Canterbury Mornings

Trevor Mallard is again facing pressure to stand down.The Speaker sparked a testy debate with National MPs last night, after he said under Parliamentary Privilege a worker had committed sexual assault.Mallard has previously apologised to the worker for wrongly accusing him of rape.Leader of the House, Chris Hipkins, says the debate didn't reflect well on Parliament or the people involved, and Jacinda Ardern will release a statement on the matter today.National leader Judith Collins told Chris Lynch  the Prime Minister needs to be decisive.“What she should do is tell Trevor Mallard to stand down. He needs to go, he is a disgrace to parliament.”LISTEN ABOVE

- RNZAshburton District Council has unanimously backed a move to ditch the district's derided slogan.The majority of councillors are supporting a move to formalise a possible change in chambers with a few wanting to open it up to the public if necessary."Ashburton: Whatever it Takes" has occasionally been the subject of ridicule in recent times, appearing on a handful of lists of one of the worst town slogans in the country.It seems the district's community leaders unanimously agree that the district's catchphrase for more than a decade could do with some rejuvenation.The views of the eight elected members were canvassed with no one opposing a move for a change.Eastern Ward councillor Lynette Lovett, who initially could not recall what the slogan was, said the district could do better in promoting itself."We need people to stop and eat in Ashburton so we need something catchy," she said."I think it's timely."Multiple projects in the Mid Canterbury town, including a $15 million CBD revitalisation and a new Lib

Christchurch's mayor feels partly responsible for residents' lax attitude towards recycling.The council's confiscated more than 650 yellow bins in the past year - after a contamination spike during the lockdown.Mayor Lianne Dalziel told Chris Lynch recycling couldn't be sorted during the lockdown, so residents were able to get away with it."I think I was partially responsible for the decision that saw the yellow bin being used for all sorts of rubbish."Meanwhile, Christchurch residents will have a chance to speak their mind on how their city will look in 10 years.Consultation on the council's long term plan closed last month - and staff are now wading through the public's submissions.Dalziel says public hearings begin this week."We've received 2374 submissions, and 445 submitters wished to be heard, and about 180 of those are organisations."LISTEN ABOVE

The ACT Party has added to the criticism of Marama Davidson's appearance at a Mongrel Mob event.The Green Party co-leader and Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt attended a gathering at the Hamilton gang HQ on Saturday.They discussed human rights, justice and racism in front of a room of patched members.ACT Party Justice Spokesperson Nicole McKee told Chris Lynch they were wrong to be there."Gangs up there are terrorising our communities, from one end of the country to the other. We're seieng harm being caused in our emergency housing. Gun crime by gangs is at an all time high."LISTEN ABOVE

There appears to be mixed feelings in the South Island over the Government's announcement all of the 20 District Health Boards will be replaced by one, single national health body.It will be called Health New Zealand and is part of the biggest changes to the country's health care system in history.And a new Māori Health authority will also be set up, with the power to commission health services and monitor Māori health, as well as developing policy.Canterbury DHB member James Gough has slammed the changes.He said he's concerned for how this will look for the rural health sector."Ranfurly isn't Rolleston and Auckland isn't Christchurch so having that local understanding of the needs of the community, I think, is really important."It's a one size fits all approach and they generally don't work."Gough said he does not believe this is the way forward for the public system."The changes we are seeing or what has been proposed seems incredibly costly, radical, and not founded on good advice but potentially damaging

A $3.6 million redevelopment of Christchurch's Lancaster Park into a green space and sports fields has begun.It is likely that sports games can be played there from early next year.This first stage of the redevelopment is expected to take around nine months to complete.It includes cleaning up and levelling the site and removing the foundations of the demolished Lancaster Park stadium.Christchurch City Council head of parks Andrew Rutledge said it is a significant milestone following the loss of the stadium."Lancaster Park has long held a special place in many Cantabrians' hearts. After a proud 130-year history of hosting sporting events of all levels before the stadium came down, it's fitting that this park will now get a new lease of life as a community sports and recreation area."Rutledge said a spatial plan, which was developed in response to community need for more recreational areas and sports grounds in the area, is being used as a guide for the redevelopment work.Further development signalled in the sp

A swim club is fighting fight to keep a Christchurch pool open, after finding the City Council made a $5 million blooper.Embarrassed staff have apologised for mistakenly predicting it would cost $7.7 million to future-proof Wharenui Pool.Wharenui Swim Club President Chris Averill believes the cost is closer to a less eye-watering $1.5 to $2 million.He told Chris Lynch the council has said it would reconsider the plan to close the pool if the estimate was lower than the original.He's hoping it will stick to its word.LISTEN ABOVE

The ACT Party's railing against government plans to change laws around hate speech.The work was prompted by the March 15th mosque attacks.But David Seymour says a crackdown on hate speech will punish people for subjectively-held opinions.He's touring the country to rally support for free speech.Speaking with Chris Lynch, he announced his free speech tour is now coming to Christchurch.'More and more people feel unable to express themselves, people are concerned about de-platforming or being set upon by the mob. This is dark ages stuff."We must defend out tradition of free speech, and this is what our tour is all about."LISTEN ABOVE

The vigilante Christchurch City Councillor fined for digging a 70 metre trench to solve long-term flooding on Pages Road is now considering running for Mayor.A Christchurch City councillor has been fined $300 after digging a trench to solve a street's flooding problem that had gone unfixed for 10 years.Councillors Phil Mauger and James Daniels hired a digger and dug the 70-metre trench on Pages Rd and the council spent nearly $10,000 plugging it due to safety concerns.An investigation was launched into their actions.Residents applauded Mauger at the time, and there are calls on social media for him to run for Mayor.Mauger told Chris Lynch he's putting serious thought into it, spurred on by a conversation with his late father.The councillor, who owns Mauger's Contracting Ltd which carries out earthmoving and construction, must also carry out other red zone maintenance work at no cost to council.Mauger told Chris Lynch he might not have gone about fixing the flooding the right way - but he had to do something.H

A Christchurch mother wants police to crack down on dealers getting away free from sons and daughters dying from synthetic cannabis.Jenny lost her son who was a mental health inpatient - but hasn't heard back from the police after giving a text message from his drug dealer.She told Chris Lynch the drug dealer wanted his $50 back.“Even the day after my son died, the person who he brought it from wanted proof from my daughter that my son Sean was dead.”LISTEN ABOVE

The idea of Queenstown being an expensive destination may be out the window with hostel accommodation costs down 50 per cent for this time of year.Chairman of the NZ Hostel Association Brent Duncan told Chris Lynch on Newstalk ZB although the city has been expensive in the past, prices are quite affordable at the moment.Rooms are available for as low as $17 at the Nomads Queenstown and $23 at the Adventure Queenstown Hostel, Duncan said they usually sit at $36 for this time of year.Similar rates are being boasted by other hostels in the city."The occupancy that we've been struggling with down here is really causing a lot of competition and low rates."Duncan said they have been working hard to change the perception of hostels."We are so removed from that stereotype and that's what we are trying to change. Traditionally people think of hostels as something they would use while traveling for a long time and trying to save money but there are a lot of benefits to using the hostel system while traveling even for a

Canterbury Employers Chamber of Commerce chief executive Leeann Watson joined Chris Lynch to talk about the economic outlook for Christchurch businesses.LISTEN ABOVE

Speaker Trevor Mallard's job is safe, according to the Prime Minister.That's despite a statement of claim in a defamation action brought by the man he wrongly accused of being a rapist.It claims Mallard was going to make the man's reputation and conduct the centrepiece of the action - if he didn't back down.National's Judith Collins wrote to Jacinda Ardern saying he should be removed from office for the threat.Speaking with Chris Lynch, Collins said Mallard needs to be removed as Speaker immediately, and called on the Prime Minister to take action."How can the PM justify this? If he was a National speaker, she would have removed him by now."It's time Ardern puts on her big girl pants, and tells him to go. He really is unfit for the job."LISTEN ABOVE

Stress is to blame for a spike in the number of strokes after the Christchurch terror attacks, a study has found.New research, led by Canterbury District Health Board neurologist Dr Teddy Wu in collaboration with the New Zealand Brain Research Institute, shows there were four times as many acute strokes in the city the week after the mosque attacks and more than four times the number of large strokes.Dr Wu said the surge in stroke hospitalisations was only found in Christchurch.He said it is likely stress around the attacks increased the risk of blood clotting leading to more strokes."The statistics suggest the observations of increased treatments and large strokes in Christchurch did not occur by chance."The most plausible explanation is the generalised stress response after the terror attack. This may increase risk of blood clotting."Professor Tim Anderson, clinical director of the NZBRI, said the study has been hailed internationally as an exceptional and important piece of work."It shows a clear relations

Jacinda Ardern says the Government's taken a tailored approach to supporting those traumatised by the March 15 attack.It's two years today since 51 people were gunned down and another 40 injured, at two Christchurch mosques.Some witnesses who weren't injured are crying out for counselling and support.The Prime Minister acknowledged the debate about whether ACC should cover mental injury - but she told Chris Lynch a change in this case would have wider ramifications for the system."What we as a Cabinet decided to do was open up eligibility in other places to be able to support people that might fall into that category." Ardern also wants to take the Christchurch Call further - which saw Governments and tech companies pledged to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online.She says she wants more transparency around algorithms that automatically choose videos for people to watch."What do we do to try and prevent people from going into this space of these really hateful ideologies, so that's where I

What sort of game play is this?That's National's question over why the Government's deciding on Auckland's alert levels today but only telling Kiwis tomorrow.Cabinet meets this afternoon - but Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will announce the decision at midday Friday.National leader Judith Collins told Chris Lynch Jacinda Ardern needs to just make a good decision."We've got people who have got weddings organised, we've got the America's Cup and we are carrying on as though we like to be in lockdown." LISTEN ABOVE

When Christchurch woman Julie Zarifeh lost her husband to pancreatic cancer she never imagined that 16 days later she would also lose her son in a tragic rafting accident.Paul Zarifeh, died on November 23, 2017, and his 27-year-old son Sam drowned while on a rafting trip with workmates on December 9.The family's grief was immense and at the time Julie Zarifeh told the Herald she felt she would not "ever truly be happy again"."To experience both ends of the grief spectrum in a two-week period – the very sad but anticipated bereavement of Paul, but then the acute, tragic, shock loss of eldest son Sam – is truly indescribable," she said.Just over three years have passed since the double blow rocked the family and Zarifeh has published a book about how she coped with the loss and moved her life forward.A clinical psychologist, Zarifeh embarked on a journey of "active grieving' and said once she had adjusted to the initial shock, she started setting herself goals.The first was a 450km cycle tour around Sri Lanka t

A 14-year-old New Zealand Defence Force cadet has been awarded for saving the life of a stabbing victim in Christchurch.On December 6, Cadet Seth Whale, from the No.18 Squadron, Air Training Corps, was nearby when a person was critically stabbed in Hoon Hay.Whilst others assisted the person to the ground, Whale grabbed a towel and applied direct pressure to the wound until ambulance staff arrived.The teen had attended a one-day Red Cross Essential First Aid Course a week earlier.Commandant of the Cadet Forces Commander Andrew Law said, while the course provided Cadet Whale with the knowledge, it was his courage and determination that empowered him to take action in a critical first aid situation."CDT Whale's efforts during this traumatic incident demonstrated well the values of the New Zealand Cadet Forces, and were a key component in saving a human life. He is a worthy recipient of a Commandant's Commendation."Whale received a commendation from Commander Law at a public ceremony on Tuesday night.Commander La

A recovered nitrous oxide addict says the gas is still being sold in Christchurch dairies.Laughing gas, also known as NOS, is banned for therapeutic use under the Medicines Act - but can still be found in food products, like whipped cream.Larissa Wright, who woke up paralysed in January after peak use of 160 canisters a day - told Chris Lynch it's still within easy reach.LISTEN ABOVE 

One royal commentator says Meghan Markle's victim mentality won't wash in America.She and her husband Prince Harry gave a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, which included allegations of racism from the Royal family and a lack of support for mental health issues.UK journalist Brendan O'Neill told Chris Lynch the interview was a grotesque spectacle.He says about 40 million people have lost their jobs in the US during lockdown."People are having to survive on a stimulus cost for $2000, which is half the cost of Meghan's dress she wore for the interview."LISTEN ABOVE