Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald

Shout out time for Christchurch city councillor Sam MacDonald who has gone into bat for those of us who think the council has made a right cluster of its excess water charges regime. The council has brought in the excess water use charges because it wants us to use less water. There are environmental factors but it also thinks that if we use less water, it may not have to spend truckloads of money...

On Friday night, we went to a brilliant concert in the Christchurch Town Hall. It was a fundraiser for the people up north affected by the cyclone. The place was packed and they raised a fair chunk of money. Everyone involved was doing it for free so it was pretty much all profit. We also had tickets to another concert on the same night which was announced before the Town Hall concert was announce...

At one point during the weekend, I was speechless. Because I couldn’t believe it. The National Party was actually announcing a policy. It was a bit light on detail, so maybe it was more a statement of intent. But let's call it a policy. And it was all to do with 3 Waters. Which has been a real political hot potato - possibly the hottest political hot potato we’ve had since the seabed and foreshore...

It's enough to make you want to put your head in your hands. When the whole country is trying to work out how we’re going to pay for building all those new roads and everything else that needs rebuilding up north because of Cyclone Gabrielle, there’s news today that more than $1 million is going to be spent on a stretch of Gloucester Street, in central Christchurch. And what’s more, once the so-ca...

John MacDonald spoke to Gerry Brownlee and Dan Rosewarne today on Politics Friday, Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings.  Do they feel the Council should be spending $1.5million, including Government funding, on implementing a trial to lower the speed limit on Gloucester street to 10km and one way. If it is not well received, they will scrap the idea. Is this really the best use of money? It's a year s...

For quite a while now, I have been really brassed-off whenever I’ve seen the bank we’re with advertising a special mortgage rate for new customers. And each time they’ve done it, I’ve gone into the bank and said to them that, as an existing customer, I should be entitled to the same rate too. But, oh no, can’t do that. And time and time again, I’ve thought to myself that they are breaking pretty m...

With Selwyn Sounds just over a week away, John MacDonald had the pleasure of talking to Boh Runga, lead singer of Stellar. Stellar is well known for their hit songs Violent , What You Do and Part of Me and were a huge hit on the New Zealand music charts in the early 2000s.  They discussed her musical family, with sisters Pearl and Bic, and how life with Stellar has progressed over the passed 20 ye...

John MacDonald was joined by Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger to discuss excess water charges going out this week, does he still think the charges are unfair for all? The mayor was also questioned as to why he thinks council should invest in the Dux de Lux, and what is happening with security in our city centre? LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s only one way to say this: the bozos running New Zealand Rugby need to go. And, just in case you’re thinking I’m being a bit harsh - according to the Merriam Webster dictionary, a bozo is a foolish or incompetent person. I think, though, when it comes to NZ Rugby the “or” bit isn't needed, and instead the bozos there are foolish and incompetent. This is not new for me. For the past year or...

John MacDonald was joined by National Party leader, Christopher Luxon, on Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings.  They discussed National's plan to tackle Climate Change, how did he feel about Maureen Pugh's comments? And National's plan to help find money for the cyclone recovery - is higher tax the answer? And how will they get kids back into school should they be elected this year. LISTEN ABOVE   See...

There’s that old line about people not caring what you know, until they know that you care. And if you’ve heard or seen Police Commissioner Andrew Coster over the past 24 hours, you will have picked up that he knows a lot - the caring bit, though, isn’t so obvious. Because, despite what people on the ground in cyclone-ravaged areas of the North Island are saying about criminal activity going nuts...

There’s that old line about people not caring what you know, until they know that you care. And if you’ve heard or seen Police Commissioner Andrew Coster over the past 24 hours, you will have picked up that he knows a lot - the caring bit, though, isn’t so obvious. Because, despite what people on the ground in cyclone-ravaged areas of the North Island are saying about criminal activity going nuts...

Another earthquake anniversary approaching. And it’s not as if those who lost friends and family in the quake or who lost their home in the quake need an anniversary to remind them of their loss - but February 22nd is always a time when we all think about how things have changed here in Canterbury. This Wednesday will be no different and, even after all this time, one of the starkest reminders of...

I didn’t grow up in Christchurch but, by the time I was old enough to be hanging around in pubs, the Dux de Lux was one of the places I’d go to whenever I was in town. I know a lot of people remember it for being Christchurch’s first vegetarian restaurant and for the beer that was made on site at the micro-brewery. But, for me, it was the live music. I remember seeing all sorts of bands there. Ori...

John MacDonald was joined by MPs Megan Woods and Gerry Brownlee to discuss the tragic situation in the North Island following Cyclone Gabrielle. What lesson will we take away from this? What needs to change? Also, are retailers going to get support in the Christchurch CBD with the amount of crime and violence they are facing on a daily basis? And should online voting be introduced to encourage mor...

What have we come to when retailers and businesses have to launch a petition to try and get the Police and local council to sit-up and listen to their concerns about violence, intimidation, homelessness and crime in the central city? We’ve come to it, and that is exactly what one retail manager in downtown Christchurch is doing today. He's taking action after one of his staff members was at work,...

At home, we’ve just got rid of the landline. And, just like that, we’re saving about $60 a month. But after everything that’s been going on around the country over the last few days and weeks, I could be forgiven for thinking that the landline is the last thing we should be ditching. Because it seems to me, after watching all the reports from up north, that our infrastructure in New Zealand is no...

I remember watching the TV news late last year and seeing a story about the organisers of the Sail GP yacht racing event having a meeting with residents in Lyttelton to talk about planning for the big event, which is now just a few weeks away. Sail GP, of course, being the international yacht racing event which Sir Russell Coutts is involved with - it’s one of these sporting events that travels ar...

This week the Government is going to announce that it’s getting tough on kids not turning up to school. And for all the talk about truancy being a “complex issue” —which, to be fair, it is— the Government is going to try and tackle it with a bit of the good old fashioned enforcement. Which will mean the return of state truancy officers. We haven’t had government or state truancy officers for more...

Remember how much we loved the Christchurch City Council flipping the bird at the Government last year over housing intensification? It all started when the Government and the National Party joined forces to try and sort out the housing supply issues and came up with their one-size-fits-all idea of squeezing more people onto every block of land. And so they went to the Christchurch council - and e...

John MacDonald was joined by Sarah Pallett and Gerry Brownlee for Politics Friday. They discussed housing intensification in Christchurch, is it really needed here and why do they support it? What do they think about the Government's policy re set, what happens now with hate speech? And Three Waters, is it time to just walk away from it for good? LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for priv...

Money will not buy you happiness. We’ve probably all said that at some point. Mostly to try and convince ourselves that the fact we didn’t win Lotto is no biggie. "Ahh, all those millions - would’ve been more trouble than they were worth." And ironically, that’s what Harvard University has been saying this week after crunching the numbers on its Study of Adult Development, which has been the world...

Christchurch's Mayor accepts the city's new water charges are unfair. High water users will now pay a fixed $1.35 for every 1000 litres used over the daily 700 litre limit. But that only applies to properties with an individual water meter and about 25,000 households won't be affected. Mayor Phil Mauger told Newstalk ZB's Canterbury Mornings he'll do what he can to fix the inequity. LISTEN ABOVE  ...

For me, this is a case of wanting to believe something - but not actually believing it. I suppose if I was the Prime Minister or if I was the Assistant Police Commissioner I’d say the same things they said on Newstalk ZB this morning. Because, if I didn’t, then I’d pretty much be saying ‘guilty-as-charged’ to the National Party’s view that the Government has failed to reduce retail crime. But, as...

Today on Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings, John spoke to National Party Deputy Leader, Nicola Willis. They discussed the rising retail crime rate and the Government's comments about consequences being given to those who steal from stores. Also Christchurch's water meter charges, does she think it's fair and what would she do about it if National were in power? See omnystudio.com/listener for privac...