Articles by John MacDonald
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Opinion
John MacDonald: How would you feel about paying more tax?
Friday, 27 June 2025, 1:03pmHow do you feel about the prospect of paying higher income tax rates and more GST? I think it’s inevitable. So does the...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: Attention motorists, more user-pays is on the way
Thursday, 26 June 2025, 12:50pmThe Infrastructure Commission's draft 30-year plan is the kind of big picture thinking we’ve been saying is needed, instead...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: Weapons in schools are the canary in the mine
Wednesday, 25 June 2025, 12:56pmIf we choose to ignore or downplay this new information out today about kids taking weapons to school, we’ll be doing it...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: Capping council rates isn't a solution
Tuesday, 24 June 2025, 12:45pmChristchurch Mayor Phil Mauger is in campaign mode for this year’s elections, saying that he thinks the Government might...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: The Govt.'s into local decision-making - when it suits
Thursday, 19 June 2025, 3:10pmThe Government’s been making it increasingly clear over time that it doesn’t really give two-hoots about local democracy....
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Opinion
John MacDonald: We need a one-size-fits-all life jacket rule
Wednesday, 18 June 2025, 12:49pmHow weird is it that there are different rules or expectations regarding life jackets, depending on where you are in the...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: A closer look at our mental health hospitals is overdue
Tuesday, 17 June 2025, 1:22pmIt was bad enough that a patient at Hillmorton Hospital who had threatened to kill was still allowed to come and go and ended...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: Police cameras yes - with a couple of provisos
Monday, 16 June 2025, 3:13pmI’ve surprised myself a little bit with my reaction to the news the police are looking at introducing body cameras. Generally,...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: Australia might have AUKUS-buyer's remorse
Friday, 13 June 2025, 1:33pmDonald Trump won’t be too happy with Helen Clark right now, because she’s saying she doesn't want New Zealand to be an ally...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: Wool carpet is great - but not everywhere
Thursday, 12 June 2025, 1:24pmI’m all for the push to have wool carpet used in government buildings but I think it’s a mistake putting it in state homes....
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Opinion
John MacDonald: People should have known about mentally-unwell gardener
Wednesday, 11 June 2025, 1:04pmI’m not exactly sure where to start with this, because it is just so tragic and there is so much to it. I could start by...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: The Govt needs some skin in the solar game
Tuesday, 10 June 2025, 12:27pmHow would you feel if the Government came out and said solar energy is the future and it was going to throw everything at...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: The modern learning environment - pipedream turned nightmare
Friday, 6 June 2025, 1:11pmImagine a school having $800,000 in the bank. Imagine all the things a school could buy with that amount of money. This...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: Privacy Commissioner says facial recognition's okay, but...
Wednesday, 4 June 2025, 1:15pmI am really torn. Because when it comes to facial recognition technology, I’ve always been of the view that if you’re not...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: The dangers of tinkering with Health and Safety
Tuesday, 3 June 2025, 1:02pmIf there’s anyone who shouldn't be told they can wind things back on the health and safety front, it’s a New Zealander. Because...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: Finger-wagging won't get more kids going to school
Friday, 30 May 2025, 12:42pmI can’t find an exact figure but from what I have seen online, I’m pretty confident in saying that there are hundreds of...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: Sometimes a ban isn't the answer
Wednesday, 28 May 2025, 1:06pmIt would be very easy for me to say that the organisers of those ridiculous Run it Straight combat sport events have blood...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: Have we lost the retail crime battle?
Tuesday, 27 May 2025, 12:53pm“Don’t sweat the small stuff.” That’s the message cops have been given about shoplifting. And the powers-that-be can...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: The community work sanction is an opportunity
Monday, 26 May 2025, 12:28pmThe Government is describing the 20 hours unpaid community work that people on the Jobseeker benefit will be made to do from...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: We're not going far enough with superannuation changes
Friday, 23 May 2025, 1:51pmQuite a well-known chief executive and finance guy told me once that, in business, you should always make use of other people’s...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: Unsafe health workers need more than a band-aid
Wednesday, 21 May 2025, 1:02pmLet’s call it and say that workers going to and from Christchurch Hospital at night-time deserve better. This is after what’s...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: Gun salutes and c-bombs don't belong in Parliament
Friday, 16 May 2025, 4:32pm"I've seen some bad times in this house, but this is one of the lowest I've ever seen. When you go to that sort of standard...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: I support the truckies saying 'us too in the T2'
Friday, 16 May 2025, 2:11pm“It’s like making a silk purse out of a pig’s ear.” That’s a quote from the boss at Transporting New Zealand, which represents...
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Opinion
John MacDonald: The Pope won't change the world, but needs to be part of it
Friday, 9 May 2025, 12:58pmI don’t often quote Albert Einstein, but I’m going to today. “Those who believe that politics and religion do not mix,...
