Gordon Campbell on red tape and Nicky Hager’s regal reward
Not for the first time, David Seymour looks like an answer to a non-existent problem. Reportedly, ACT is promising to establish a Ministry of Regulations […]
Columns
Gordon Campbell on how private profits are driving Defence spending
Speak of the devil. The Australian website Crikey has just launched an investigative series about the notorious lobbying firm Crosby Textor, or C/T as it […]
Gordon Campbell on sending mixed messages out on purpose
National has developed a novel election strategy. It involves being both for and against almost every issue that comes down the pike. The use of […]
Gordon Campbell on National‘s aversion to transparency
In the last year of a second term in government. the election outcome shouldn’t even be close. All that’s required for a competent Opposition to […]
Gordon Campbell on America’s plunge into religious extremism
Yikes. If either Donald Trump or Florida governor Ron De Santis win next year’s presidential contest with Joe Biden, the commander-in-chief of the world’s greatest […]
Gordon Campbell on the NZ Steel deal
Goodness gracious: The National Party has come out against corporate welfare! Or at least it is dead against the government’s $140 million subsidy deal with […]
Gordon Campbell on the Budget
Heaven help us, but this year’s Budget is what a “targeted” and “no frills” response to the financial hardship facing hundreds of thousands of New […]
Gordon Campbell on trying to pass National on the right
It may be naïve to expect any politician to be consistent, but Christopher Luxon really is in a class of his own. One day, he’s […]
Gordon Campbell on Labour’s epic fail on seabed mining
Seabed mining is a substantive issue. It pits environment harm and the interests of indigenous communities against the relatively few jobs for locals, and the […]
Gordon Campbell on the endless spending on Defence
Defence is the one area of government spending where the politicians never, ever demand – but how on earth do we propose to pay for […]
Gordon Campbell on the wilting of the Greens
For a party that thinks global, the Greens have developed a habit of acting local, and by local I mean North Island, and by North […]
Gordon Campbell on the Coronation
Finally, the imperial sound of one hand clapping. Saturday night NZ time, Charles III will be officially sworn in as King and as our head […]
Gordon Campbell on the Hollywood writers’ strike
Capitalism has a habit of throwing up business models that disrupt business as usual, but that are not sustainable. Uber for instance, couldn’t provide a […]
Gordon Campbell on the politics of “greedflation”
Even though inflation has peaked – it fell to 6.7% last week – we are still being told to expect high interest rates to persist […]
Gordon Campbell on tax injustice, and on being prepped for war with China
The IRD’s significant research proves that the rich (on average) are taxed on their income at less than half the rate paid by ordinary wage […]
Gordon Campbell on the Aussie citizenship changes
In all likelihood, Anthony Albanese and Chris Hipkins have quite different readings of the pathway to citizenship that has just been opened up for Kiwis […]
Gordon Campbell on China’s Big New Power Troika
Rather than run the risk (and suffer the indignity) of putting Rupert Murdoch on the witness stand, Fox News has paid the $US788 million required […]
Gordon Campbell on the morning after Three Waters
Reportedly, local democracy has been saved from the brutal tyranny of centralised water reform. One would like to think that spirited debate is now breaking […]
Gordon Campbell on Auckland’s ghastly mayor, and the water reforms
By crikey, once Wayne Brown finds out who was in charge of the city during Auckland’s anniversary foods, I bet they’ll cop an earful. So […]
Gordon Campbell on the reasons for opposing AUKUS
In the early 1980s, New Zealand walked out of the ANZUS pact on principle, rather than be an accomplice to nuclear war. We now seem […]
Gordon Campbell on rules for lobbyists
As predicted in this column on Monday the Trump indictment has turned out (a) to hinge on New York state law 175.10 on the falsifying […]
Gordon Campbell on hiking up interest rates
Elsewhere in the world, some central bankers are showing signs of re-considering the wisdom of barrelling on with the crusade against inflation. For fear that […]
Gordon’s Campbell on Auckland’s dysfunctional mayor, and air travel chaos
As Auckland’s cantankerous mayor stumbles from one crisis to the next, the hope is not that Wayne Brown will learn on the job – that’s […]
Gordon Campbell on the banning of Tik Tok
For a serial offender like Stuart Nash, it was inevitable that another skeleton would emerge from his closet, and end his ministerial career. This one […]
Gordon Campbell on the Keen-Minshull fallout, and the zombie revival of national standards
Oh, the irony. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull has made a career out of inciting public hostility against the trans community, only to find herself on the receiving […]
Gordon Campbell on the Keen-Minshull visit
After threatening Prime Minister Chris Hipkins of consequences if he dared to bar her entry, Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull has been given her visa, regardless. This will […]
Gordon Campbell on how similar Vladimir Putin is to George W. Bush
Looking back through the names of our Police Ministers down the years, the job has either been done by once or future party Bigfoots – […]
Gordon Campbell on firing Stuart Nash, plus a music playlist
Here’s an analogy for the Stuart Nash saga. If people are to be forgiven for their sins, Catholic dogma requires two factors to be present. […]
Gordon Campbell on the Hipkins cutbacks, and the major Saudi/Iran deal
Most days, Chris Hipkins and James Shaw seem a bit like the Seals and Crofts of the centre-left: Earnest, inoffensive, and capable of quite nice […]
Gordon Campbell on AUKUS and Australia’s decision on nuclear subs
Update: Evidently, Reuters were correct in the major details reported below on Werewolf, prior to the official AUKUS announcement. Yes, the US will begin to […]