Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald

John MacDonald was joined by Labour's Poto Williams and standing in for Gerry Brownlee this week was National's Nicola Grigg.  The panel discussed the current situation with the Russian Ambassador, and what should be done from here. The recently released NZ History Curriculum was a talking point, along with protest-free zones and if schools should be included, and if Fletchers should be asking sta...

After all the huffing and puffing about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, can you believe that Vladimir Putin’s ambassador still hasn’t been kicked out of New Zealand?  Or “expelled” as they call it in diplomatic circles.  National’s foreign affairs spokesperson Gerry Brownlee can’t believe it either. He’s particularly upset about it after the Russian Embassy in Wellington has been defending the invas...

John MacDonald spoke to National Party member Gerry Brownlee regarding the Russian Ambassador remaining in New Zealand despite the false statements they have been posting on social media. Brownlee had some strong advice for the Government.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John MacDonald spoke to Professor Michael Baker about his views on the current Omicron situation in New Zealand and how we should move forward with the border announcement today. They also discussed if the use of vaccine passes was still relevant, and the traffic light settings  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since when did we start making health decisions based on popularity?  For example, when you’ve been to the doctor and you’ve asked them to take a look at something – have they ever said “now before I do, do you want me to tell you if I think it’s serious? Or do you want me to say it’s nothing to worry about?”.   “I want you to like me, so I’ll tell you what you want to hear.”  That’s never happene...

So, the Government has finally come to the party, but has it put enough on the table?  Eight days ago, National Party leader Christopher Luxon said we were dealing with a cost of living crisis and thought the Government should help us all out by cutting taxes and changing tax thresholds so we have more money in our pockets.  As we know, the Government thought long and hard about that. Or, should I...

Sometimes I think the Prime Minister runs her Cabinet like those cowboys who set themselves up as building companies after the Christchurch earthquakes.  I remember one of them started work on a house and the first thing they did was fix up the damaged wall linings before jacking up the piles and fixing the foundations.  The idea behind that was to keep all the workers busy. The fact that fixing s...

Today on Politics Friday, John MacDonald was joined by Labour's Megan Woods and National's Gerry Brownlee.   MacDonald pressed the question as to whether there was a cost of living crisis in New Zealand, if our sanctions against Russia were enough of a statement to Putin and if there is a plan for our Omicron response given what is happening in Victoria at the moment with a new strain on the rise....

I was reading something in the news this morning and I realised it was another one of those stories that don’t explicitly say it, but they imply that I should be outraged.  It was a piece online about the AJ Hackett company - the outfit that began here in New Zealand with a bungy jump in Queenstown and has since gone global with operations all over the show.  One of the countries it operates in is...

The Prime Minister either has her head in the sand, or she is completely out of touch with what life is like for most New Zealanders.  I’m not giving her the benefit of the doubt. I think her head is well and truly in the sand.  And I’m starting to get really brassed off about it. This ongoing state of denial when it comes to the cost of living in this country.  National Party leader Christopher L...

I’m going to start with a disclaimer.  Because you know when someone rings me up and says something and I ask them how they know that or what proof they have? Well, on this one, I have no technical proof.  Nevertheless, I reckon it’s pretty safe to say that most people isolating at home at the moment don’t have Covid.  And they’re only isolating because someone they live with has it.  So, they’re...

If you go to the supermarket today, don’t waste your time asking to see the manager or the owner.   Because they’ll be tucked away in the office upstairs, poring through the Commerce Commission’s final report on the way supermarkets are run here in New Zealand.  After more than a year of working on it, the Commission has just released its recommendations on how supermarkets could be made to be mor...

Today on Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings, John MacDonald spoke to Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel about the current delay with consents from the Council, and what they are doing to try and fix the problem.  They also discussed the protesters in Cranmer Square, and John asked the Mayor how she saw any resolution coming to end the protest. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National Party leader Christopher Luxon says we have a cost-of-living crisis on our hands  I’ll bet 95 percent of us didn’t need his State of the Nation speech yesterday to tell us that. Of course, we do!  When you’re standing at the supermarket humming and harring over whether you should buy mince or not – because it’s close to $10 a tray – you know you’ve got a cost-of-living crisis.  The same w...

It was really interesting listening this morning to the lawyer who has written to the Prime Minister asking her to scrap the vaccine passes by today. And, if she doesn’t, he’s going to go to the High Court to try and make it happen. Matthew Hague is his name.  He’s the lawyer who went to court challenging the legality of the vaccine mandates for Defence and Police.  A week ago, the judge who heard...

Yesterday it was Wellington. Today, it has to be Cranmer Square, in Christchurch.  Because just as the police were mopping things up outside Parliament last night, we had the spokesperson for the anti-mandate occupation at Cranmer Square saying some of the Wellington crew are going to be heading down here now.  “I think we are going to be bigger than Wellington”, is what Ashleigh Thian said to a r...

I really hope we’re going to see more than just a whole lot of huffing and puffing from the Police in Wellington today.  As we’ve heard, hundreds of cops have turned up at Parliament. They say significant numbers have been brought in from around the country.  The official word is that they’re there for “a pre-planned operation to restore access within the protest area on Parliament grounds."  Whic...

How are you feeling about mixing with other people at the moment?  From midnight Friday, we are going to wind the clock back two years, and any New Zealander who wants to come home can walk off the plane, jump in a car, a bus, a taxi or an Uber, and not worry about MIQ or isolation of any sort. They’ll just need to do a RAT test when they arrive and five or six days after they get here.  For kiwis...

It’s two years today since Covid-19 was first detected in New Zealand. If only we knew then, what we know now.  For example, I had no idea then that – in a couple of years – I’d be standing in my kitchen on a Sunday night shoving a swab up my nose.    But that’s what happened last night. I did my first Rapid Antigen Test. It’s a bit of a fiddly process but I’m sure I’ll get better with practice. ...

Today on Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings, John MacDonald spoke to Mayor Lianne Dalziel about the over sixties unit in Burwood which has changed its status to allow tenants of all ages. Which could mean a rent increase of up to $120 per week for some residents.  They also discussed if a congestion charge would be appropriate for Christchurch and the CBD. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Today on Politics Friday, John MacDonald spoke to National's Gerry Brownlee and Labour's Megan Woods. They discussed the developing situation in Ukraine, New Zealand entering Phase 3 of the Omicron response and the ongoing protest outside of Parliament. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Doesn’t it blow you away how the anti-vaxxers can continue to reach new lows?  Did you see those appalling people on the TV news last night?  The anti-vaxxers who set themselves up at Tuahiwi School in North Canterbury yesterday when they got wind that the Prime Minister was visiting.  They yelled at her and called her a “murderer”. Can you believe it? These people standing at a school telling the...

I’m really starting to wonder why we get so caught up and obsessed with the idea of owning a home.  I do know why and I’ll get to that shortly. But is it really worth all the stress? Really?  All this talk about mortgage interest rates going through the roof after the Reserve Bank started lifting the Official Cash Rate yesterday is one thing.  There are rates, maintenance, insurance - all expenses...

John MacDonald spoke to current Christchurch Deputy Mayor Andrew Turner regarding his announcement today that he will not be standing in the upcoming elections to become Mayor.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings, John MacDonald was joined by leader of the ACT Party, David Seymour.  John asked him about his recent meeting with protesters and how that reflected on his standing on the situation, and what he thought should happen going forward now in Wellington.   He was also questioned about Christopher Luxon's comments about this being the most divisive Government in...