacDonald: Another ham-fisted announcement from...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/10/28

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 exclusions. Which I’ll get to. Another fly in the ointment - aside from all

en-US

20:20

Politics Friday with Vanessa Weenink and Tracey...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/10/24

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. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

4:18

John MacDonald: Who forgot to press "send" on the...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/10/24

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-emptively declared a state of emergency on Wednesday afternoon. So,

en-US

3:09

James Thompson: Canterbury Civil Defence Controller...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/10/22

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. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

4:29

Dan Gordon: Waimakariri Mayor gives updates on storm...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/10/22

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. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

4:48

John MacDonald: The Minister for the South Island is...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/10/22

The Minister for the South Island is ducking for cover. I probably would be too, if I was him. Because he knows it’s going to be very difficult to defend the pitiful share the South Island is getting from the Government’s latest $1.2billion funding round for new roads and roading upgrades. The south island has been virtually shut out, with just 6 percent of the money going to projects here. The Hope Bypass, near Nelson, is the only one south of Cook Strait. With no mention of making State Highway 1

en-US

5:49

John MacDonald: How could anyone turn a blind eye to...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/10/21

Some days you hear about something which absolutely beggars belief. Today is one of those days. You hear about something that makes you wonder what the hell has happened to society. Sometimes it can be overseas. Or it can be something here in New Zealand. Today is one of those days. Because I am blown away by this coroner’s report which has just come out, into the death of a four-year-old girl in a public fountain in Tauranga in May 2023. Coroners are quite measured in the words they use and coroner

en-US

4:32

John MacDonald: Judith Collins is egging on parents...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/10/20

The Government is really spooked by this week’s mega strike. With about 100,000 people expected to walk off the job on Thursday. If it wasn’t spooked, we wouldn't have Public Service Minister Judith Collins writing this open letter to patients, students and families affected by the doctors, nurses, teachers, prison staff and other healthcare workers going on strike. It’s a letter which, I think, ups the ante on the serve Health Minister Simeon Brown gave doctors last week over their involvement

en-US

8:40

Chris Hipkins: Labour Leader talks Te Pati Maori,...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/10/15

The Opposition Leader's again expressing concern about Te Pati Maori, but not yet ruling out working with them. Toxic culture claims by Eru Kapa-Kingi were followed by the party releasing documents accusing him of threatening Parliamentary staffers. They also show his mother, recently demoted Whip MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, was warned about risking budget overspend. Chris Hipkins says it’s clear Te Pati Māori has some internal issues to work through before they’d be in a position to form a

en-US

4:55

John MacDonald: Would harsher fines really change...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/10/15

Isn’t it weird that, in the past 25 years, we have spent millions and millions and millions of dollars on road safety campaigns, but there have, generally, been no changes in that time to the penalties handed out for bad and dangerous driving? I tried to find out exactly how much has been spent, but I realised that was quite ambitious. Nevertheless, I can safely say that it’s hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars. In fact, ChatGPT reckons it’s somewhere between $2.5 billion and

en-US

4:06

John MacDonald: Compulsory helmets for skaters is a...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/10/14

I’m right behind the call being made today for helmets to be made mandatory at recreational ice skating and roller skating rinks. For it to be a legal requirement that if you want to go and have a skate with your mates, you have to wear a helmet. Because if it’s good enough for helmets to be compulsory on bikes, then why isn’t it good enough for helmets to be mandatory when someone’s on a set of skates? When you think about it, you are far more likely to ride a bike than go to an ice skating rink or

en-US

5:09

John MacDonald: We need compulsory voting

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/10/13

If you voted in this year’s local body elections, congratulations. You can consider yourself a member of a very exclusive club. Because, this year, voter turnout around the country was the lowest it’s been in 36 years. Which is pitiful. So pitiful that I don’t even think my idea of having just one main voting day - like we have for central government elections - would make much of a difference. In fact, I think there’s only one way to fix it. Something which has already been tried somewhere else

en-US

13:19

Jon Toogood: Shihad frontman joins John MacDonald...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/10/13

Shihad frontman Jon Toogood joined John MacDonald ahead of the Christchurch Full Metal Orchestra concert. He talked about performing with Phil Rudd of ACDC, his passion for heavy music and the joy it brings the crowds, and how his health has become a priority in his later years. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

10:58

Phil Mauger: Re-elected Mayor of Christchurch...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/10/12

Phil Mauger has been re-elected as Mayor of Christchurch. He joined us on the show following his win, and discussed the key issues he wants to focus on. Where will cut debt? Who will be his deputy? And does he think Wayne Brown is correct that Auckland is our only international city? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

36:18

Phil Mauger: Christchurch Mayoral candidate on rates,...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/10/09

Christchurch's incumbent mayor believes debt is the Council's biggest challenge. Phil Mauger says if re-elected he's committed to tackling the Garden's City's growing debt by selling off assets like the Lichfield Street carpark. Mauger told John MacDonald the current debt level is $2.5 billion, and he wants it under control. He says 25 cents of every rate dollar goes into debt servicing, and he wants that money spent on more things to benefit the city. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for

en-US

5:09

John MacDonald: Isn't the Drug Foundation stating the...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/10/09

I support the NZ Drug Foundation’s push to decriminalise drug use and drug possession. The key point here is “use” and “possession”. It’s not saying let the dealers and manufacturers away with it, it’s saying we need to take a much more compassionate approach and treat drug users as people in need of help, instead of treating them as criminals. I’m picking your response will probably be determined by your exposure to drugs or experience with drugs. By that I mean whether your life has been

en-US

1,129 results

Similar Podcasts

Expres Ráno

Expres FM

PBS News Hour - Full Show

PBS NewsHour

CD Voice

China Daily

Israel Today: Ongoing War Report

Noa Levi

Jeffrey Epstein: The Coverup Chronicles

Bobby Capucci