Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald
9am-12pm Weekdays
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 understanding of and connections to the Christchurch and Canterbury commercial sector.
Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings 9am-12pm with John MacDonald on 100.1FM and iHeartRadio.
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John MacDonald: My question to you about the economy
Do you feel better off than you did three years ago? With it being election year, that’s the question politicians are going to be asking you. It’s the question I’m...
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John MacDonald: There's no way less testing will mean safer driving
I think the Government is making a terrible mistake ditching the second practical test for new drivers. I like some of the changes it’s making to the driver licensing...
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John MacDonald: When did toilet-trained 5-year-olds become too much to expect?
How on earth did we get to the point where we’ve got schools saying today that kids are starting school without some of the most basic skills? And when they say...
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John MacDonald: Who cares about a criminal's "good character"?
I am liking the sound of a law change being introduced in New South Wales, where they are no longer going to allow good character references to be factored into...
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John MacDonald: Christchurch's seven-year stench
Talk about déjà vu. The smell from the burnt-out wastewater treatment plant at Bromley has been a shocker this week and people have had a gutsful. City councillor...
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John MacDonald: Why haven't we learned from our landslide history?
Before the weekend, questions were already being asked as to why the campground at Mt Maunganui wasn’t evacuated before last week’s devastating landslide. That will...
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John MacDonald: The ACC change that is long overdue
I reckon we should have signs up at our international airports saying: “Welcome to the people’s republic of pushovers”. Because of our crazy ACC system which, a...
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John MacDonald: Hey Labour, don't tell us you've changed - show us you've changed
If you bump into Chris Hipkins today, can you tell him he’s dreaming? Because, now that we know this year’s election is happening on 7 November, Chris Hipkins is...
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'Easy target': Phil Goff thinks rate caps are not the answer
Phil Goff agrees with the Christchurch City Council's response to a Government proposal of capping rates to no more than 2 to 4 percent per year. Goff says the Government...
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John MacDonald: Rate caps won't make a difference
Hats off to the Christchurch City Council. Which is telling the Government today that its idea of forcing a cap on council rates increases is “unrealistic and unworkable”. Which...
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John MacDonald: What the PM should have said about the retirement age
In his state of the nation speech yesterday, Christopher Luxon continued the great New Zealand tradition of kicking the retirement age can down the road. He said...
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John MacDonald: Pharmac funding weight-loss drugs is a no-brainer
The personal responsibility brigade will be going ape over Pharmac looking into funding weight loss drugs. This wouldn’t be for anyone wanting to lose a few kilos...
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John MacDonald: Are we ready to accept the truth about NZ Super?
After yesterday’s half-year fiscal update from the Government, the canary in the mine is gasping for air and the elephant in the room is walking all over everything. And...
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John MacDonald: What needs to happen because of our terrorism complacency
You would think that, having had a major terror attack here, we’d be the last people that needed to be told after what happened in Bondi on Sunday night that we’re...
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John MacDonald: Another kick in the guts for our volunteer firefighters
I’m glad I’m not a volunteer firefighter. Because, if I was, I would be brassed-off that an attempt to get volunteer firefighters the same ACC cover as full-time...
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John MacDonald: You won't get me liking any social media ban
Australia pressed go yesterday on the social media ban for kids under-16 and a Parliamentary select committee here thinks we should do the same. I don’t. Nor does...
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"Petty": Hipkins hits out at Willis, Taxpayers' Union over debate
Chris Hipkins is hitting out at the Taxpayers' Union as it prepares to launch a campaign against Finance Minister Nicola Willis. The lobby group is questioning...
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John MacDonald: Your house is going to be your castle again
There’s a lot to take in with these planning law changes. But what it comes down to is the Government wants people to be able to do more with their own property...
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John MacDonald: You can't put alcohol violence down to marketing
These researchers calling today for a ban on alcohol marketing and sponsorship sound to me like they’re living in the past. Maybe it’s the circles I mix in. But...
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John MacDonald: The Eagle has landed in Chch and should stay
The eagle has landed. One of the police Eagle helicopters from Auckland is in Christchurch for the next two months as part of a crackdown on these criminal kids...
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John MacDonald: Don't dismiss the Christchurch supercity idea
A couple of advisors at the Christchurch City Council have ripped into the Government’s plan for regional councils and have said to councillors that they reckon...
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John MacDonald: Rates caps are a placebo policy
You might recall a poll result that came out back in September which proved that 75 percent of us are idiots. It’s these idiots that the Government is pandering...
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John MacDonald: Is Christchurch ready for a red zone re-think?
Is it time to have a re-think about what’s done with the residential red zone on the east side of Christchurch? I think it’s fair to say that mayor Phil Mauger thinks...
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John MacDonald: 46 years and we still can't get the Erebus memorial decision right
It’s taken 46 years and we’ve still managed to stuff up the decision as to where to have a memorial for the 257 people who died in the Mt Erebus air disaster. It...
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John MacDonald: Who can we believe about nitrates in the water?
How interested are you in the quality of your drinking water? For example, would you like to be able to look up your address and get credible, reliable information...
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John MacDonald: The alternative to ditching regional councils
You know how at work you can get people leaving and, instead of hiring new people, they just dish out the work to other people? Then it gets to the point where the...
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Streamlining supermarkets: Christchurch City Council to become 'one-stop shop' for new developments
Christchurch City Council's been selected to act as a one-stop consenting authority for large-scale supermarket developments. Finance Minister Nicola Willis says...
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Intent behind regional council reform is "not clear", Hipkins says
Labour Leader Chris Hipkins says he's not clear what the Government's aiming for in its plans to change local government. It's proposing replacing the country's...
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John MacDonald: Reasons to be nervous about the Govt's building changes
This move by the Government to change who is ultimately liable for repairs to defective building work on new houses up to three-storeys high and renovation jobs...
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John MacDonald: We need to go further with Kiwisaver
I’m with the KiwiSaver providers who are saying we need to go further than just increasing contributions and we need to make them compulsory. This is after the announcement...
