Articles by John Weekes
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Opinion
John MacDonald: Is ANZAC Day a time for protest?
Friday, 26 April 2024, 1:26PMThere is one thing I’ve never heard one of the old soldiers you always see or hear on the news on Anzac Day saying. There...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: Who says farmers can't be trusted?
Wednesday, 24 April 2024, 12:24PMWelcome to another war of words between the greenies and the government over changes to the Resource Management Act. With...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: The Government is playing placebo politics
Tuesday, 23 April 2024, 12:54PMHave you ever heard of a placebo policy? That’s what this Three Strikes law is, and I don’t think bringing it back is going...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: Feels like big brother is being put in his place — and it's brilliant
Monday, 22 April 2024, 1:33PMIt feels to me like big brother is being put in his place. And I think it’s brilliant. Well, maybe not completely in his...
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Audio
Judy Bailey joins John Cowan to unpack her new book all about ageing well
Sunday, 21 April 2024, 8:17PMJudy joined the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation in 1971, working as a reporter on news and current affairs programmes....
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Opinion
John MacDonald: Christchurch City Council's $13 million question
Friday, 19 April 2024, 1:08PMYou know how you hear people talk about “the million dollar question”? Today, it’s a $13 million dollar question that needs...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: What actually is this waste we're cutting?
Thursday, 18 April 2024, 12:50PMSavage and rushed. That’s how the Public Service Association is describing the Government’s crackdown on public sector spending,...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: Enter your local mall at your own risk
Tuesday, 16 April 2024, 12:53PMEvery time something terrible or tragic happens you hear people trot out a line which, I think, is totally meaningless. Maybe...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: Good night kiwi: can TV be rescued?
Thursday, 11 April 2024, 1:10PMIt happens all the time in New Zealand, doesn't it? Something goes pear-shaped and people start banging-on about the Government...
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Business
OCR decision: Sluggish growth and sticky inflation remain RBNZ's enemies
Wednesday, 10 April 2024, 2:07PMThe Reserve Bank has unveiled its next move in the fight against inflation. Lacklustre growth at home and abroad and stubbornly...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: Would later starts get more kids turning up at school?
Wednesday, 10 April 2024, 12:41PMInstead of banging-on about things like fining parents who don’t send their kids to school, the Government should be finding...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: Career politicians aren't great, but neither are inexperienced ones
Tuesday, 9 April 2024, 12:39PMDo you reckon politicians stay in the job too long? Christopher Luxon thinks so. And I agree with him. Some of them, anyway....
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Business
NZ Post, Westpac warn of text message phishing scam
Monday, 8 April 2024, 9:53AMScammers posing as NZ Post staff have sparked a new warning about fake parcel delivery texts sent from email addresses. NZ...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: Why all the fuss over Māori wards?
Friday, 5 April 2024, 1:16PMSome things should never be put to a vote. Because, if they were, nothing would happen. Nothing would change. I’m not the...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: We can only learn from history if we know about it
Thursday, 4 April 2024, 12:38PMWhen it comes to history lessons, our schools are focussing too much on local and Māori history, leaving out things like...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: Why shouldn't Chch have a rainbow pedestrian crossing?
Wednesday, 3 April 2024, 1:12PMWhen I was in Wellington a few weekends ago, a couple of things happened. One: I was walking down Cuba Street in the central...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: This is where our driver education is failing
Tuesday, 2 April 2024, 12:31PMIt was a tragic Easter for some, with seven people dying on the roads - the highest Easter toll in three years, and the second...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: I could never be a teacher
Thursday, 28 March 2024, 1:03PMOne thing I know with absolute certainty is that I could never be a schoolteacher. A few more people might be saying that...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: What a bunch of pushovers we are
Wednesday, 27 March 2024, 12:20PMI’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. We are the People’s Republic of Pushovers. This time, we’ve been pushovers over...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: The cyclone review findings that astound me
Tuesday, 26 March 2024, 12:57PMI am astounded by what’s come out of this review into how well-prepared Civil Defence was prior to Cyclone Gabrielle and...
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Politics
Simeon Brown blasts 'red tape and green tape', names five key issues for Auckland
Thursday, 21 March 2024, 3:09PMThe minister responsible for Auckland issues and transport says he’ll slash “red tape and green tape” and flatten speed bumps. Simeon...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: Government's refinery inquiry is pointless
Thursday, 21 March 2024, 1:18PMIt was only November last year when the owner of the Marsden Point oil refinery told the incoming government to forget about...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: Cut costs, for sure. But leave the police out of it
Wednesday, 20 March 2024, 1:09PMIf you think Chris Cahill from the Police Association is talking out of his ear, well, he’s not. And I’ve got a story to...
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Business
The Warehouse to sell online platform, posts $23.7m loss
Wednesday, 20 March 2024, 10:28AMThe Warehouse Group made a $23.7 million net loss in six months amid some grim retail conditions and a poor performance from...