Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald
9am-12pm Weekdays
Every weekday join the new voice of local issues on Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald, 9am-12pm weekdays.
It’s all about the conversation with John, as he gets right into the things that get our community talking.
If it’s news you’re after, backing John is the combined power of the Newstalk ZB and New Zealand Herald news teams. Meaning when it comes to covering breaking news – you will not beat local radio.
With two decades experience in communications based in Christchurch, John also has a deep understanding of and connections to the Christchurch and Canterbury commercial sector.
Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings 9am-12pm with John MacDonald on 100.1FM and iHeartRadio.
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"Was always the plan" Mayor defends portaloo use at One NZ Stadium
Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger is defending One New Zealand Stadium for its lack of facilities for general admission concert goers. Some of the 12-thousand people...
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John MacDonald: Politicians have no idea what's important to us
Sometimes it feels like an easy thing to say that politicians have no idea what really matters to us. What’s important to us - the people who put them in their positions...
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Adam McGrath ahead of "Come Together" gig at the Town Hall
Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run album is going to be performed in its entirety in the first Come Together concert for 2026 at the Christchurch Town Hall on Friday...
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John MacDonald: What you don't hear about Singapore's public service
I’ll make a bet with you. These 9,000 job cuts in the public sector that the government’s announced won’t happen. It’s easy to say. But making it happen is a completely...
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John MacDonald: Stadium loo fighters - not the best seat in the house
First world problems and all that but, is it really ok to make people use portaloos outside Christchurch’s new $683 million One NZ Stadium? Some people who were...
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John MacDonald: Make KiwiSaver compulsory, but not for babies
When I first heard about Winston Peters’ idea to give every newborn baby $1,000 so they can have a KiwiSaver account from birth, I liked the sound of it. Until I...
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John MacDonald: Neighbourhoods change. That's life.
I can understand why people living at Pegasus, north of Christchurch, are upset about the golf course there being sold to a large property developer. But, at the...
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"Honoured" Six60 on headlining the first ever show at One NZ Stadium
Matiu Walters and Marlon Gerbes from Six60 joined Canterbury Mornings ahead of "Once in a Lifetime" at One New Zealand Stadium - the first ever music gig at the...
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Politics Friday: Weenink and Davidson on Air NZ, Wegovy, and fast track projects
National's Vanessa Weenink and Labour's Reuben Davidson joined John MacDonald for Politics Friday this week. They covered some of the biggest topics from the week...
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John MacDonald: What spending should the Government prioritise?
Where do you think government spending should be prioritised? According to new survey findings, a third of us reckon health funding and access to medicines is most...
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"Nothing to do with us" Hipkins denies Labour involvement in ex-staffers social media trolling
Opposition Leader Chris Hipkins wouldn't say whether his internal polling indicates he would need Te Pāti Māori's support to form a government if Labour is successful...
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John MacDonald: Why ask us what we think and then go and do this?
Why do councils bother with public consultation when, it seems, they don’t even listen to what people have to say? I’m asking that after the announcement by the...
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John MacDonald: Expecting too much from the Bank of Mum and Dad
When I was a first-home buyer, I can honestly say that I never expected any parental assistance with the finances. Now, granted, my father was no longer alive and...
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John MacDonald: Poll of Polls no comfort for National
Labour leader Chris Hipkins won’t be loving the news out today that the coalition government is on its way to a second term, but Christopher Luxon shouldn’t be either....
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John MacDonald: Out with the old stadium, or not?
I have my reservations about the Government’s new fast-track laws, because it encourages that whole “do something for the sake of doing something” mentality. And...
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Politics Friday: McLellan & Campbell on Citizenship tests, OECD report, and Airbnbs
National's Hamish Campbell and Labour's Tracey McLellan joined John MacDonald for Politics Friday this week. They covered some of the biggest topics from the week...
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John MacDonald: Is Airbnb spoiling our central city?
Quite rightly, people living in the central city in Christchurch have had a gutsful of the number of places being rented out as Airbnb-type accommodation. They’re...
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"We've got to get on with it" Mauger defends co-governance around red zone decisions
Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger has defended the co‑governance model of the Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor Regeneration Committee, which is investigating potential regeneration...
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John MacDonald: Christchurch's only amalgamation option
I heard Barry Soper say yesterday that, despite all the hard talk, the Government’s so-called fast-tracking of local government amalgamation won’t actually happen...
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John MacDonald: Don't ignore the Singapore PM's fuel warning
If you woke up this morning hoping things had somehow sorted themselves out in the Strait of Hormuz, sorry to disappoint. It’s still the cluster it was yesterday....
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John MacDonald: The bit about ACT's immigration policy I don't buy
ACT Leader David Seymour seems to be going all Winston Peters on it, with his party’s new immigration policy. There’s stuff in it I think is ok. But there’s one...
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Politics Friday: Doocey and Webb on Red zone building, the medias behaviour in Parliament, and coalition in-fighting
National's Matt Doocey and Labour's Duncan Webb joined John MacDonald for Politics Friday this week. They covered some of the biggest topics from the week from...
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John MacDonald: Hipkins needs to deliver on pension talk
Is it a flip flop? Is it a sign of things to come? Or is it just something Labour leader Chris Hipkins said off the top of his head when he was asked about it yesterday? Means...
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John MacDonald: How can the PM trust this guy?
Winston Peters has gone too far this time. Last week, Christopher Luxon and Nicola Willis were telling us not to trust him. They‘ll be saying it even louder now....
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John MacDonald: I'm with Winston on the trains
There’s that saying that you should never waste a good crisis. And, according to Winston Peters, the trucking companies are taking that advice and using the current...
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"He clearly doesn't like the scrutiny" Hipkins on PM cancelling his regular Breakfast interview
Labour leader Chris Hipkins says Christopher Luxon is running away from scrutiny after he cancelled his regular weekly interview on TVNZ's Breakfast programme. "The...
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John MacDonald: A super start for our super stadium
Anyone who didn’t feel excited for and proud of Christchurch over the long weekend might need to check if they’ve still got a pulse. Because what a ripper. And...
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"I don't know why any business would be negative about it" Smash Palace Bar owner on One NZ stadium
Ahead of the first fully ticketed event at One New Zealand Stadium, John MacDonald caught up with Greg May, owner of central city bar, Smash Palace. LISTEN ABOVE
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"I feel so extraordinarily privileged" Caroline Harvie-Teare on running the new One NZ Stadium
Ahead of the first fully ticketed event at One New Zealand Stadium, Venues Ōtautahi CEO took John MacDonald on a tour of One New Zealand Stadium. LISTEN ABOVE
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John MacDonald: Why the new stadium means so much to us
Make no mistake, today is a massive day for Christchurch. Normally, you’d say the official opening - when the ‘hoi-polloi’ gather to cut ribbons and make speeches...
