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Every weekday join the new voice of local issues on Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald, 9am-12pm weekdays.Its all about the conversation with John, as he gets right into the things that get our community talking.If its news youre 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 Mornings9am-12pm withJohn MacDonald on100.1FM and iHeartRadio. Language: en-us Genres: News, News Commentary, Politics Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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John MacDonald: Is the PM missing his moment?
Sunday, 29 March, 2026
I bumped into a mate at the supermarket yesterday and one of the first things he said to me was, “Where’s Christopher Luxon?”. And I knew straight away what he was getting at. He was echoing the sentiment of political commentators over the weekend who were asking why the Prime Minister isn’t front and centre of the government’s response to the fuel situation. Not that Nicola Willis seems to be complaining. She appears to be relishing the opportunity to be the government’s mouthpiece. Which is rather unusual given what we’ve become used to in recent years. Particularly since Covid - but we saw it before then too. Jacinda Ardern is the most obvious comparison. But John Key, as well. On the day of the big quake, he called an urgent cabinet meeting, then he was straight on a plane to Christchurch. Jacinda Ardern was the same after the mosque attacks. She was front and centre when the White Island tragedy happened, and, as we know, she was the face of her government’s Covid response. These commentators who were talking about Christopher Luxon over the weekend were making the inevitable comparison to Jacinda Ardern. And it’s something I've been thinking about too. This fuel situation is Christopher Luxon's opportunity to shine. But, apart from photos on social media of him on the blower to other world leaders talking fuel, that’s about it. The rest of the time it’s either Nicola Willis on her own or Nicola Willis with the Prime Minister at her side. And I don’t think it’s doing him any favours at all. Take Friday, for example. The Prime Minister was in Christchurch for the official opening of the new One New Zealand Stadium - while he let Nicola Willis front the government’s fuel update. As one commentator put it: “It is difficult to imagine his predecessors - Ardern, Key or Helen Clark - surrendering such a platform at such a time.” Nicola Willis is doing a very good job in front of the fuel response. But, in my mind, she’s doing a job the Prime Minister should be doing. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
