Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald

I’m sure you’ll tell me if you think I’m stuck in the past, but I reckon that with the police now being expected to do roadside drug tests —as well as everything else— I think we should bring back the old MOT. The old traffic cops.   Officially, it was known as the traffic safety service, but we all knew it as the MOT.    And, yes, I know the police are struggling as it is to get th...

British comedian Ben Elton is returning to Christchurch this May, in what will be his final show in his Authentic Stupidity tour.  He joined John MacDonald for a chat about his outlook on life after years of writing comedy and how he feels about performing in Christchurch – plus, an exclusive reveal about his upcoming autobiography.   LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for pr...

Christchurch's Mayor says he was shocked by the $400 thousand bill to restore Cathedral Square's Chalice.  The City Council's investigating ways to reduce the cost for work, including a complete re-paint and corrosion repairs.  It's the first maintenance work to the Chalice since installation in 2001.  Phil Mauger told John MacDonald options include touching up the Chalice leaves bu...

Even though I live in Christchurch and pay rates in Christchurch, you’re not going to hear me saying that I should pay less to get into the new One NZ Stadium when it opens next year. But I bet there’ll be no shortage of Christchurch people thinking that’s a brilliant idea, but I don’t. It’s something that the council-owned company that will run the stadium says could happen. People who live in Ch...

I’ve never used meth. And I hope I never do.   I say “hope” because I think that’s as certain as you can be about a drug like that.   Because none of us know what’s going to happen in the future and whether we might just find ourselves in a position where we might just feel a bit differently about using it.   I don't know how many times I’ve read stories about people saying they had...

At the same time as Winston Peters is declaring war on wokeism, we’ve got a Christchurch community board member saying we are too scared to say things these days in case we offend people.   Ali Jones is the community board member and she’s firing back at criticisms that comments she made online about mobility car parks were "shocking".   I’ll get to her comments and the reaction but, let...

Here's an idea that I’m quite excited about.   It’s quite raw – it only occurred to me at about 5:30 this morning. But I reckon it could be a solution to something that has gone on for way too long, with no sign of it ending.   There is a one-day exhibition being held inside the Christchurch Cathedral today, of miniature models of buildings that went in the earthquakes.    It’s...

The future of Christchurch’s beleaguered cathedral is on the radar again – is there a chance it could be turned into a public use venue, or will it be lost to the city entirely?  Will a free trade deal with India really be as quick and straight forward as the Prime Minister believes? And does party politics have a place in local body government?  This and more are discussed by Labour’s D...

I always have and always will be a huge fan of on-the-job training. Which is why I think it’s brilliant that we’ve got an education expert saying today that the apprenticeship system needs an overhaul.   And not only that, he wants to see schools doing more, and is suggesting they could offer a trades preparation qualification to create a pipeline of new apprentices - but also to remove the s...

David Seymour says the ACT Party wants to put up candidates in this year’s local body elections because “it’s time for a clean-out”. Whatever his motivation is, I think his plan to get ACT involved in local councils is a good thing. Some people think political parties shouldn’t be involved in local councils, but what would you prefer? If someone’s wearing a party badge, at least you know what they...

Isn't it crazy that schools don't have to report how much bullying is going on? The Chief Children's Commissioner thinks so too, which is why she’s saying that it should be mandatory for schools to provide regular, publicly-available numbers. No wonder some parents feel their school isn’t doing enough about bullying. Because, if you don’t have to report it, it's much easier to sweep under the carp...

Today on Politics Friday, John MacDonald was joined by National’s Matt Doocey and Labour’s Reuben Davidson.   Christchurch City Council is considering allowing unleashed dogs to run free in two central city parks – neither were fond of the idea.  With the Investment Summit underway in Auckland, is Davidson disagreeing with his own party on the future of public-private partnerships? ...

Road rage is getting worse according to survey results out today, and I think it’s time we made road rage a specific criminal offence.    I’ll come back to that but, first, how about this for a story? A guy’s driving around Governor’s Bay when this boy racer starts tailgating him, then stops in front of him, pulls out a baseball bat and starts smashing the guy’s windscreen.   That w...

I don’t like this idea of dangling bigger carrots in front of people who own land that the government or your local council might want for big infrastructure projects.   But I'm more concerned about denying people who object access to the Environment Court. Instead of the court, if someone isn’t happy about compulsory sale of their land, they’ll have to complain to the Land Information Minist...

Winston Peters had no option when it came to sacking Phil Goff from his job as High Commissioner in London, but that doesn’t mean I’m happy with it.   I think he’s done the right thing. But he’s done the wrong thing, as well.   Because it just shows how scaredy-cat the world is of Donald Trump. But we better get used to it – this is how it’s going to be for the next four years.  &nb...

I'm neither happy or unhappy that Adrian Orr is no longer Reserve Bank Governor, but I do have a piece of advice for whoever ends up taking over from him.   Just be the complete opposite.    Because I reckon he fell into a trap that ended up with him getting too big for his boots. Which, maybe, is very hard to avoid when you’re in a job like his, but the next person needs to make su...

I’m still getting over the Prime Minister saying if people don't like the food provided by the school lunch programme, they should make a marmite sandwich.   And quite rightly, his comments are being described by the principal of a school in Kaiapoi as “absolutely disgraceful”. And I couldn’t agree more.   Jason Miles is the principal of Kaiapoi North School and he’s bang on – that talk...

Labour Leader Chris Hipkins joined John MacDonald this morning to dig into the latest.  They discussed the latest from Ukraine and the potential for Trump to introduce agricultural tariffs in the wake of his over 20% tariffs on key trade partners.  Is talking to an overseas GP on the phone really a good solution to our lacking services?  And what on earth has gone wrong with the sch...

In the first of their regular catch ups, Business Canterbury’s Leeann Watson joined John MacDonald in studio to dig into what’s happening on the business front.  They discussed how business owners are feeling, and what can be done to help them continue to gain confidence and grow in the region.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I am so glad that I’m not a member of the local rainbow community. Because if I was, I would be despairing at the weasel words the Christchurch mayor and the city council are trotting out about the Destiny Church's despicable disruption of the pride month opening event in Christchurch on Saturday.   And it just tells me that people are either scared of taking on the Destiny Church or they som...

What we saw at the White House at the weekend was nothing short of vile. But we shouldn’t be surprised. Watching it, I was blown away. But I wasn’t surprised. And I reckon that, despite all the talk coming from European countries since Saturday, I reckon that Ukraine’s president will realise he has no option but to give Trump what he wants. But let’s go back to what happened in the Oval Office on...

When the Government announced yesterday that it wants to have a binding referendum on a four-year parliamentary term here in New Zealand, I was all for it.   I've been all for it for a while now.  But I’m totally against the idea that we do the same with local councils. In fact, I’m so against it, that it could be enough to put me off voting in favour of a four-year parliamentary term. &...

Today on Politics Friday, John MacDonald was joined by Labour’s Megan Woods and National’s Matt Doocey to delve into some of the biggest topics of the week.   Four-year parliamentary terms could be on the table – what are the benefits of an extra year? What would be the potential downfalls for councils?  Would either of them make a citizen’s arrest?   And is it true Labour cut the b...

Don’t you get it?   I’m not saying this to you – I’m saying it to the Christchurch City Council, which thinks there is no need to have locals on this new committee its setting up to oversee the red zone on the east side of Christchurch.   This is the 600-hectare Ōtākaro/Avon River Corridor which has attracted all sorts of controversy since the government took it over after the earthquake...

Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger joined John MacDonald live in studio for their regular catch up.  Community members of Christchurch’s red zone are outraged over their exclusion from a governance group overseeing the future development of the area – why have they been left out?  The age-old question of who has the right to a quiet night has reared its head once again. Inner city noise limi...