John MacDonald was joined by National’s Matt Doocey and Labour’s Reuben Davidson for Politics Friday.

They discussed whether the Government should intervene on the replanting regulations for pine trees on the Port Hills after the multiple intense blazes.

It’s been an emotional week in Parliament with the release of the Abuse in Care Report, so what needs to happen now? And, can we really get our response to mental health and addiction services back on track?

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“Pines are one of the most flammable plants on the planet.”

That’s a quote from a plant ecologist at Victoria University, Dr Nicola Day.

And it's why some Christchurch councils went to the Government wanting a change to the forestry rules, to try and stop pine forests being re-planted on the Port Hills after the big fire earlier this year.

The second big fire on the Port Hills in less than 10 years. And the Government has said no. Which I get. It's saying to the councils that it’s not prepared to change the forestry rules just to suit Christchurch. So I get that.

But, at the same time, it’s nuts that more can’t be done to try and make sure we don’t have another big fire in another seven years.

So, what happened is Christchurch and Selwyn mayors Phil Mauger and Sam Broughton, acting Environment Canterbury chair Craig Pauling and another ECAN councillor, wrote a letter to the Minister of Forestry Todd McClay.

And they pointed-out to him that, after the first fire in 2017, there was no way they could stop pines being re-planted. Which meant, of course, that when the second fire broke out on Valentine’s Day this year the pines were back again and, bingo, we know where things went from there.

And within days there were Port Hills residents coming out and saying how crazy it was that the pines had been re-planted after the 2017 fire and asking, you know, when will we learn?

Since then, the councils have gone as far as they can go - and there are some changes proposed to what’s known as the Canterbury Regional Policy Statement.

But the forestry rules, as they stand, get in the way of anything further. Because they allow anyone who has existing rights to have a forestry plantation on the Port Hills to replace it like-for-like if it’s damaged or destroyed by fire.

The adventure park is a case in point. After 2017, the pines were re-planted there because the landowner had an existing right to plant them. There was nothing that could be done to stop that. This is what these local councils are trying to change. But the Government has said no.

When the fire was happening back in February, a director of McVicar Timber Group —which owns the land where the adventure park is— was quoted in media reports saying that planting native trees costs 10-times more than planting pine trees.

He also said that he didn’t think native trees would survive in the Port Hills because the area is dry and rocky.

At the time, there weren’t many —if any— Port Hills residents agreeing with him.

Such as Hannah Miller, who said: “Seven years ago was the perfect opportunity to re-plant in natives. I’m no expert on fires, but we’ve seen what burns in the Port Hills and what doesn’t burn, and the native vegetation does a pretty damn good job of stopping it.”

She went on to say: “What on earth are we doing planting pines right up there? That’s utterly ridiculous.”

And I’m not going to argue with that. Because it was utterly ridiculous that pines were allowed to be re-planted after the 2017 fire and it’s utterly ridiculous that the forestry rules —as they stand at the moment— allow the same mistake to be made again.

But the Government has said “no”. So where do we go with this now?

If the councils here in Christchurch have had no joy with the Minister of Forestry, they need to be contacting his Cabinet colleague Simon Watts - who is the Climate Change Minister.

Because climate change —and more extreme weather— are part of the picture here.

Just over two weeks ago, Simon Watts released the Government’s five-point climate strategy. And one of those five points - under the heading “Nature-based solutions to address climate change” says the Government wants homes and communities better protected against climate change through restored habitats and ecosystems. It also wants more native forests.

So that’s where I think these councils should go next.

I can see why the Government doesn't want to tinker with the forestry rules just because of what we’ve been through here in Christchurch with two big fires on the Port Hills in seven years. But something has to be done to try and make sure we don't have to go through the same thing all over again.

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Irish comedian Ed Byrne joined John MacDonald on Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings, where he discussed his new show - Tragedy Plus Time.

He explained how he manages to talk about the death of his brother Paul in the show and balance the emotion with humour. Plus his special connection to Kaikoura and Christchurch.

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Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger joined John MacDonald for their regular catchup.

The Mayor gives his thoughts on whether Orana Wildlife Park is in trouble, and how he feels about the council funding for it now.

And, what is the cost to council for the use of road cones in Christchurch? And will he be standing for Mayor in next year's local elections?

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Let’s play a little bit of would-you-rather.

Would you rather the country faced a bill of $1 billion per year for the harm caused by drug use? Or $8 billion per year for the harm caused by alcohol?

I know what your answer is. I’m picking it’s the same as mine. I’d rather we had neither.

But that’s the comparison in front of us with these new stats out today in relation to what drug use is costing the country in terms of harm. And I tell you what - nothing’s going to change, in fact it will get worse, if we keep on treating drug users as criminals.

These people need help. They don’t need the big stick.

The big ticket item in these numbers out today - if you can call it that - is the harm that comes from methamphetamine. And the dollar value that’s being attached to that: $19.4 million a week. That’s according to the the National Drug Intelligence Bureau.

MDMA costs the country $857,000 in harm each week. Cocaine, $990,000 per week. But it’s meth that’s doing the real damage.

And what we’re talking about here is the cost of things like people ending up in hospital, dying - all the social harm. Marijuana doesn’t seem to be included in these numbers. But I would argue that we can’t turn a blind eye to the damage that does.

I know the pro-cannabis crowd find it uncomfortable when you talk about the psychotic effect marijuana use can have on people. But it’s real. But that isn't included in these stats.

These numbers also don’t include things like Ketamine, which is that horse tranquiliser that people are getting off on these days. And that can make them pretty unwell.

So, what we’re talking about here is the harm caused by meth, MDMA and coke.

Add that all up to an annual figure and it comes to about $1.1 billion per year. Versus $8 billion for the harm caused by alcohol.

The big difference, of course, is that alcohol is legal. Which, I think we can assume, means there are going to be more people using alcohol than illegal drugs. And so the dollar value of the harm from alcohol is going to be higher, naturally. And the alcohol horse has well-and-truly bolted.

But, is it too late when it comes to the drugs the police are talking about today? In particular, methamphetamine.

In some respects it is too late. But in another respect, it’s not.

It's been about 25 years since methamphetamine really took off in New Zealand. And it’s a great market for the suppliers.

The police have said someone can bring-in 600 kilos of the stuff to New Zealand for a couple of million dollars, sell it and make a profit of around $120 million.

That’s according to Detective Superintendent Greg Williams, who runs the National Organised Crime Group. And he says it’s been the infiltration of gangs from overseas that has really done the damage.

Because, originally, it was the local gangs selling all the meth. Then, with the 501 deportees from Australia bringing their Rebels and Comancheros gang patches with them, that saw things really take off.

Because they had the sophisticated operations and international connections to take it next-level from what it used to be.

And that is not going to change much, is it? Yes, the Police and Customs do amazing work trying to shut down these operations. But I think, as we’ve seen over the years, any so-called “war on drugs” is like a game of whack-a-mole. You shut down one operation here and another operation pops up over there.

So I think, like alcohol, there is an aspect of this that we can’t realistically do much about. And that’s the supply side of meth.

Where I think there is hope, is doing something to deal with the demand for this appalling drug. And that is going to require us to be a bit more open to treating meth use as a health issue - instead of a criminal issue.

I’m saying punish the suppliers and support the buyers. The users. Crack down, as much as we can, on the creeps bringing this stuff into the country and creeps selling it.

But, at the same time, put more effort into helping people stop using it and prevent others from starting. Which would require us talking about it more. Teaching kids in schools about meth. Spending more on treatment programmes for meth users.

And not treating drug users as criminals.

Would you be up for that?

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One headline I’ve read about President Joe Biden quitting the presidential race is describing it as “a shock decision”.

It’s no shock to me. But it was, apparently, to some of his campaign staff.

According to reports, some of them had no idea their man had made-up his mind and was pulling the plug. Which I think is too little, too late for the Democrats. They are toast - just as much as they were yesterday. Possibly more so.

Because, at least they had a candidate that people know. Not only has Biden quit the race for the White House, he’s also endorsed his vice-president Kamala Harris to be the Democrats nominee for president. Someone who, from this side of the world anyway, seems to have been invisible since becoming VP four years ago.

I’ve often wondered whether that’s because she got so much media attention when they won back in 2020, that Joe’s nose was out of joint and he told her to take more of a back seat.

But back to the “shock announcement”. Here’s a quote from someone described as being a Biden state official: “I don’t think a soul in Delaware knew.” Which is where Biden has been, since testing positive for COVID last week.

Apparently, his campaign staff had pretty much just got off phone calls to Democratic Party people making plans for the party’s convention in a few weeks time - as if everything was just rolling-on as usual - and then Joe goes and makes his big announcement.

The question now, is whether Joe Biden has done the Democrats any favour pulling out. And I don’t think he has. The time for him to do his party a favour was way before now.

And I’m not talking about the three weeks since that TV debate with Donald Trump when the world started to sit-up and pay attention to what people had been saying long before then. That he was declining - like we all do when we reach a certain age - and was struggling.

If Joe Biden was serious about doing a favour for the party he has dedicated his adult life to, then he would have done it the favour he thinks he’s doing it, the day after the last election.

Day One of his administration should have included succession planning on its to-do list for the four years it had up its sleeve. But he didn’t - and the party didn’t - and now we’ve had this situation over the past few weeks where criticism has flourished and Joe Biden has floundered.

When all this noise started, I was of the view that a lot of the criticism was nothing short of age-ism. Because, if an 81-year-old is up to the job, why shouldn’t they keep doing it?

“If you’re the best person for the job, fill your boots.”

But, as someone once said, what good is a mind if you can’t change it?

And, while I started thinking Joe Biden was being unfairly treated, I now think that his belligerence in denying the inevitable and saying he was still the best person for the job - in fact, the only person for the job - means he has reaped what he has sowed.

In just a few weeks, my view has shifted from seeing him as someone being targetted just because of his age, to seeing him as someone who just didn't know or wasn't willing to accept that time was up.

Which is professionally tragic for someone so obviously dedicated to doing his bit for society. You can’t argue with his commitment.

He’s had a lot of personal tragedy in his life. And, the way things have played out for him, it’s a tragic way to end his career.

Not surprisingly, Donald Trump hasn’t held back since the announcement and he’s been saying on social media that he thinks it will be easier to beat Kamala Harris than it would have been to beat Joe Biden.

And, I agree with that. As I said earlier, where has she been?

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Do you know what the most pointless piece of road safety advice is? Drive to the conditions.

I get it and it’s well-meaning. But it’s pointless. A waste of breath. Because some people are incapable of doing it.

And it would seem from some of the reports in the past 24 hours about those two buses which went off the road yesterday on the Twizel-Tekapo highway after hitting black ice, that perhaps the drivers of those buses knew nothing about how you should be driving in sub-zero temperatures.

So they either didn’t know how to drive to the conditions - or just didn’t care.

This isn’t a one-off, either, by the way, and, I reckon the time has come for us to stop mucking around with this “drive to the conditions” nonsense and do one of two things.

We either follow the lead of some European countries and make winter tyres mandatory on all vehicles. Or, as soon as we know temperatures are going to be sub-zero where there’s a state highway, we close the road. We don’t wait around until the road is frozen over and it’s too late.

I see the guy in charge of the bus company involved in yesterday’s crashes is disputing any suggestion that they were going too fast. He would say that, though, wouldn’t he?

It’s not like he’s going to come out and say ‘oh yeah, those muppets I pay to drive my buses have got no idea about driving to the conditions’.

So, instead of relying on some bus company owner in Auckland, I’m going to give more credence to the eyewitness account of a chap by the name of Tony McClelland, who was on the road at the time. I bet he isn’t buying what the bus company guy is saying, either.

He was driving from Christchurch to Omarama. And he’s been in the news saying that the road conditions on that highway yesterday morning were the worst he’s ever seen.

He hit black ice himself near Tekapo Airport, nearly lost control of his van and almost ended up in a ditch. So he called the police and asked them to close the road.

Here’s a quote from what he’s saying: “You're looking at minus-5, minus-4 degrees, foggy conditions - that State Highway should have been closed. No doubt and it wasn't. There's just a big black sign up by the airfield saying 'dangerous conditions, black ice'. That's how people die."

Thankfully, no one did die. One person has serious injuries and two others have moderate injuries. And thank goodness those buses ended-up where they did - off the road and not in the middle of it.

But back to Tony McLelland. Once he’d called the cops, asking them to close the road, he thought about turning back but decided to press-on. But he stuck to 60kph. And it wasn’t long after that that he saw these two buses “flying out of the fog”. That’s what he’s saying.

And here’s how he describes what he saw. "They were not doing 60. They were not doing 80. They were doing at least 100, probably a little bit more."

And he obviously drives that road quite a bit, because he says it’s not uncommon to see drivers hoofing along at 100 kph during winter, when there’s black ice on the road.

But this sort of nutbar driving happens everywhere. Less than two weeks ago, police caught a driver doing 134 kph in icy, foggy conditions on the road to Aoraki/Mt Cook - with the whole family on board.

This was on State Highway 80. It was around minus-3.

The day after that, the police came out with a warning, saying the number of people driving at “horrendous” speeds in winter conditions is appalling.

Over a two-week period, 26 people had been caught doing speeds over 120 kph in icy conditions.

So what happened yesterday isn’t an isolated one-off. It’s happening on an all-too-regular basis and just telling people to “drive to the conditions” is worthy, but lame.

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