Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and […]
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Gordon Campbell on how climate change threatens cricket‘s future
Well that didn’t last long, did it? Mere days after taking on what he called the “awesome responsibility” of being Prime Minister, M Christopher Luxon […]
Gordon Campbell on the new government’s policies of yesteryear
This column expands on a Werewolf column published by Scoop on Friday Routinely, Winston Peters is described as the kingmaker who gets to decide when […]
Gordon Campbell on coalitions, and hostage deals
Reportedly, National has finalised the details of its separate policy programmes with (a) the Act Party and (b) with New Zealand First. Terrific. Yet surprisingly, […]
Gordon Campbell on secret coalition talks, plus a music playlist
Routinely, the centre-right complains that Big Government treats people like children. Huh. Have to say, National, Act and New Zealand First are doing a pretty […]
Gordon Campbell on APEC, Mali and Sleater-Kinney
Sideshows are inevitable when the main event – the coalition talks – is taking place behind closed doors and the usual sources for political news […]
Gordon Campbell on why prescription fees are no way to fund cancer drugs
Who is this Christopher Luxon fellow, really? Over the past two years, we have had so many invitations to find the pearl in the oyster. […]
Gordon Campbell on why abortion rights offer the best chance of beating Donald Trump
Remarkably… Although the US opinion polls continue to track the declining popularity of Joe Biden, the Democrats still scored important victories this week in a […]
Gordon Campbell on the blockade against Chloe Swarbrick’s right to speak freely about Gaza
The tut-tutting about what Green MP Chloe Swarbrick said and how she said it, and whether she could have/should have expressed herself in other ways […]
Gordon Campbell on the third person in this political marriage
Depending on the recounts and the by-election, the centre-right will still have won only 59 seats in what will be a 122 or 123 seat […]
Gordon Campbell on breaking up the supermarket duopoly
Someone better tell Mark Mitchell, because the two big supermarket gangs – the New World Crips and the Countdown Bloods – seem to be operating […]
Gordon Campbell on how the Americans helped put Hamas in power in Gaza
To all intents, Hamas suddenly sprang out from behind the Oort Cloud on October 7 as a force of incomprehensible evil… Just when some important […]
Gordon Campbell on why Chris Hipkins is living on borrowed time
Currently, Chris Hipkins is serving as a place-holder leader until other colleagues do the numbers and figure out their capacity for taking on what can […]
Gordon Campbell on church and state in Mt Roskill
The interval between election night and the formation of a new government has been restfully free of bickering and posturing, and it would be nice […]
Gordon Campbell on New Zealand’s selective morality on Gaza
Here’s the sound of MFAT blowing its own trumpet as it celebrated the 25th anniversary of our genuinely heroic role in alerting the international community […]
Gordon Campbell on National’s divisive plans to heal our divisions
As we wait for crime to cease, rents to fall, and food prices to plummet, how does the Luxon government propose to heal the divisions […]
Gordon Campbell on the election, and Labour’s options
On Saturday, the Labour-led government suffered a defeat of Biblical proportions, some of it self-inflicted. Years ago, veteran political blogger Jesus Christ had tapped into […]
Gordon Campbell on Labour’s last stand
The surge, the surge. It was within the margin of error in one poll, and the increase in Labour support in the other poll still […]
Gordon Campbell on the attacks on Israel and Gaza
On the day after the Hamas attacks, the Jewish newspaper Haaretz concluded that only a few options were available to Israel’s leaders and all of […]
Gordon Campbell on why Winston Peters could be National’s new BFF
Over the weekend, some classic double speak from National. Christopher Luxon is saying he’ll be able to make a deal with whatever power configuration the […]
Gordon Campbell on the centre-right’s cynically divisive messages on race
Could be wrong, but I have a hunch that if a male Maori activist entered the home of a National Party candidate uninvited, it would […]
Gordon Campbell on National’s disdain for the Press debate
Christopher Luxon evidently thinks this election is SO in the bag that he can afford to spurn the still-undecideds, the entire South Island, and the […]
Gordon Campbell on National’s myths about the desolated state of the economy
Familiarity breeds consent. If you repeat the line “six years of economic mis-management” about 10,000 times, it sounds like the received wisdom, whatever the evidence […]
Gordon Campbell on the cynical brutality of the centre-right’s welfare policies
The centre-right’s enthusiasm for forcing people off the benefit and into paid work is matched only by the enthusiasm (shared by Treasury and the Reserve […]
Gordon Campbell on whether Winston Peters can be a moderating influence
As the centre-right has (finally!) been subjected to media interrogation, the polls are indicating that some voters may be starting to have second thoughts about […]
Gordon Campbell on chaotic coalitions, drinking water and useless debates
This week’s ONE News-Verian poll had the National/ACT coalition teetering on the edge of being able to govern alone while – just as precariously – […]
Gordon Campbell on National’s (lack of) plans for El Nino
Debate time: In contrast to most debates, political debates aren’t simply about winning on points of logic, but are also about looking likeable on television […]
Gordon Campbell on the centre-right’s credibility problems
Supposedly, people get the governments they deserve, but what on earth did we do in our past lives to deserve an Opposition as shambolic as […]
Gordon Campbell on the fictions about reckless government spending
Yesterday, the Treasury’s pre-election portrait was significantly out of whack with National’s repeated claims of rampant government mis-management of the economy. Instead, it seems that […]
Gordon Campbell on Seymour acting up, and Labour’s lost cause
To use a musical analogy, ACT Party leader David Seymour is to centre-right parties what Lindsay Buckingham was to Fleetwood Mac – a talented guy, […]