John MacDonald: Fuel relief plan is focusing on the wrong people

I reckon the Government is going about this fuel price rescue package the wrong way. It seems to think it's doing the right thing picking low-to-middle income earners who, it assumes, are struggling to pay the higher fuel prices.  Of course, someone on the minimum wage, for example, is going to be…

Liam Dann: NZ Herald Business Editor on the GDP growing by 0.2%

New Zealand's economy wasn't doing as well as we thought, even before war broke out in the Middle East.  Latest Stats NZ data shows GDP rose just 0.2% in the December quarter – well under the Reserve Bank forecast of 0.5%.  Inflation hit 3.1% in the quarter, above the central Bank's forecast of 2…

John MacDonald: ANZAC force - are we biting off more than we can chew?

While I don't like the idea of us being dragged into the AUKUS military alliance with Australia, the UK, and the US, I think what the government's doing creating something along the lines of an ANZAC defence force - I think it makes a truckload of sense. The plan is that by 2035 there'll be an int…

John MacDonald: Food prices are one thing we can't blame on politicians

There’s no doubt the Government has failed us on food prices.  But then, it was always going to. In fact, any politician who says they’re going to bring food prices down is dreaming.  This election year, if you hear any of them saying they’re going to get on top of the costs of living and you’ll …

Chris Hipkins on his Ex-wife's Social Media posts, Rising food and fuel prices

Labour Leader Chris Hipkins doesn't want people to read too much into him considering his political future as ripples spread from personal allegations made by his ex-wife.  Jade Paul posted claims on a private Facebook page on Sunday that are now deleted, none of which related to unlawful conduct.…

John MacDonald: Are my views on EVs changing at all?

Maybe my head is in the sand, but all this excitement about fuel prices isn’t making me any more inclined to buy an electric vehicle.  Tell that to the people who are getting all excited and buying them. In big numbers too, it seems.  So we’ve got the government warning that petrol prices could h…

John MacDonald: The COVID toilet paper rush was OTT and so is this

I’ve got a story which has Covid-19 toilet paper mania written all over it.  I was blown away talking to someone in Christchurch at the weekend who said they’d been out and bought a whole lot of extra food because of the fuel situation with everything going on in the Middle East.  This is not som…

John MacDonald: The only way to stop the tanks running dry

Aside from trying to make sure we don’t run out of fuel because of what’s going on in the middle east, the other challenge the Government has on its hands is that we’re not the country we were six years.  Six years ago, when COVID first hit, we were much more compliant. Way more than we are now.  …

Politics Friday: Hamish Campbell and Tracey McLellan on the Covid inquiry, Christ Church Cathedral, and Car-less days

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, including the release of the second phase of the Covid Inquiry, if more public money is required for the Christ Church Cathedral, and…

John MacDonald: Buying NZ made has never been so important

Three hundred and fifty jobs at Heinz Wattie's are on the line and we’ve only got ourselves to blame.  I’m including myself here.  Because all of us have pretty much fallen into the trap of thinking cheapest is best.  And, more often than not, if we think cheapest is best then we end up buying s…