Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald

Last week, residents of Kaiapoi were shocked and saddened to learn of damage that had been done to RSA headstones at Kaiapoi Cemetery.  Vandals had deliberately removed bronze RSA plaques from a number of headstones, and burn out marks were also discovered near some of the grave sites.  Waimakariri District Mayor, Dan Gordon, joined John MacDonald on Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings to encourage an...

We started the week horrified by the random killing of Laisa Waka on Cheyenne Street in Sockburn, in Christchurch. She’d been at work last Saturday at a retirement village, finished up, got the bus home, had a 300 metre walk from the bus stop to her house, was nearly there - it was about 20-past-four - but she didn’t make it home. She was attacked in broad daylight by a man with a knife. Emergency...

Today on Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings, John MacDonald spoke to Labour's Duncan Webb and National's Gerry Brownlee about the big topics of the week.  They discussed the tragic situation with Hillmorton Hospital, and where the responsibility lies, the Health Minister? Or the staff? The Prime Minister announced a new free trade agreement during her European tour, is it really a great deal for New...

John MacDonald spoke to All Blacks Assistant Coach Brad Mooar about the team and preparation leading into tomorrow's test match against Ireland. Coverage will be on Newstalk ZB from 6pm Saturday.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Let me start with a disclaimer of sorts. I have never been through what six Timaru families have been through since 6 August last year. In five of those families, each parent lost a son and siblings lost brothers when a car smashed into a power pole at high speed near Washdyke in South Canterbury. Four kids inside the car, one in the boot. The sixth family didn’t lose anyone in the crash, but it w...

I want to know what brand of coffee Dr Shane Reti was drinking before he spoke to Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB this morning. Because, whatever it was, the National Party’s health spokesperson came out firing like never before. And he was brilliant. Initially, he was talking about the health boards warning the Government 12 months ago that they were facing significant problems because of staff short...

John MacDonald spoke to Professor Simon Kingham of Canterbury University regarding studies the Human Geography team had found regarding fast food outlets in Canterbury. A number of factors contributed to more fast food options being available in lower socio-economic areas of Canterbury, and MacDonald asked what he felt would help curb the rising rates to help with healthier eating options. LISTEN...

When I first heard on Saturday about the killing in the Christchurch suburb of Sockburn, I made the assumption that it probably involved people who knew each other. I think that’s because we’ve been so conditioned in recent years to think that. Because of the stats that get thrown around all the time about the high percentage of people who are murdered knowing those responsible. So come yesterday,...

Following Thursday's knife attack in Auckland, Massey University Lecturer Rino Lovreglio spoke about New Zealanders needing to be prepared for the possibility of knife attacks and what to do in the event of one to defend yourself. In the following two days Christchurch saw two knife-related incidents, including one where a woman sadly lost her life when she was attacked in Sockburn by a stranger o...

Memo to Elton John: sorry is no longer the hardest word. Because it seems we have apologies coming out of our ears at the moment. The latest one is from retailer Babycity. It's saying sorry for promoting a Matariki sale. Matariki, of course, is the Maori New Year which we are celebrating with the public holiday tomorrow - the first time there’s ever been a Matariki holiday. But Babycity is in hot...

There’s a video doing the rounds on social media at the moment of two students at Otago Boys’ High School in Dunedin giving another student what could only be described as a “hiding”. It seems it’s mostly kids in Dunedin who have been sharing the video but these things can end up anywhere, can’t they? It lasts just over a minute, but the description of it and the impact it’s had on some people who...

National Party leader Christopher Luxon joined Canterbury Mornings and spoke about violence in NZ, he thinks it starts at home. Charlotte Bellis receives and apology, but National believe all New Zealanders affected by the MIQ lottery of misery should be apologised to, dangerous Canterbury roads and Waka Kotahi's lack of response on roading safety. Luxon also discussed his views on New Zealand lea...

If Crusaders coach Scott Robertson and All Blacks coach Ian Foster were TV sets, Foster would be black and white and Razor Robertson would be high-definition full colour. And that’s why New Zealand rugby is going to be a lot less colourful between now and January, when Robertson will resume transmission with the Crusaders. I was reading today that he’ll be having some knee surgery between now and...

John MacDonald spoke to Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel regarding the changes to this year's Santa Parade, which is now an indoor event with a ticket price of $15 per person. MacDonald asked if there would be a parade to celebrate the Crusaders winning yet another Super Rugby Championship and discussed Dunedin's plans around coastal retreat and sea level rises - should Christchurch be following...

How likely is it, do you think, that the people at Waka Kotahi are at work today thinking twice about those stupid road safety ads they’ve been pouring money into? Do you think any of them arrived at the office this morning, after that absolutely horrific road smash on State Highway 1 yesterday, and sent around an email saying let’s get together later today and think about how we can do this bette...

A friend of the seven people killed in a horror crash near Picton has spoken of spending the night with them in Christchurch before they made the fateful drive to return home. "You spend every spare moment thinking of the what-ifs and the whys," said Bill, who contacted Newstalk ZB this morning. Three generations of the Auckland family, which includes members of the Filipino community, died in the...

Chances are, at some point in your life, you’ve been to and you have loved a Santa Parade. Most likely it was when you were a kid, but you may have also had the wonderful experience of taking your own children or grandchildren to the Santa Parade. You might have even been involved in one at some time yourself, or your kids might have been. Ours were quite a few years ago. On the back of a truck, s...

Today on Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings, John MacDonald spoke to Labour's Tracey McLellan and National's Gerry Brownlee on Politics Friday. They discussed today's big news that the Christchurch Santa Parade will now be an indoor event, with a $15 ticket price. John asked if it's time we change our Covid isolation rules, given the widespread impact of influenza at the moment, and the GDP figures -...

Ahead of tomorrow's huge Super Rugby Championship Final against the Blues, Crusaders prop George Bower took time to talk to Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings.  John MacDonald asked him how the team has been preparing for the final, his pre-game rituals and how being named in the All Blacks has impacted his own mindset for focusing on the game this weekend. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener fo...

When I got up this morning, I thought for a second that the old throat was feeling a bit scratchy. Nothing major, just that little feeling that makes you think there might be something brewing. So I popped a couple of Vitamin Cs, it’s disappeared and I am good as gold. I don’t know how many people I’ve spoken to recently who’ve said they’ve had the same thing happen to them. And, generally, we’ve...

Even if you know nothing about bowls, chances are you'll know the name Gary Lawson. I'm in the "knows-nothing-about-bowls" camp, but I know Lawson's name just from hearing it mentioned so often over the years in the sports news. And from that, I know that he's pretty handy on the bowling green. He's a former world champion and he's been New Zealand champion 14 times. But I also know, from what I'v...

Two big things happened over the weekend. The Crusaders qualified for the Super Rugby Pacific Final and the National Party finally announced a policy. But what a ham-fisted policy it is, and just goes to show that Christopher Luxon and Nicola Willis’ great “reset” has turned into just the usual barking at passing cars. The party announced at the weekend that, if it becomes the Government at next y...

Today on Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings, John MacDonald spoke to mayor Lianne Dalziel about her upcoming trip to Adelaide which will commemorate 50 years of Christchurch and Adelaide being sister cities.  He also pressed the mayor on the situation with the stadium, after 3,000 submissions were received on the first day on consultation after a $150 million budget blowout recently. Did the Mayor ev...

The National Party released it's Law and Order Policy over the weekend, the policy would extend a current insignia ban to all public places including any location visible from a public place - such as the exterior of a gang clubhouse. This includes posts to social media, which gangs are continuously using to market themselves and target younger members. John MacDonald asked sociologist and gang ex...

I had a bit of an epiphany last night when I was driving across town listening to Te Tai Tonga MP Rino Tirikatene on Newstalk ZB talking about the Canterbury Regional Council Ngāi Tahu Representation Bill. Which is the official name of the legislation that’s going through Parliament at the moment to allow Ngāi Tahu to appoint two representatives to Environment Canterbury regional council. Rino is...