Gordon Campbell on the Hong Kong protest movement, and Sleater-Kinney
Nearly ten weeks after the huge Hong Kong protests began, 1.7 million people on the streets in the rain is a testament to how strong the pro-democracy movement has become.
Blog
Recent News
Gordon Campbell on why Boris Johnson is threatening to shoot this puppy
It may help to think of the October 31 ‘no deal’ Brexit as a warm, rascally puppy. And British PM Boris Johnson says he will shoot that puppy, unless someone stops him.
Gordon Campbell on NZF’s ability to maintain the ban on prisoner voting
Justice Minister Andrew Little has indicated that he will be taking a paper to Cabinet with the aim of repealing the prisoner voting ban. Good luck with that.
Gordon Campbell on the Supreme Court review of the Peter Ellis case
There is a sense of inevitability about the Supreme Court being asked to review the Peter Ellis case.
Gordon Campbell on reforming the abortion laws
Undoubtedly, the proposed law will be better than the 1977 legislation it replaces. Yet surely, you’d hope there would be progress, 42 years down the track.
Gordon Campbell on the two public inquiries at odds over the need for shutting out the public
In New Zealand, there are two major inquiries into security/defence issues running in parallel, and the one demonstrating more transparency and candour is not the one that you’d expect.
Gordon Campbell on some of the barriers facing female politicians
On the current evidence voters are less likely to regard a female politician as ‘likeable’ than a male one, and this perception tends be a barrier that only female candidates have to face.
Gordon Campbell on the Ihumatao dispute
There is no tidy way forward on the Ihumatao dispute, given that the mana whenua with valid claims to the site are locked in conflict.
Gordon Campbell on the latest phase in the struggle for gun reform
The gun lobby can be relied on to drag its feet at best (and actively resist at worst) in the face of any attempt to make gun ownership safer.
Gordon Campbell on Kiwis being the Aussies’ friendly go-fers in the Pacific
If not for the surprise election result, Ardern would almost certainly have been able to score real policy gains with a Labor PM in her Canberra meeting.
Gordon Campbell on Trump’s campaign to make America embrace white nationalism
The Republican Party of Lincoln – which once led a civil war that ended the slave economy of the South – has now defined itself openly as being the party of white nationalism.
Gordon Campbell on what’s wrong with Wellington
It hasn’t been the normal hardships – central government and lousy weather – that have recently pushed Wellingtonians’ tolerance into the red zone.
Gordon Campbell on the Aussie banks’ latest excuse for jacking up bank fees
When the Reserve Bank sought feedback on requiring the country’s major banks to raise their capital reserves then you might have expected the banks to whine and complain.
Gordon Campbell on New Zealand First’s stellar balancing act
At this point, New Zealand First needs to more than double its current poll numbers to survive beyond Election Day, 2020… but that’s what Winston Peters is so very good at doing.
Gordon Campbell on the usual grumbling about subsidising the Lord of the Rings TV series
We seem to have won this production largely because of the mature film industry infrastructure that NZ has built on the back of those previously subsidized productions.
Gordon Campbell on how the Americans are helping us realise the scale of the Operation Burnham fiasco
New Zealand lawyers have been forced to rely on the relatively open US military and FOIA processes in order to be able to participate adequately in a New Zealand inquiry
Gordon Campbell on the ways the public is being left unprotected by the public service reforms
In a town like Wellington that’s full of public servants, the fact that the public service is facing its biggest shake-up in 30 years sounds like a very big deal.
Gordon Campbell on yesterday’s cosmetic banking reforms
An extraordinary level of profit-taking still being extracted by the Australian Banking Gang from ordinary New Zealanders.
Gordon Campbell on this week’s Operation Burnham revelations
Eight centuries ago at Beziers in France, the papal soldiers besieging the town faced much the same problem as the New Zealand troops engaged in […]
Gordon Campbell on the likely benefits (and costs) of the gun buy-back scheme
There is ample reason to conclude that the buy-back and amnesty scheme announced this morning will indeed save lives in New Zealand.
Gordon Campbell on our Wild West banking culture, and Iran’s role in Armageddon
David Hisco’s nine years as CEO of ANZ (while his expense claims went by unbothered by board oversight) has been a weird echo of the nine years of social neglect by the previous National government.
Gordon Campbell on asking the banks to be nicer to farmers
Farm debt in New Zealand has exploded by 270% in the last 20 years, to around $63 billion.
Gordon Campbell on the war-fighting purposes of our massive spend-up on Defence
If you’re willing to believe Defence Minister Ron Mark, our defence forces will be operating in future like a high-tech version of Oxfam…
Gordon Campbell on the military withdrawal from Iraq
One fascinating aspect of this withdrawal decision is that it is not a case of victory over ISIS having being declared and everyone else going home at the same time, too.
Gordon Campbell on how the Treasury debacle reflects New Zealand’s wider security problems
The scenario of Treasury being victimised by demon hackers was still being allowed to be peddled in public, even after Treasury was told no such hack had occurred.
Best Music of 2019… So Far
This mid-point, as we’re heading into the cold… it seems like an ideal time to list a few albums and tracks to keep the wolves of winter at bay.
From the Hood : J’Hackuse
Better Analogies for National Pilfering Budget Data
Gordon Campbell on the fallacy of political moderation
The belief that it is the moderate middle who will decide the outcome of Election 2020 is a deeply ideological stance.
Gordon Campbell on the ‘morning after’ feeling from the Wellbeing Budget
Allegedly, there are 628 different synonyms for “ well-being” on this website so there should be one that fits your own response to the Wellbeing […]
Gordon Campbell on the Budget leak
No doubt the Police will carry out their investigation of the Treasury Budget hack with more courtesy and nuance than their pursuit of the Dirty Politicssource.