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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

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All Episodes

5:44

John MacDonald: Chch council should be red-faced over...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/02/27

Don’t you get it? I’m not saying this to you – I’m saying it to the Christchurch City Council, which thinks there is no need to have locals on this new committee its setting up to oversee the red zone on the east side of Christchurch. This is the 600-hectare Ōtākaro/Avon River Corridor which has attracted all sorts of controversy since the government took it over after the earthquakes. Tens of thousands of people used to live in the area before 2011. Not anymore. There is a plan to do something

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8:36

Phil Mauger: Christchurch Mayor talks roading plan,...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/02/26

Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger joined John MacDonald live in studio for their regular catch up. Community members of Christchurch’s red zone are outraged over their exclusion from a governance group overseeing the future development of the area – why have they been left out? The age-old question of who has the right to a quiet night has reared its head once again. Inner city noise limits are being reviewed, but if the bars came first, should residents have to deal? And Mauger has come under fire for

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5:51

John MacDonald: I'm 50/50 when it comes to citizen's...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/02/25

I’m 50/50 on this idea the Government’s got of letting people do citizens arrests. For security guards? Yes. For every other member of the public? It’s a definite no for me. Let’s start with security guards and why I think these powers would be good for them. How long have we been saying that they need more teeth to do their job? Ages. And what we’ve meant by that, is the ability or the right to actually provide security as opposed to standing at the door and pretty much doing nothing when someone

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5:33

John MacDonald: In 2025 you don't touch people at work

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/02/24

Who would want to be Andrew Bayly today? The disgraced, now former minister, resigned because he touched a staff member during what he’s describing as an “animated discussion”. And now his political career is toast. As it should be, because in 2025, you just don’t touch people in the workplace. You don't touch people in the workplace when you’re happy with them, and you certainly don't touch people in the workplace when you’re angry with them. You just don’t do it. He’s staying on as the MP for

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4:43

John MacDonald: Spend up large on defence, we have no...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/02/24

Spend up large. That’s my message to the Government. Go large, spend up big and drag our military into the 21st century. That’s not me having a go at the military, by the way. Anyone reading this at Burnham Camp, for example, might feel like I’m having a go at them. But I’m not. But, what I am saying, is that we need to be spending more on defence - and I’m not saying that just because of what’s going on out in the Tasman, with those three warships from China. A situation that went next level on

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6:03

John MacDonald: This is a terrible thing to say, but...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/02/20

Do you know why the Government has failed to meet all of its child poverty targets? The overarching reason I’m talking about here. Because this is really complex and there are all sorts of reasons why kids end-up living in poverty and why politicians, generally, fail to fix the problem. So the main reason why nothing seems to be achieved in this area. Why do you think that is? It’s because of us. Those of us who aren’t living in poverty and aren’t one of those invisible people who feature in

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21:21

Politics Friday with Matt Doocey and Duncan Webb:...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/02/20

Today on Politics Friday, John MacDonald was joined by Matt Doocey and Duncan Webb to delve into some of the topics listeners are most interested in. They mark the anniversary of the Christchurch Earthquake, which occurred 14 years ago tomorrow. Rangiora’s after-hours clinic is still not underway, but some certainty has been gained after the Waimakariri District Council has offered to bankroll the project. Child poverty statistics have not shifted – is this a problem governments can’t solve? And

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5:47

John MacDonald: When are the banks going to lift...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/02/19

Adrian Orr. Champion of the people. Well, that might be going a bit too far. But the Reserve Bank Governor was speaking my language when he says that dropping the Official Cash Rate, like he did yesterday, is just the start and that the banks have to do their bit too. And I couldn’t agree more. He was having a dig at their profit margins. But for me generally, I don't give two hoots how much profits the banks make. Because profitable business are a good thing. Even profitable foreign-owned

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5:51

John MacDonald: How would you rate your trust in the...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/02/18

I reckon most of us, when we fill out the census papers, assume that the information we’re providing won’t end up in the wrong hands. I know there are some people who don't feel like that. People who just don't want to give personal information to anyone - especially the government. Or the state. The Wizard of Christchurch was known over the years for refusing to take part in the census. And, in more recent years, we’ve had people who just can’t be bothered. They’re the ones who ended up getting

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9:39

Chris Hipkins: Labour Leader on Destiny Church,...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/02/18

Labour Leader Chris Hipkins joined John MacDonald this morning to give his thoughts on some of the biggest stories of the week. The integrity of the public service is being called into question after Census data was allegedly misused – how will this impact trust in the future? Hipkins believes the GP shortage is the biggest factor impacting demand at Christchurch Hospital ED, so what would he do differently if he was Health Minister now? And he expands on his statement condemning the actions of

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5:32

John MacDonald: We're great at peacekeeping. But not...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/02/18

Already, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is looking ahead to whenever a ceasefire might happen in Ukraine and has said that, if or when it does, he’d be happy to send troops in to keep the peace. It was too early for PM Christopher Luxon to confirm the Government's interest in sending troops to Ukraine once there’s a ceasefire during his regular appearance on the Mike Hosking Breakfast this morning. Christopher Luxon says he'd be open to it. But, despite the New Zealand military’s record of

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7:02

John MacDonald: Is that all the PM has to say about...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/02/16

When I saw Brian Tamaki on the news last night, he looked more pompous than ever. Pompous - not pious. Because he was the one who instructed his so-called followers to disrupt that drag artist’s kids show and protest at the Auckland Rainbow Parade at the weekend. From the pictures I’ve seen, both of those events looked pretty ugly. His idea. Under his instructions. And I’ve had a gutsful of this guy. And we need to be condemning him in the strongest way possible. Because, it seems that’s all we can

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5:17

John MacDonald: Here's why we're so bad at road repairs

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/02/14

I’m starting to wonder whether it was just a fluke that we managed to build things like the big hydro dams back in the day without them falling over. Without them falling apart. Cracking under the pressure. Because, when you consider achievements like that, it makes it laughable that we don’t seem to be capable anymore of really simple stuff like fixing roads. An example is Halswell Junction Road, in Christchurch. Three repairs in the past 12 months and now it needs to be done a fourth time. The

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22:28

Politics Friday: Matt Doocey and Tracey McLellan talk...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/02/14

Today on Politics Friday John MacDonald was joined in studio by National’s Matt Doocey and Labour’s Tracey McLellan. They discussed yesterday’s supermarket announcement: does the Government really believe another player will enter the scene, or is it all just talk? Why has some mental health funding been redistributed when New Zealand continues to suffer through a mental health crisis? A bit closer to home, the price for our police to hire helicopters is blowing out each year, will Christchurch ever

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8:29

Phil Mauger: Christchurch Mayor on the rates...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/02/13

John MacDonald was joined by Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger for a chat about the biggest issues concerning residents. Christchurch City Councillors have adopted their Draft Annual Plan. It now proposes a 7.58% overall rates increase, down from the originally-drafted 8.93%. They achieved this not by cost cutting, as well as paying off less debt, resulting in next year’s rates increasing significantly. Is the Mayor doing the right thing, or is he just thinking of the next election? Does he support

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8:29

John MacDonald: Here's how you can tell council...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/02/13

Let me give a shout out to Christchurch City Councillor Melanie Coker, who has told her council colleagues that what they are doing by not paying-off debt to keep the rates rise this year lower and then stinging us with an even bigger increase next year, is misleading. That’s how she’s describing this smoke and mirrors way councillors are trimming-back this year’s rates increase with one thing in mind - getting votes. She says the council is showing “poor leadership, poor financial management and

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5:49

John MacDonald: User pays for water doesn't sit well...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/02/11

If you thought Three Waters was a dog, how are you feeling now, with the news out today that the Christchurch City Council is looking at going all user pays on it when it comes to water? And this isn’t strictly a conversation about Christchurch. It’s a conversation about your philosophical position when it comes to water – something essential to all of us. And I’d be dead against charging people on the basis of how many litres of water they use. So the council is considering changing the way it

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12:56

Mark Lizotte: Diesel on his career, releasing new...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/02/11

A man of many stage names, Mark Lizotte, better known as Diesel, joined John MacDonald live from Australia for a chat. He’ll be taking to the stage in a couple of week’s time as a part of the line up for Selwyn Sounds. He and John talked about his career and it continuing to flourish with the release of new music and his pre-show habit of weather forecasting. Plus, John learned about his famous musical family connection! LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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5:40

John MacDonald: Seymour is the fly in Luxon's ointment

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/02/10

Whenever people used to bang on about Christopher Luxon being the next John Key —which, I think we all agree now, he isn’t— but whenever I used to hear that talk, I pooed-pooed it. All because of what the two of them did before they got into politics. And the fact that Luxon isn’t another John Key is why we’ve got two new political polls telling us that, if an election was held now, the left-wing parties would have enough votes and enough seats to form a government. Because his political

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5:40

John MacDonald: The foreign buyer ban has run its course

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/02/10

So the Government's doing all sorts of things to try and get rich migrants into the country - except one thing. Which it should be doing. Former immigration minister Stuart Nash was on Newstalk ZB this morning saying it's time to lift the ban on foreigners buying houses. And I agree with him. The so-called 'golden visa' the Government announced yesterday is going to mean an end to the English language test for rich migrants. It will also give people residency if they invest $5 million over three

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1,144 results

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