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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

8:09

Ronan Keating: Musician talks his career, Boyzone,...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/08/14

Ronan Keating has been performing for over 30 years. He debuted in 1993 as the frontman of Boyzone, going on to have an extremely successful solo career from 1999. Keating joined John MacDonald to talk about his rise to fame, life as a grandfather, and what we can expect to see at Selwyn Sounds in 2026. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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5:16

John MacDonald: Boris fronted-up to a Covid Inquiry -...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/08/14

I can recall a conversation I had about a month ago with Labour leader and former Covid-19 Minister Chris Hipkins about Part 2 of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into his government’s pandemic response. And he was saying that he was waiting to be invited to appear, and wouldn’t be asking for an invite, and wouldn’t be gate-crashing. That was around the time that he was also saying the Inquiry was a platform for conspiracy theorists. And I said at the time that, if Chris Hipkins was eventually

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4:13

John MacDonald: How do we pay for new roads without...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/08/13

Like anyone, if I can get something for free - I’ll take it. But if it’s something I have to pay for, then I’ll pay it. Which is how I’m feeling about all this fuss over the new Woodend Bypass, north of Christchurch, being a toll road. Granted, I won’t be a daily user, so the financial impact on me won’t be the same as it will for someone who uses it every day. But let’s get a grip. Toll roads are the future. Tell that to Waimakariri mayor Dan Gordon, though, who is very upset that NZTA plans to

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4:44

John MacDonald: Here's why Luxon and Hipkins are...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/08/12

If I asked you who you would rather go and have a beer with, Christopher Luxon or Chris Hipkins, who would you choose? I’d choose Luxon any day. One slight technicality is that he doesn’t drink. But he’d have a lime and soda or whatever he likes to drink, I’d have a beer and we’d probably have a very nice time. Reason being that on the occasions that I’ve met him in person, he comes across as a very good guy and good fun to be around. I’ve met Hipkins several times too, but I think he’d be a bit

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4:35

John MacDonald: The stadium train is an excellent...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/08/11

TOPIC 1 EDITORIAL: STADIUM TRAIN I love this plan for an express passenger train to get people into Christchurch for events at the new One New Zealand Stadium, which is due to open in April next year. But I’ll love it even more if the councils around here chip-in to pay for a new railway station at the corner of Moorhouse Avenue and Colombo Street, which the rail company behind the plan is describing as a “key ingredient”. Because, otherwise, there’s a 4.3 kilometre journey by road from the current

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4:56

John MacDonald: All aboard the speed hump bandwagon

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/08/08

You can tell council elections are coming up, because that’s the only reason the Christchurch City Council is going to start using high friction road surfaces at pedestrian crossings, instead of speed humps. Even though it knows that speed humps are safer. Even though it knows that it won’t slow down traffic. But you’ve got to keep people sweet when there’s an election coming up. They’re starting with a pedesttian crossing Halswell, with the local councillor saying they’re doing it so that people

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18:27

Politics Friday with Vanessa Weenink and Tracey...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/08/08

Local politicians from both sides of the political divide are slamming police process around the proposed restructure in wider Canterbury. Federated Farmers, City Councillors, and schools are concerned at the lack of community consultation. Banks Peninsula MP Vanessa Weenink told John MacDonald the communication, for a start, hasn't been well managed. She says police will need to do a lot to assure her, and the community, that what they're doing is the right step. While Labour's Tracey McLellan

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4:13

John MacDonald: The pawns in Chris Bishop's...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/08/07

When I heard Transport Minister Chris Bishop talking about the Government’s changes to the road user charges system, I had a bit of a Max Bradford moment. Max was the National Party minister who told us back in 1988 that his reforms of the electricity sector were going to mean cheaper power prices. Which is what Chris Bishop was saying yesterday about the plan to ditch petrol taxes and move all vehicle owners to road user charges which, at the moment, are only paid by people with diesel, electric,

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6:15

John MacDonald: I asked an AI bot how it felt about...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/08/06

With the Government wanting artificial intelligence to be used to mark high school exams, I asked a ChatGPT bot how it felt about that. And here’s what it said: "If the Government were to ask me to mark high school exams, I would feel (if I could feel) cautious optimism, with a big dose of responsible hesitation." The bot said, on the upside, it could process thousands of scripts quickly, never get tired, and not suffer from the end-of-day brain fog that human markers do. It also wouldn't mark one

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8:56

Chris Hipkins: Labour Leader on the proposed police...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/08/06

The Opposition leader says he's worried Police are retrenching from rural communities. A planned staffing restructure could move some permanent posted rural officers move to work from 24/7 hubs in Rolleston and Rangiora. Officer headcount won't drop. Chris Hipkins told John MacDonald he's been through this in his own area, in Wellington's Upper Hutt. He says it means Police presence reduces. He says rural communities are being sold the same story it won't affect local policing but the reality is,

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7:42

Tony Hill: District Commander Superintendent on the...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/08/06

Canterbury police say they'll still serve rural communities under a plan to centralise officers. They're mid-way through two weeks of internal consultation on a plan to shift some officers from smaller rural stations, to larger 24/7 hubs in Rolleston and Rangiora. District Commander Superintendent, Tony Hill, told John MacDonald rural liaison officers will still work with smaller areas, and police will respond and come in from one of the hubs. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy

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5:59

John MacDonald: I like the NCEA changes, but...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/08/05

Yesterday, when the Government announced that it was getting rid of NCEA, my immediate reaction was that it was a mistake. That we would have been much better sticking with the system we’ve got and improving it. Twenty-four hours later, I still feel the same. There are some aspects of the changes that I think are brilliant. But the more I’ve found out about it, the more convinced I am that this could all be done without throwing the baby out with the bathwater. But here’s what I like. Quite

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4:54

John MacDonald: Should the Christchurch mayor use...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/08/04

Just because someone can afford to do something, it doesn’t always mean they should do it. Which is how I’m feeling about Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger using his own money to pay engineers to design a replacement for the controversial Park Terrace cycleway which, he says, is under-utilised and causing traffic congestion. According to council data, 648 cyclists use it every week day. Which doesn’t sound under-utilised to me. What’s more, I don’t like the idea of the mayor circumventing his in-house

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5:19

John MacDonald: Should NCEA cater more to students...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/08/01

It must be tricky being at school and feeling like you’re not doing anything to prepare you for what you actually want to do when you leave. The Government is starting to think about that after this new report from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority which says NCEA is too focused on kids wanting to go to university. The report was prepared for Education Minister Erica Stanford who is promising some big changes. The report says NCEA doesn’t do enough to get school students ready to work in the

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20:53

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

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/08/01

Matt Doocey and Duncan Webb joined John MacDonald to give their thoughts on the biggest political stories of the week. Changes are likely coming to NCEA – are they needed? And should trades be given more support in schools? A lawyer is calling for the Government to step in and shut down Gloriavale, but should this be their responsibility? Doocey has launched a petition against a T2 lane – is this an easy hit for votes? And what is the FBI doing in Wellington? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener

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6:31

Brian Henry: Gloriavale leavers' lawyer on his call...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/07/31

It’s believed the government has the ability to shut down Gloriavale. The West Coast religious commune's 85-year-old leader Howard Temple is a sex offender, having plead guilty to 12 charges, including indecent assault, mid-way through a trial. The charges relate to offending back to the 1990s. Leavers' lawyer Brian Henry told John MacDonald there are laws that allow the removal of families from harm, and the Corporations Investigation and Management Act. He claims it's now, beyond doubt, a

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4:28

John MacDonald: Gang numbers are up - so what next?

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/07/30

The gangs were right, the Government was wrong. That’s one way to interpret the news that, for the first time, the number of people on the national gang list is higher than 10,000. The gangs were right. Because they said right from the outset that the Government could do what it wants but they will never go away. And the numbers don’t lie, do they? At the time of the 2023 election, there were 9,270 people on the national gang list. Now there are 10,009 – an increase of more than 700. Which is

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5:02

John MacDonald: Now is not the time for 80% pay...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/07/29

I understand what the Prime Minister is saying about these pay increases for board members at Crown agencies, such as Health NZ and Kāinga Ora, but I’m not buying it. The top payment was $90,000. It’s now $160,000. Christopher Luxon says the Government needs to offer higher pay for these board roles so they can attract the best people. But tell that to the 28,000 people who have lost their jobs in the past year. Tell that to the hospital staff striking for more pay. Tell that to the hospital staff

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4:46

John MacDonald: Under-staffed departments in overrun...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/07/28

The news today that half of the departments at Christchurch Hospital are operating below full staffing levels doesn’t surprise me. In some departments, they are less than 80 percent of what they should be. So, if I’m not surprised, does that mean my expectations of the hospital system are pretty low? The answer to that is “yes”. I expect that the basics are covered and that’s about it. That our hospitals are full of brilliant people doing their best, stretched to the limit, covering the basics.

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5:04

John MacDonald: What do sport gender guidelines have...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2025/07/24

There will be no shortage of people today thinking that it's a brilliant move by the Government to ditch official guidelines for including transgender people in community sport and leaving it to the sporting organisations themselves to handle it. But I think it’s just going to open a can of worms, and these people who think it’s great might think differently if they were on the committee of one of their local sporting clubs. Because this is not elite sport we’re talking here, this is all about

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1,129 results

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