Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald

Here’s a line for you: “True leadership means tough decisions in difficult times”.  That’s a quote from a European politician which I think is very relevant to the current situation with the Bandwagon 2022 occupiers still camped outside Parliament.   It’s relevant because the Government seems to be avoiding tough decisions at all cost and, as a result – in my view – is demonstrating a complete lac...

National Party leader Christopher Luxon says Jacinda Ardern leads the most divisive government in recent memory. But then he would say that, wouldn’t he?  It’s not as if he was ever going to come out and say in that speech he gave yesterday that the team of five million is “tight as bro” and the Prime Minister is doing a fantastic job.  That was never going to happen. But has he gone too far sayin...

Today on Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings, John MacDonald spoke to Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel about the current protest situation in Cranmer Square.   They discussed the Council's camping bylaw and the ability to remove people camping in the square, and the processes needed to remove protesters.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I don’t have any official figures to back this up, but I reckon a favourite pastime in New Zealand – if not the favourite pastime – is making stupid demands for people in authority to resign from their jobs if we don’t like what they’re doing.   If it was an Olympic sport, we’d be world champions us New Zealanders.  And today, it’s the poor old Police Commissioner who’s in the firing line – for no...

There are two groups of people in New Zealand at the moment.  Oh really?  Yep. And what do you think they are?  Anti-mandate and pro-mandate? No.  Anti-protest and pro-protest? No.  So what are they then?  Well, the first group, are the ones who still want to do everything they possibly can to avoid getting Covid - even Omicron. Most likely because they’re of an age where Covid puts them at signif...

Did you hear Chris Cahill from the Police Association on Newstalk ZB this morning?  I couldn’t believe what I heard.  He was talking about the protest at Parliament and said he thinks the whole thing is a dog’s breakfast - which I don’t think anyone could argue with.  But the bit that got me was when he said “do you want the bad news?” And then went on to say that he thinks the protesters will sti...

So, Christchurch has got its own anti-vaccine mandate protest going on – with a crew setting up camp in Cranmer Square yesterday.  I went past last night. It certainly isn’t of the same scale as the Wellington protest. Not that that makes it any less convenient for people living in the Cranmer Square area – because they have had a gutsful of all the anti-vax, anti-mandate, anti-everything protests...

I’m not going to beat around the bush. I’m just going to say it. I think Trevor Mallard has lost the plot.  That’s my honest opinion - after the way he’s behaved as Speaker of the House, dealing with the Convoy protesters who have been camped outside Parliament for the past week. He has lost the plot. And I’m not surprised to see that others are thinking the same. I said last week when he brought...

There's no simple solution for Christchurch residents affected by floodwater every time it rains.  Canterbury was battered with heavy rain on Saturday and early Sunday, causing surface flooding and road closures, driven by the remnants of ex-cyclone Dovi.  The area of Avondale bore the brunt of the weather.  Mayor Lianne Dalziel told John MacDonald these issues can't be fixed overnight.  “There is...

Did you see that woman on the TV news last night, saying she was leaving her husband because he’d been and got his booster shot?  She was angry. She was at Parliament, at the protest. And there’s a suggestion being made today that she’s not the only one. And that the other protesters at Parliament aren’t the only other ones either. And that a lot of people around the country are furious with the G...

John MacDonald was joined by Labour's Tracey McLellan and National's Gerry Brownlee.  They discussed the current situation with the protest outside Parliament and why politicians had united in their stance to not talk to the group, the current situation with Omicron. Also the review of the ownership of KiwiBank, which has made news in the past day.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...

There are two types of people in this world.  There are the flu-jab people, and the no-flu-jab people.  I’ve always been a no-flu-jab person. Have never felt that I’ve needed it. And I suppose that comes from something I heard ages ago about people getting the flu jab and ending up getting crook anyway.  And being a creature of habit – that’s been my approach ever since. Even despite the fact that...

Today on Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings, John MacDonald was joined for his weekly interview with National Party leader, Christopher Luxon.  Luxon was questioned about his debate in the house yesterday, and comments he made about New Zealand's housing situation. He also spoke about his views on Tiwai Point smelter, ECan and Ngāi Tahu representation and the current protest happening outside of Parl...

Two Christchurch city councillors want the council to pay for swimming lessons for kids - and I think it’s a fantastic idea.  They are Jake McLelland and Melanie Coker. They’ll find out at a meeting on Thursday whether their fellow councillors also think it’s a good idea.  They’ve been motivated by what’s been happening around the country over summer. Already, the number of drownings is the highes...

Today on Politics Friday, John MacDonald was joined by Labour's Poto Williams and National's Gerry Brownlee to talk the big topics of the week.  John asked if the Charlotte Bellis situation had been dealt with appropriately, if the Three Waters Reform was going ahead despite rumours, and what they thought of the local anti vax protesters outside Canterbury schools.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com...

The anti-vaxxers are looking more and more desperate by the day.  And they’ve reached a new low this week, here in Canterbury anyway, setting up their pathetic protests outside some primary schools at drop-off and pick-up time.  I say pathetic for several reasons.  First, when you think about it, these clowns have fallen into the same trap they think those of us who have been vaccinated have falle...

As part of Canterbury Mornings' regular catch up with National Party Leader, Christopher Luxon, John MacDonald asked about his view on the Charlotte Bellis situation and if National would've handled things differently.  Luxon also discussed the recent National Party retreat in Queenstown, and talked about key objectives going forward for the party and how they used the time to come together as a t...

I haven’t had too much to say over the last few days about this Charlotte Bellis situation - but today I feel compelled to bring it up for discussion because I am appalled at the way it’s played out.  In particular, I’m appalled by what I see as her complete lack of gratitude for getting what she wanted in just a matter of days.  Charlotte is the TV journalist who used to work for Al Jazeera - she...

Is it just me? Or are we surrounded by control freaks?  Don’t do this, don’t do that. You can’t do this, you can’t do that. That’s how it’s feeling to me with this ridiculous situation where some employers are telling their staff they can’t travel around the country, in case they catch Omicron.  This isn’t just work travel we’re talking about - which maybe you could understand, because employers h...

Interesting call this morning from the Head of the New Zealand Maori Council - who wants a price freeze on essential grocery items. His name’s Matthew Tukaki - and by essential items he’s talking about the likes of milk, flour, personal health products, sanitary items…those sorts of things. This is on the back of the latest inflation figure that came out last week. 5.9 percent - the highest it’s b...

Today on Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings, John MacDonald spoke to Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel about the weekend's pollution event at Taylors Mistake, and discovered a key issue affecting our waste system.   And on a similar topic, the stench following the recent wastewater plant fire at Bromley continues to impact residents in the city's east. When will they start to see a reduction in smell...

Today on Politics Friday, John MacDonald talked to Labour's Megan Woods and National's Gerry Brownlee about the biggest topics of the week. They discussed the Traffic Light System, and Omicron in the community. And the importation of rapid antigen tests into New Zealand following the Government's announcement earlier this week. Inflation was a key topic, with John asking Minister Woods how the Gov...

If you were planning on going in to Ballantynes today, tomorrow or Sunday for the big sale - forget about it. You’re going to have to find something else to do.  You can still buy stuff from them online - but you can’t go into the shop in town.  And why’s that? Well, I think Ballantynes has just won the prize for the biggest overreaction we’ve seen so far this pandemic.  I didn’t know whether to b...

It’s taken me quite some time to reach the point I’m at today. Some will probably say it’s taken me far too long.  Nevertheless, it has happened – and I’ll come straight out and tell you what it is.  I have lost confidence in the Government's ability to lead the COVID-19 response here in New Zealand.  I was about to say “manage” instead of “lead” – but it’s my confidence in the Government’s “leade...

In our first interview back with Christchurch Mayor, Lianne Dalziel, John MacDonald asked the Mayor how she felt about New Zealand moving into the red light level. And with just a few months left in her role as Mayor, what would she like to achieve before she steps down.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.