Gordon Campbell on the transTasman tinkering with Covid-related poverty
On September 25, the government’s Covid-19 rent freeze will expire. A fortnight ago, the Commerce Commission (in response to a complaint) sent out a letter […]
Australia
Gordon Campbell on showing the Aussies how to reach a consensus on quarantine fees
Back at the dawn of time, MMP was created (a) to impose a discipline on government and (b) to prevent any one party from riding […]
Gordon Campbell on managing Covid-19 better than the Australians, and the Ellis case
If anything the Covid-19 outbreaks occurring this week in and around Melbourne are a timely reminder of the bullet we dodged by not having a […]
Gordon Campbell on the hype around the transTasman bubble, and Microsoft
Arguably, one of the more irresponsible things the government could do right now would be to throw the doors wide open to non-essential travel next […]
Gordon Campbell on the trans-Tasman bubble, and the future of airlines
As the epidemiologists keep on saying, a trans-Tasman bubble will require having in place beforehand a robust form of contact tracing, of tourists and locals […]
Gordon Campbell on why we shouldn’t be trying to emulate Australia
On today’s Coronocast podcast on the ABC state broadcasting network in Australia, New Zealand’s policy of going out hard early with a stringent economic shutdown […]
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 dodging a bullet over the transport cost over-runs
As New Zealand gears up to begin its $6.8 billion programme of large scale roading projects all around the country, we should be aware of […]
Gordon Campbell on the Aussie bush fires, and the killing of Qassem Suleimani
In popular culture, Australia is often portrayed as Western civilisation’s last unspoiled frontier, or as its final refuge from planetary disaster. In Nevil Shute’s best-selling […]
Gordon Campbell on why New Zealand shouldn’t try to curry favour with Trump
The bizarre spat over Donald Trump trying to buy Greenland shows just how foolish it would be for any country to treat the US as […]
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 what the Ardern government could have done better
Across New Zealand and the world , PM Jacinda Ardern has justifiably won praise for how she has responded to the Christchurch attacks. There have been a few areas where the performance of the government has been less than stellar.
Gordon Campbell on why the Aussie banks are bastards
Across the Tasman a Royal Commission has been barking very loudly indeed about the activities of the Australian banks that own the main NZ banks.
Gordon Campbell on the fuss and fighting over the PM’s Pacific Forum trip
Dutifully, the Pacific Islands Forum meeting is described each year as the region’s most important gathering of leaders…
From the Hood : Mateship
A List of Thing Mates Don’t Let Mates Do, Based on a Google Search and/or the Fact Asylum Seekers are Human Beings
Gordon Campbell on why Labour isn’t responsible for Barnaby Joyce
Evidently, the National government is similarly desperate for anything that might discredit or derail the Ardern juggernaut, even if that means throwing Peter Dunne under a bus.
Gordon Campbell on our caving in to the Aussies
The latest expression of this lopsided relationship has seen young Kiwis at Australian universities being hit with a trebling of their tuition fees.
John Quiggin on Australia’s flirtations with Trumpism
Australia has had no less than four Trumpist political parties and may yet get a fifth. The good news is they have been surprisingly ineffectual.
From The Hood : We Called Him Tortoise, Because He Deports Us
Australia and Other Nonsense
Saint Australia
The blessings of the Lucky Country now extend to the afterlife