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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

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All Episodes

5:40

John MacDonald: How does reducing revenue equal a...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/04/30

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, maybe conveniently, the Finance Minister’s announcement yesterday came 48 hours before

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8:05

Chris Hipkins: Labour Leader talks emergency housing,...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/04/29

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 that economic circumstances often result in a rise in negative statistics,

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6:12

John MacDonald: A Cantabrian's perspective on...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/04/29

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 building times. The Government reckons there’s about 3,000 homes that

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6:12

John MacDonald: A Cantabrian's perspective on govt...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/04/29

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 building times. The Government reckons there’s about 3,000 homes that

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5:19

John MacDonald: I'm not normally anti-bottle store,...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/04/28

I’ve surprised myself with my reaction to this plan to open a bottle store right across the road from the bus interchange, in central Christchurch. But I think it’s a terrible idea. And it’s a gut thing. Seeing all the stuff that goes on in the central city, my gut tells me that that’s probably the last place you’d want a bottle store. I’m surprised by the way that I feel about it because, normally, I’d probably look at this proposal and think that if people are going to buy booze, they'll buy

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5:06

John MacDonald: Here's why we need two practical...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/04/14

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 their full licence. There’s some good stuff in there. But I’m not liking

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18:34

Politics Friday with Vanessa Weenink and Tracey...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/04/11

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 would work out. Labour's Tracey McLellan says it's a romanticised idea. She told

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5:29

John MacDonald: Was the Treaty Principles debate...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/04/11

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. All he’s saying is: “I accepted that they've decided on this particular bill at this point

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18:34

Politics Friday with Vanessa Weenink and Tracey...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/04/11

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 would work out. Labour's Tracey McLellan says it's a romanticised idea. She told

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5:49

John MacDonald: Trump's economic vandalism is staggering

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/04/10

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. Donald Trump has announced that he’s pausing his global trade tariffs for 90 days

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10:30

Phil Mauger: Christchurch Mayor on the Erebus...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/04/09

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 houses may sink in some areas? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for

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5:09

John MacDonald: Do politicians' religious beliefs...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/04/09

If the MP for Ilam, Hamish Campbell, thinks he’s going to get away with not saying anything more about his involvement with this underground religious group, then he’s dreaming. It doesn’t have an official name, but it’s known as the “Two By Twos” and it’s being investigated by the FBI and the police for child abuse. One of its former ministers here in New Zealand has admitted 55 child sex abuse charges over three decades against young boys and, from what I’ve seen, there are about 2,500 members

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5:01

John MacDonald: $12 billion on defence? I'm good with...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/04/08

It would be great if we didn’t have to spend $12 billion on our defence force. But we do, and I’m good with it. To be honest though, while we’d known the Government had some sort of plan to increase defence spending, I was still blown away a bit by the scale of it when the announcement came through. So, $12 billion over the next four years. There’ll be new helicopters, more missiles, autonomous vessels, the air force’s clapped-out 757s will be replaced. And that’s just the start, because it’s all

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5:20

John MacDonald: Is prison the wrong place for some...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/04/07

I’m liking what Sir Ron Young is saying about prison sentences today. He’s really challenging us, saying that we need to re-think what we do with people given sentences of two-to-three years. He’s talking about not sending them to conventional prisons and giving them conjugal rights. This is how they deal with things in Scandinavian countries. He thinks we should do the same here. And I reckon we should too. He’s the outgoing head of the Parole Board and he’s saying that short prison sentences

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4:53

John MacDonald: I'm not going anti-America over the...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/04/04

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reckons people in Australia are going to feel dumped-on by the United States after yesterday’s trade tariffs announcement. And he thinks that Australians will feel differently about Australia's relationship with America. Like us, imports into the United States from Australia are going to be hit with a 10% tariff. And Albanese —who is on the campaign trail— is talking tough, saying that the tariffs are “not the act of a friend” and Aussies won't be taking

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17:32

Politics Friday with Reuben Davidson and Vanessa...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/04/03

John MacDonald was joined in studio by Vanessa Weenink and Reuben Davidson to delve into some of the biggest political stories of the week. The US President has rolled out tariffs of at least 10% on almost all imported goods – what will this mean for our export market? Is the need for housing in Canterbury so great that intensification is inevitable? And will the supermarket announcement make a tangible difference for Kiwis at the till any time soon? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for

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5:15

John MacDonald: Greater housing density is the future...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/04/03

We were all standing up and cheering the Christchurch City Council three years ago, when it flipped the bird at the Government over housing intensification. Because there was no way we were going to agree to three, three-story houses being built on one section. But I’ve changed my thinking. Eventually, the city council kind-of pulled its head in. But it’s still dragging the chain a bit and wants more time before agreeing to what the Government wants. But one city councillor, at least, thinks we

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5:23

John MacDonald: Here's how to get big events to NZ

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/04/02

The Prime Minister has lived up to his talk of being a great negotiator, saying “thanks but no thanks” to Team New Zealand. Because a great negotiator is always prepared to walk away if the negotiations aren’t going their way, and that’s what the Government has done. Telling Grant Dalton and Team NZ that putting $75 million of taxpayer money into hosting the next America’s Cup would be a nice-to-have, not a must-have. I think the Government has done the right thing and the wrong thing. It’s done

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5:33

John MacDonald: New ferries by 2029? I'll believe it...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/04/01

Four more years. That's how long we’re going to have to wait for KiwiRail's new interisland ferries. But I reckon it will turn out being longer than that. The Government says it will be December 2029. By then, we will have had two elections. But I don’t think it will happen in that timeframe, because I listened this morning to someone who knows a bit about this. Mark Thompson’s his name. He was in charge of the Government’s ferry ministerial advisory group. He reckons the Government is a bit on

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5:14

John MacDonald: Has the Grocery Commissioner checked...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/03/30

Where's the grocery commissioner? Wasn’t he going to get cheaper groceries for all of us? That was the idea. But he hasn’t. So is Nicola Willis going to do it? My prediction, is she won’t. Because, no matter how much we would all like to pay less at the supermarket, the two ideas she announced yesterday are duds. And I’m picking that, if you did a grocery shop yesterday afternoon, the Government’s announcement-of-an-announcement yesterday morning did nothing to soften the blow when you went through

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1,129 results

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