Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald

The Christchurch City Council opened a can of worms yesterday.  It’s decided – 199 days after the fire at the wastewater plant in Bromley – that some residents are going to get some sort of compensation.   It hasn’t had final sign-off, but that’s expected to happen tomorrow week.  I don’t think anyone is going to complain about the fact that the Council is going to do something – even if it’s been...

If you haven’t read the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan, don’t panic. Because I’ve done a summary for you: it’s a dog’s breakfast.  It’s the first of its kind here in New Zealand. The purpose of it is to set out the targets that need to be achieved for us to have net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.  Which doesn’t mean no emissions at all – it means zero emissions once the emissions tr...

Residents affected by the stench from Christchurch's fire-damaged wastewater plant may get their healthcare and laundry paid for by the council.  Tensions ran high and Christchurch City Council workers were booed at a public meeting on Friday over the area's ongoing Bromley stench.  Councillor Anne Galloway said proposals around how to provide relief for residents are being put to the council in a...

Is the long-term damage that can be caused by a win-at-all-cost approach to sport really worth it?  This is the question that a lot of us will be asking today with the release of the findings from a review into high-performance sports by Cycling New Zealand.  It’s the review that came about after cyclist Olivia Podmore – whose parents both live here in Christchurch – died last August in a suspecte...

I’ve got that old saying about the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing in my head today. And it’s why I think we need to seriously consider creating a Super City by merging the Christchurch, Selwyn and Waimakariri councils. I’ve thought this for some time and I’m thinking about it again today for a couple of reasons. The first, is the uproar in Lincoln over this new housing developm...

My heart sank last night.   It sank when I saw a headline saying the Christchurch City Council is going to consult residents before it puts any extra money into the new stadium – Te Kaha.  As we heard earlier this week, material costs have gone through the roof thanks to global supply chain issues and it’s now looking like the Council is going to have to come up with another $50 million to pay for...

Daniel Pilgrim is one of the former Gloriavale residents who took on the West Coast community in the Employment Court and won yesterday.   Daniel Pilgrim spoke to Newstalk ZB’s John MacDonald about why he went ahead with the legal action and how his life has changed since leaving the community.    LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is no place in New Zealand for an outfit like Gloriavale.   It cannot be allowed to continue operating. And it is absolutely shameful that we have pretty much turned a blind eye to what’s been going on there for so long. Absolutely shameful.  It’s in the news again today because of the Employment Court ruling that three former members were technically employees when they were forced to work...

Dr Liz Gordon is a former MP and is currently an educational researcher. For 25 years she has been pushing for the closure of the school within Gloriavale, and to make public education possible for its residents. She spoke to Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings', John MacDonald, and strongly pushed for a change. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John MacDonald spoke to National Party Deputy Leader, Nicola Willis, today on Canterbury Mornings. The pair discussed Gloriavale and the community's future in our society, and if she feels there is a place for them anymore. National are pushing for a longer stay in hospitals for mothers following giving birth. And John asked if more Crown money should be made available for the new Christchurch sta...

The budget for the new Christchurch stadium – Te Kaha – has blown out again, by another $50 million.  And it’s being reported that city councillors are going to have to decide soon whether to increase the budget, go back to the drawing board or press pause on the project.  Memo to Council: ‘Please don’t go back to the drawing board. Please don’t press pause. We know you like to overthink and agoni...

Yesterday, the Government announced that it’s going to do what governments do best – putting ambulances at the bottom of cliffs.  The latest one is a $600 million ambulance at the bottom of the crime cliff.  More money for more police officers. More money to crack down on gangs. More money to keep an eye on gun ownership.  Governments do this because they think it’s what we want. And, in some resp...

If you started the week not knowing the name Simon Henry, you probably know it now. He’s the rich-lister who is the founder and chief executive of chemicals company DGL Group who is under fire - quite rightfully, might I add - for saying some appalling things about Nadia Lim, whose name I’m guessing you did know at the start of the week. Masterchef winner and judge, co-founder of My Food Bag, crea...

Today on Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings, John MacDonald was joined by National's Gerry Brownlee and Labour's Megan Woods regarding the big topics of the week. MacDonald asked if Speaker Trevor Mallard should be removed from his role, they covered Government funding of Three Waters following last Friday's announcement  and if tax cuts are on the agenda in future.  They also covered the news of Cou...

The Christchurch City Council seems to be outdoing itself on an almost daily basis at the moment. And today, it’s flying the flag on behalf of the over thinkers and the paranoid. Because it has decided that it isn’t going to install a new flagpole at the civic centre in Sumner because it's worried the locals might offend China by flying insensitive flags. Which has got the Sumner-Redcliffs Histori...

Has anyone checked whether Trevor Mallard has been wearing any blue or red bandanas recently?  In case you don’t know, blue is Black Power and red is the Mongrel Mob. Or, if you’re in America, blue is the Crips and red is the Bloods.  The reason I ask this is that the Police are apparently planning some sort of crackdown on gangs – and one of the things they’re going to be targeting is intimidatin...

It’s often said that marketing plays on people’s fears. You know what I’m talking about - things like those ads on TV that talk about the house being full of bacteria we can’t see and if we really want to be good parents and keep our family safe we should be spraying this or spraying that on every surface every five minutes. Create the fear and present the solution. All in 30 seconds. Elections ar...

No one can tell me that the climate isn’t changing. Yesterday, it was 1 May and it was around 23 degrees in Christchurch.  Which is brilliant for getting stuff done and getting out and about. But it’s also another tiny little piece of evidence that the Earth is definitely getting warmer. So, no one can tell me that climate change is fake news.  And now we’ve got more bad news about the climate and...

Today on Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings, John MacDonald was joined by Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel.  He asked the Mayor about today's sea-level rise reports, and why Council would still give permits to build on land that could be at risk in years to come. They also discussed the fallout from the Bromley compost and wastewater plants, and how Council will look after residents in the area.  LI...

Today John MacDonald spoke about the rising sea levels, following the release of an online tool to view projected level rises around New Zealand's coastal areas.  We sought further information from Massey University Professor, Bruce Glavovic.  Glavovic has degrees in economics and agricultural economics, environmental science, and urban and environmental planning. His research focuses on building...

How would you feel about everything in your green organics bin and all your garden waste going into landfill for the next five years, instead of it being used to make compost like it is now? So all your food scraps, all your grass clippings, all your hedge clippings - all of it - just being chucked in landfill for the next five years. This is the conundrum Christchurch has on its hands after yeste...

Today on Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings, John MacDonald spoke to National's Gerry Brownlee and Labour's Poto Williams about the latest issues. MacDonald pressed them on the current problems in Bromley with the compost plant and council's decision to move it, and also the wastewater plant that caught fire over 170 days ago and is contributing to horrific living conditions for people nearby. They d...

In the past five months, three friends of ours - all in their early 50s - have died of cancer. One of them died just 15 months after diagnosis, leaving behind a husband and two boys. Another - whose funeral I was at last week - died five years after being told she had ovarian cancer. The third fought her cancer for 15 years. And when I say fought, she fought the disease and she fought the system,...

On Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings John MacDonald asked National Party leader Christopher Luxon about David Parker's Tax Bill and his reaction. MacDonald further asked Luxon why he and his party feel the Government is 'soft on crime.'  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We are looking forward to the ski season big time at our place. But, I tell you what, there is one thing about the ski season that I don’t like - and that’s driving through some of those intersections on the way to Mt Hutt. I know it’s slightly quicker turning off State Highway 73 before you get to Darfield - but I don’t. I go all the way to Darfield and take State Highway 77 through Glentunnel an...