Gordon Campbell on our (fatal?) shortage of ventilators
With a few honourable exceptions there has been a striking lack of focus on the (insufficient) number of ventilators in our intensive care units – […]
March 2020
Gordon Campbell on what leadership ( and the lack of it) looks like
L eadership is an intangible quality, but most New Zealanders will be thanking their lucky stars for what’s being provided by PM Jacinda Ardern and […]
Gordon Campbell and six short takes about the lockdown
To begin with, a correction : in yesterday’s column I said that there were 650,000 New Zealanders in Australia that do not qualify for income […]
Gordon Campbell on Australia’s callousness, and grandparents as parents amid Covid-19
Reportedly, there are some 650,000 New Zealanders living in Australia. Many will lose their jobs in the economic crash caused by Covid-19, and none of […]
Gordon Campbell on how long lockdowns need to last, and the ventilator shortages
The lockdown announced yesterday by PM Jacinda Ardern is consistent with the advice from the Imperial College Covid-19 team in London, whose blueprint the NZ […]
Gordon Campbell on going to Level Four (and scrapping the Olympics) right now
Sure, there’s a logic to having four stages of response to Covid-19, flexible enough to vary region by region. The idea being…. The stepped response […]
Gordon Campbell on the sudden clamour for government bailouts
So many U-turns, in such a short period of time. Pity poor old Fox News, which had been dutifully pushing the Trumpian line that the […]
Gordon Campbell on the economic stimulus package
Obviously, yesterday’s massive $12.1 billion economic stimulus package (4% of GDP !) will not totally insulate people from the economic hardship caused by the coronavirus, […]
Gordon Campbell on the use of existing drugs to reduce the effects of coronavirus
So now, we’re all getting up to speed with the travel bans, the rigorous handwashing and drying, the social distancing, and the avoidance of public […]
Gordon Campbell on the global panic, and the local plans to deal with Coronavirus
Yesterday, US President Donald Trump gave Americans and Europeans a lot of good reasons to panic and/or bristle with outrage. Instead of providing leadership and […]
Gordon Campbell on the loss of abortion safe zones
No doubt, last night’s defeat of abortion law reform provisions that would have created safe zones around abortion clinics will be portrayed, by some, as […]
Gordon Campbell on the oil price smackdown, and on National’s fatuous crusade against red tape
Safe to say, Vladimir Putin did not expect the response he has received amidships from the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. Earlier, Russia chose to […]
Gordon Campbell on 22 short takes about Super Tuesday
With obvious apologies to the Simpsons… Here’s my 22 short takes on the 14 Super Tuesday primaries that combined yesterday to produce a common narrative […]
Gordon Campbell on Shane Jones as the liability no-one needs to bear anymore
New Zealand First has needed a diversion after weeks of bad coverage over its dodgy handling of donations, but it really, really doesn’t need what […]
Gordon Campbell on the US (and NATO) surrender in Afghanistan
The deal that has just been has struck to end the involvement of the US and its NATO allies in Afghanistan bears the usual hallmarks […]