Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald

There’s one thing I like about the National Party’s KiwiSaver announcement. And there’s one thing I don’t like. Let’s start with the good bit. Making it compulsory for everyone to have a KiwiSaver account. It’s amazed me how we say in one breath how critical it is for Kiwis to be saving for their retirement and then, in the second breath, tell people they only have to do it if they want. Which is...

Nurse Maude has opened their new state-of-the-art hospice in Merivale this week, with its $16m price tag which has been fully funded entirely from the community. Board Chair Jane Cartwright joined Canterbury Mornings after the ribbon was cut and their patients had moved in. She discussed why hospice care is so important not just for those who are nearing the end of their life, but for their loved...

How much does the number of people on the dole actually impact your life? If you’re like me, it has no impact. I’m asking because Treasury is putting more flies in the government’s ointment this week, telling it that its goal of having 50,000 less people on the dole in four years’ time than there were when it came into office isn’t going to happen. In fact - according to Treasury - instead of havi...

If the device that tells you how many steps you’ve taken could also measure your faith in government departments, what would it be showing after this $33 million debacle at Immigration NZ? Despite the amount of money involved and the number of years it’s taken to come to light, I’m not in the least bit surprised by this. But Immigration Minister Erica Standford is “furious”. Not only that, she’s a...

One NZ Warriors CEO Cameron George is in town ahead of the Warriors first game under the roof at One NZ Stadium. He joined Canterbury Mornings ahead of a packed week of events in town ahead of the match against The Cowboys, and was asked what he thinks about the prospect of a South Island ever having its own NRL side. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"A slap in the face to all Iranian people." That’s what an Iranian woman living in New Zealand is saying about this peace deal between the United States and Iran. And I can understand why she feels that way. Because she’s saying it’s another case of meet the old boss, same as the old boss. Which raises the question: is this actually a peace deal or is it a out of jail card for Donald Trump? Trump...

CEO of One New Zealand and self-confessed Rugby League tragic Jason Paris joined Canterbury Mornings ahead of a massive weekend of Warriors action in Christchurch. Paris discussed One NZ's longstanding sponsorship of the Warriors, as well as the telco's partnership with Te Kaha, whether his loyalty to the “Wahs” would be tested if the South Island were to secure its own NRL team. LISTEN ABOVE See...

Don’t you think it’s a bit rich of Nicola Willis to be criticising Labour when, last election, she did exactly what she’s accusing Labour of doing? Keeping us in the dark. Every politician is guilty on this front. Which is why I’m right behind the idea being floated by economist Cameron Bagrie today. He’s saying that we need to set-up an independent outfit that would help us decide whether what po...

How weird is this? We don’t let people like bus drivers, taxi drivers and truckies drive with alcohol in their systems, but we let everyone else on the road do it. Apart from people under-20. But everyone else, all good. Now I know the difference between your average motorist and professional drivers - especially the likes of bus drivers and taxi drivers - is that they’re responsible for the safet...

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, including Labour's public transport policy, the governments LNG levy backdown, and if the correct process was taken to select Labours latest candidate and current police Superintendent, Rakesh Naidoo.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnyst...

Waimakariri Mayor Dan Gordon joined John MacDonald to discuss the issues that matter to Waimakariri residents. They covered the proposed council amalgamation options the council has put out for feedback, and the strong interest from potential partners to help buy back the Pegasus Golf Course from a developer.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What do you think needs to happen with public transport? According to some, we need to get more people using it. For all the usual reasons: less cars on the road. Lower emmissions. All of that. Which is why Labour has come up with this election policy which, for those of us in the greater Christchurch area, would mean paying no more than $20-a-week to take as many bus rides and ferry rides as we l...

British actor, comedian and author Alan Davies joined Canterbury Mornings ahead of his first visit to New Zealand in a decade.  He's returning with his new tour, Think Ahead, which he is calling his best show yet. Davies’ Think Ahead tour will come to the Christchurch Town Hall on Wednesday, August 12. Tickets are available on Ticketmaster. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for...

The reassurances from Labour leader Chris Hipkins that the party is no longer the smug, arrogant outfit we all got sick of three years ago are not only starting to sound hollow. They are hollow. Because if any other party had recruited a top cop for its party list without the top cop telling police bosses about it until the very last minute, Hipkins and his crew would be going nuts. And if he want...

I think we’d be biting off our nose to spite our face if we turned our back on this overseas company wanting to take over the running of the port of Lyttelton. Because this could be exactly the type of in-road to foreign investment that the government has been banging-on about but hasn’t yet managed to pull off. Tell that to the unions, though. Which are all antse about executives from global port...

If you ever needed proof that victims of crime are taking a back seat to the criminals, this is it. And if you ever needed proof that the parole board is out of touch with the rest of us, this is it. Because on Tuesday this week, convicted rapist George Murphy Starling was released from Christchurch’s Rolleston Prison after serving just two years of a six year sentence. Why’s that? Because the par...

Ahead of the Qualifying Finals round against the Blues, John MacDonald up with Crusaders Coach Rob Penney at Rugby Park. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National's Matt Doocey and Labour's Reuben Davidson joined John MacDonald for Politics Friday this week.  They covered some of the biggest topics from the week from early prison releases, the Pegasus Golf Course, and a petition gaining signatures to increase bereavement leave from three days to ten. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Christchurch mother is calling for changes to bereavement leave laws.  Sheena Hemens’ 27-year-old daughter Lauren was killed in a car accident nearly three years ago.  Hemens says grief kept her from working for months, but currently, the law only provides three days of leave.  She’s launched a petition to increase minimum bereavement leave to 10 days, saying many people don’t rea...

There was a story on the news last night about the government’s push to have fewer local councils and how it’s given them just a few months to come up with a plan. The threat being that, if they don’t, the government will force it on them. And a couple of things struck me. First, it occurred to me how successful the government has been in getting these councils to toe the line. The councillors and...

What planet is the Waimakariri District Council on even entertaining the idea of spending public money to buy the golf course at Pegasus? You’ll know the story behind this. People living in the area, north of Christchurch, are very upset that a large property development company has bought the land where the golf course is and wants to turn it into housing. The company - Wolfbrook Property Group -...

I reckon we are dreaming if we think having teacher aides in every classroom is the answer to aggro kids. New numbers out today show that New Zealand students have been restrained more than 9,000 times since 2023. That’s an average of 15 a day. The vast majority happen at primary schools and, when we say they’ve been restrained, we’re talking about situations where there is an imminent threat of h...

Opposition Leader Chris Hipkins says if Labour wins power at this year’s election, it's position on public funding for the Christ Church Cathedral will not change. Speaking to Canterbury Mornings, Hipkins said the party’s verdict still stands. “I just don’t think it’s something we can prioritise at the moment,” Hipkins also addressed leaks from a Labour Party online Q&A, which included Aysha V...

What part of no does the Christchurch City Council not understand? Because, despite us knowing what the answer would be, councillors yesterday voted in favour of putting another $15 million into the Anglican Cathedral reinstatement project, providing the government came to the party. And, wouldn’t you know it - within just a few hours of the vote happening - Finance Minister Nicola Willis was alre...

Even though I understand why a new independent supermarket in Christchurch has been told by the High Court that it can’t sell meat for two years, I still think it’s strange. The Harvest Market is in the same spot where a Mad Butcher franchise used to be until earlier this year. The people who ran the franchise also ran a grocery business alongside it. Which the Mad Butcher was happy with - as long...