Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald

John was joined by Labour Leader Chris Hipkins on the show today for their regular catch up. John was keen to find out where Labour stands really on oil and gas exploration in New Zealand - if they get back into power will they honour any contracts in place? Does Hipkins agree with the proposed speed limit change on the Southern Motorway, given the Road To Zero campaign it supported? And is it tim...

Sometimes, no matter how much of a greenie you might think you are, you just have to get real.   Tell that to the likes of the Labour Party, though, which is saying the moves announced by the Government to try and make sure we have enough electricity to keep the heaters and lights on, and the factories operating, show that it is “giving up on climate change”. Which is nonsense.   Greenpeace New Ze...

I think the Government’s done a John Key.   You know - float an idea, wait for the noise, and change the thing people are making the most noise about.   Which is exactly what’s happened with the new Fast Track legislation for large-scale infrastructure and mining projects.   Some are saying the Government’s 'backed-down' with its decision to let an independent panel of experts decide whether a big...

If you’ve heard all the talk over the past 24 hours about the Government making more changes to the Resource Management Act and you’ve thought ‘oh boring, nothing to do with me’, think again. Because there’s one aspect that has potential to make a difference for anyone and everyone in the country. Which includes you. I don’t think it’s going to be enough on its own. Because, if you don’t need chea...

Today on Politics Friday John was joined by National's Vanessa Weenink and Labour's Duncan Webb in studio. Is New Zealand in an energy crisis, and will the RMA changes help get more power into our grid at a better price? Why is National supporting the treaty bill to a certain point, even though they have no plans at all to support it past the first reading? And does central government really have...

Today Kiwi iconic band Zed release their first album in 20 years, Future Memory. Formed at Cashmere High School, the Canterbury band will celebrate with a launch party in Akaroa today. Bassist Ben Campbell joined John to talk about the album, their history and the pressure their fame brought the young group 20 years ago.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If we thought the last government was a bunch of control freaks, the current one’s just as bad, isn’t it?   That's what I’m thinking with all this talk from the Prime Minister, telling local councils that ratepayers are sick of white elephants, that they need to focus on the basics like collecting the rubbish, fixing the pipes and filling-in potholes, and to stop blowing money on fantasy projects....

John MacDonald was joined in studio by Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger for their regular catch up.   What did he make of the Prime Minister’s comments on council spending? The work on the Christ Church Cathedral has been indefinitely paused, will it receive any more ratepayer money? And, does he support the idea of LIV Golf making its way to Christchurch?   LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listene...

Remember Bishop Victoria Matthews? Who wanted to pull down the Christchurch cathedral after the earthquakes? Reckon she’s thinking “told you so” now that the reinstatement is officially on ice?   Bet she is. And if she isn’t, she should be.   Because let’s be realistic. On ice, whatever you want to call it, the cathedral will never be finished. Never. For the simple reason that, as time goes on, t...

An award-winning Christchurch band is in the lineup for the 2025 Selwyn Sounds.   The Narcs’ Andy Dickson joined John MacDonald for a chat about the music scene in the 80’s, and what it was like to perform with some of the biggest names in the industry like Elton John and Queen.   LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With some ideas, they sound better than they actually are.   Which is how I’m feeling about this idea that Christchurch should do what Auckland has just done and ban supermarkets and bottle stores from selling alcohol after 9 o’clock at night.   I don’t think it’s a good idea. Because I just don’t think it would make people buy less alcohol, they’d just buy it at different times if they couldn’t b...

I don’t like the idea of the Government dangling $72 million in front of the cops and saying to them: “You’ll get this if you test the number of drivers we want you to test for drugs and alcohol.”   You might think it’s great that the police are being told what’s expected of them and that some of their funding depends on it. But I don’t.   Don’t get me wrong. There are some great things about this...

If you don’t like the idea of Saudi Arabia putting money into sport, then tell anyone you know who supports Manchester City to burn their shirt.   If you don’t like the idea of Saudi Arabia putting money into sport, then tell anyone you know who’s right into Formula 1 that they should be ashamed of themselves.   If you don’t like the idea of Saudi Arabia putting money into sport, then you’ll be wi...

Today on Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings John MacDonald was joined by Labour Leader Chris Hipkins for their regular chat.   He asked his feelings about the ACT party wanting to sanction those who get pregnant while on the benefit, how will that impact families?   Does he support lifting the ban on genetic engineering? And why is crime still going up under National?   LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio....

When you drive the Southern Motorway between Rolleston and Christchurch, how fast do you go?   According to the mayor of Selwyn, Sam Broughton, chances are you go faster than 100 kph. Which is why he thinks the speed limit on that piece of road should be lifted to 120 kph.   An idea which I think is ridiculous.   I’m thinking it probably has something to do with the come-to-Jesus moment I had abou...

Look out dole bludgers, we’re coming after ya.   That’s the Government’s message to beneficiaries who are being warned that, if they abuse the system, there’ll be limits on what they can spend their benefit money on.   This is all part of the new traffic light system for people on the Jobseeker benefit. Some might say it’s a traffic light system with a green arrow to the right.   Which is what the...

Can you believe the audacity of the Christchurch Cathedral Reinstatement Project asking the Government for another $60 million? Quite rightly Finance Minister Nicola Willis has said no and the Anglican Cathedral is now likely to be mothballed. Which leaves us with the question: what do we do now with Cathedral Square? There are two options, as I see it. We could leave it to linger as it has since...

Come back 3 Waters - all is forgiven.   You might be thinking that, now the Government has told councils they’re going to have to borrow truckloads of money to sort out their water infrastructure problems. Which could impact their credit ratings, increase their overall borrowing costs and increase rates.   So yeah - that’s how I’m feeling. Because I’m now of the firm belief that it would be way be...

When you think of military-style academies for young offenders, is the military part of it with a capital M or a small m?   Because the Government’s in the firing line after confirming that there are no military personnel on-site at the trial academy which started-up last week, and that there’ll be no military personnel there on an ongoing basis.   Which, in my mind, makes it a military academy wi...

So the guy running the hospital system says it could go broke within just a few months and we’re going to just keep on doing things the way we have forever, are we?   That would be nuts. Which is why I think we’d be much better off if we just required people to have health insurance.   The public system which Dr Lester Levy —who is the Commissioner appointed by the Government to run Health NZ inst...

They used to be called school inspectors, these days it’s the Education Review Office and the Government is planning a shake-up, promising that we’re going to know more about what schools are getting right and what they aren’t.   And, when you listen to what the Prime Minister and Education Minister Erica Stanford have been saying, there’s going to be a much bigger focus on results. Which I get. B...

If you ever needed proof that local councils are great at throwing other people's money around, here it is. Because, even though the reinstatement work on the Anglican cathedral in Cathedral Square could come to a standstill in just a matter of weeks because of money problems, the Christchurch City Council is handing over $7 million. Which beggars belief, doesn’t it? This is the second payment to...

Today on Politics Friday, John was joined in studio by Labour's Megan Woods and National's Hamish Campbell. On today’s agenda:   Why, despite multiple reports, are children in New Zealand still being abused and losing their lives? Is it time for a cross-party commitment to ending this?   What can be done about the drinking culture in New Zealand, is it time to look at either increasing prices or r...

You might be thinking the revelation that at-risk kids in New Zealand are no safer than they were three years ago, when a 5-year-old boy was beaten, burned and murdered by his carer, has nothing to do with you. But think again.   Where this has all come from, is a report by the Independent Children's Monitor as to whether the care system in this country has improved since Malachi Subecz died after...

How would you feel about rubbish from all over New Zealand and maybe even overseas being dumped in the South Island?   That’s what could be happening with this new waste-to-energy plant that is planned for South Canterbury. And I would be dead against it.   Fine, if burning rubbish to create energy is a good thing and can be done without munting the environment, go for it. But there’s no way I wou...