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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

12:45

Gerry Brownlee on Christchurch's journey from the...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2026/04/23

With One NZ Stadium finally opening its doors ahead of the Super Rugby Super Round, John MacDonald caught up with current Speaker of the House and former Christchurch Regeneration Minister, Gerry Brownlee. They discussed his role in getting the stadium off the ground by convincing cabinet of its importance for Cantabrians, and if he thinks the stadium has matched his expectations from over a decade ago. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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9:12

Environment Canterbury Chair Dr Deon Swiggs on the...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2026/04/23

With the Super Round days away, planning to get to the new One New Zealand Stadium will be a necessity for the over 25,000 fans who will be coming to the first event. Environment Canterbury Chair Dr Deon Swiggs' joined John MacDonald to discuss the "Event Direct" initiative, providing shuttle buses to and from pickup points across the city. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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4:47

John MacDonald: National's "nothing to see here"...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2026/04/22

A dog’s breakfast. That’s the only way I can describe the National Party’s handling of the speculation over Christopher Luxon’s leadership. Because “nothing to see here” never works. What’s more, I just don’t believe what they’re saying. Luxon called the confidence vote yesterday and came out of the caucus meeting saying he had the backing of his MPs and that was that. He wouldn’t answer any questions from reporters after he read out his statement. But he did take the opportunity to fire a broadside

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13:51

Selwyn Mayor Lydia Gliddon on settling in with the...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2026/04/21

Selwyn Mayor Lydia Gliddon joined John MacDonald in the studio for the first of their regular catchups. They discussed some of the biggest issues for Selwyn ratepayers, including the potential cutting of council jobs to keep rates down, what she thinks of the 'Super-city' debate and if she thinks the Christchurch City Council missed a trick by not asking Selwyn to foot some of the bill for One NZ Stadium. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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13:33

One NZ Stadium's turf expert Dr Richard Gibbs on the...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2026/04/21

Excitement is brewing across Christchurch as One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha will finally open its doors on Friday. Christchurch City Council Senior Project Manager Dr Richard Gibbs joined Canterbury Mornings and discussed the part he has played in producing the world-class turf at One NZ Stadium, and his thoughts on the lack of horses that won't be moving with the Crusaders to their new home. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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4:36

John MacDonald: Shane's butter chicken is giving me...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2026/04/21

I can’t think of one negative impact people moving here from overseas have had on my life. Not one. I can tell you plenty of good things. But not anything negative. Which is why I'll never understand why immigrants get such a bad rap. It’s an easy excuse, though. Not happy about something? Blame the immigrants. And it’s NZ First’s Shane Jones is talking the nonsense he is. Warning us of a “Butter chicken tsunami” of new immigrants if New Zealand goes ahead with this free trade agreement with India

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4:31

John MacDonald: The Greens' solar plan doesn't stack up

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2026/04/20

The Green Party wants us to electrify everything, saying the current fuel crisis is a good reason to produce as much of our own energy as possible. Which, by the way, is kind of ironic don’t you think? The Greens wanting us to produce our own energy, but not wanting us to drill for oil and gas? Nevertheless, that’s what co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said in the party’s State of the Planet speech yesterday. She wants to kick things off with solar panels. And one of the Greens’ policies in this year’s

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4:49

Crusaders run out at One NZ Stadium for the first time

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2026/04/17

Over nine-thousand punters turned up for the Crusaders open training session at One New Zealand Stadium on Thursday evening. John MacDonald also went along and spoke with a few fans at the final test event before next week's Super Round. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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4:43

John MacDonald: Luxon's leadership is more than just...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2026/04/17

After hearing Chris Bishop on Newstalk ZB this morning, there are two things about the National Party and its leader that I am in no doubt about. I am in absolutely no doubt that Christopher Luxon has to stand down before he’s pushed. I’m also in no doubt that, if that happens, National will be toast in this year’s election. But, when you weigh it up, there’s no way this speculation and doubt about the prime minister of our country can continue. And that’s the key point here. We’re not just talking

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22:51

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

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2026/04/16

National's Matt Doocey and Labour's Tracey McLellan joined John MacDonald for Politics Friday this week. They covered some of the biggest topics from the week from Christopher Luxon's leadership, the new warrant of fitness changes coming this year, and their thoughts on The Crusaders losing the pre-match horses at One NZ Stadium. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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4:58

John MacDonald: Don't swallow the arguments against...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2026/04/16

I’ve never had a problem with the chlorine that’s been in Christchurch's water. Which is why I'm not at all upset at the news that it’s going to be in the water forever. What’s happened, is city councillors have been told that - even if they spent $1.5 billion on infrastructure upgrades over the next 20 years - the chlorine would most likely still be needed. That’s because of all the hoops that have to be jumped through to get a chlorine exemption. On top of that, rates would have to go up to pay

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4:33

John MacDonald: No one wants to pay more tax, but...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2026/04/15

Do we need more taxes? There are two ways we can look at it. Does The Government need more tax revenue? Yes, I think it does. Which is why those tax cuts after the last election have backfired so badly. And do we want to pay more tax? When push comes to shove, probably not. But that’s human nature, isn’t it? But, if we look beyond human nature - beyond gut reactions to the tax question - maybe, one day, enough people will accept that we’re just going to have to pay more tax. Like it or not. Which is

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12:17

Chris Hipkins on vaccine advice, India FTA, and...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2026/04/15

Labour leader Chris Hipkins says ministers did not receive key advice about myocarditis risks for 12 to 17-year‑olds during the COVID response. Speaking on Canterbury Mornings, Hipkins was questioned by John MacDonald about the findings from the Royal Commission into COVID‑19, which said expert advice on vaccine mandates for teenagers was delayed in being provided to ministers. Hipkins said the advice, produced by a technical advisory group, was never passed on to responsible ministers at all. “The

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4:09

John MacDonald: States of emergency are woke? Give me...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2026/04/14

Two questions: what does “woke” mean to you? And are states of emergency “woke”? The reason I'm asking is that the Mayor of Wairoa thinks they are. Which I think is a load of old nonsense. Unlike other mayors in other North Island areas - who declared states of emergency in anticipation of Cyclone Vaianu at the weekend - Craig Little didn’t. Because he thought it was all a bit over the top and not necessary. He went further yesterday, saying that he thinks they’ve become “woke”. He says: “we’re

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3:52

John MacDonald: Luxon needs to do some elbowing for...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2026/04/13

After what happened at the weekend, I think Christopher Luxon needs to take a leaf out of Anthony Albanese's book, jump on a plane and head over to South Korea to make sure we don’t run out of fuel. With negotiations between the U.S. and Iran falling over, President Donald Trump has announced that he’s now in charge of the Strait of Hormuz, with the U.S. Navy blockading the vital trade route. He’s also talking about stopping any ships that have paid any sort of toll to Iran to sneak through. Which

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4:24

John MacDonald: Is this the answer to the Cathedral...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2026/04/10

Finally, someone has come up with an idea for the Anglican Cathedral in Christchurch that makes a load of sense. It doesn’t involve running to the Government cap-in-hand. And it doesn’t involve asking ratepayers to fork out more money. Sound too good to be true? I know - if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. But I think this is an exception. And a brilliant exception, at that. So, what’s happened, is business leader Humphry Rolleston has told the Christchurch City Council that what it

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19:16

Politics Friday: Reuben Davidson and Hamish Campbell...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2026/04/09

National's Hamish Campbell and Labour's Reuben Davidson joined John MacDonald for Politics Friday this week. They covered some of the biggest topics from the week from Iran, the idea from Humphry Rolleston to sell off Enable to fund the rebuild of the Cathedral, and how to solve the wastewater problem in Bromley. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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4:06

John MacDonald: What's the chance of this ceasefire...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2026/04/09

Anyone who thinks the ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran is going to last the full two weeks is dreaming. How many reasons can I give you? Because there are plenty. First up, there are these conflicting reports coming through this regarding the Strait of Hormuz. The stretch of water that is the reason why diesel users in this country are paying more for fuel than petrol users. Why Air New Zealand and Jetstar are cancelling the flights. The reason for all sorts of economic

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13:52

Phil Mauger: Christchurch Mayor on Apollo Projects...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2026/04/08

The Mayor of Christchurch thinks the site of soon to be retired Apollo Projects Stadium should be sold on when it's returned to the council's ownership. Phil Mauger told Canterbury Mornings he believes the land is best suited for housing, stressing that any redevelopment should respect the site’s past. "The common-sense use is for housing. Not massive intensive housing, just normal intensification. It'll need a bit of a green area in the middle, it needs to be done properly." They also discussed the

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3:55

John MacDonald: Ditching fuel tax increases would be...

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald ·

2026/04/07

After pretty much telling us to calm the farm over the fuel situation, I can’t believe the government is getting all antsy about its fuel tax increase - due to kick-in at the start of next year. Yesterday, when Finance Minister Nicola Willis gave her regular fuel update, she said it is “very unlikely” that the Government will go ahead with the 12 percent-per-litre increase in January. Why’s that? Because the Government doesn’t think people can afford it. Due to the increased costs caused by the war

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1,239 results

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