Gordon Campbell on the dairy contamination threats, and parental policing of scary movies
The sole upside for the government in its release of a three month old threat to contaminate infant formula is that the story knocked Winston […]
Economic Policy
Gordon Campbell on the America’s Cup, and Lee Marvin
Like the Commonwealth Games, the America’s Cup is one of those large sporting events that is struggling to find anyone foolish enough to want to […]
Gordon Campbell on the latest arm-wrestling bout over Greece’s austerity crisis, and Father John Misty
This morning’s meeting between Greece and Europe’s finance ministers seems to have broken up without any substantial agreements being reached, beyond a bit of bridging […]
On tomorrow’s speeches by John Key and Andrew Little
The Key government has already kicked off the political year on a stridently ideological note, with Environment Minister Nick Smith choosing to lay all manner […]
Gordon Campbell on the election in Greece, and EU turmoil
The election in Greece on Sunday – and the likely triumph of the left wing Syriza Party – will be only the first of three […]
Gordon Campbell on the last rites for the TPP
The Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal is one of those litmus issues that has always had more to do with one’s place on the political […]
Gordon Campbell on the Greens proposal to gradually lift the minimum wage
Heading into the election home stretch, voters have a clear choice about the best way to help low and middle income New Zealanders. They can […]
Gordon Campbell on Winston Peters’ latest bout of immigrant bashing, and Bob Dylan in the basement (again)
So in the latest 3News-Reid Research poll, New Zealand First and the Conservatives have been the big winners. It is only one poll, but rather […]
Gordon Campbell on National’s housing assistance plan
So, as many as 90,000 people could derive some benefit from National’s housing assistance plans for low and middle-income earners. As much as $218 million […]
Gordon Campbell on the media’s duty to evaluate the Trans Pacific Partnership
One downside of so called ‘objectivity’ is that it can turn the media into a simple megaphone for those in power – especially in situations […]
Gordon Campbell on muzzling the Ruataniwha dam evidence
In case anyone still questions the value of our public investment in state radio, the revelations about the Ruataniwha dam project – which began with […]
On Criminalising Protest, and Christchurch Cathedral Options
The Tauranga MP Simon Bridges – he’s also the Labour Minister and the Minister of Energy and Resources – is carving out quite a niche […]
On the Solid Energy debacle
So according to its former chairman John Palmer, Solid Energy could have done nothing about the sudden and dramatic fall in the price of coal. […]
On the UN's hypocrisy towards Richard Prosser
So the United Nations has reprimanded Richard Prosser for his “Wogistan” comments. The United Nations committee on the elimination of racial discrimination described Prosser’s comments […]
On the crisis in affordable housing
The lack of affordable housing, as Finance Minister Bill English conceded last year, is an example of market failure, and in this Q&A transcript English […]
On the subsidies for The Hobbit
It does have a familiar Winston Peters ring to it. Peters’ proposal earlier this week that Warners should repay its Hobbit subsidies taps into (a) […]
From the Hood : Poor Show
Please, sir, can I have the implementation of a number of already-identified measures that have been shown internationally to mitigate poverty and benefit the wider economy?
On the relevance of the latest Hobbit revelations
This morning’s release by RNZ of its OIA requests on The Hobbit is not ancient history. It offers a rare glimpse into the fashion in […]
On the local government reforms
Clearly, centre-right governments dislike Big Government only when it isn’t their brand of government. When it is, many of the democratic brakes get removed, quick […]
On the speeches by John Key and David Shearer
The much touted smackdown between John Key and David Shearer – one gives a major speech at breakfast, the other at lunchtime! – turned out […]
On David Cunliffe’s comments on the ports of Auckland dispute (and on Iran)
Labour’s Economic Development spokesperson David Cunliffe made a useful contribution to the ports of Auckland dispute this morning. As Cunliffe says, the proposals that management […]
On the Citizens Initiated Referendum on asset sales
The launching of a Citizens Initiated Referendum on the question of the partial asset sales is a useful shot across the bows of the government’s […]
On the mixed-ownership model for state assets
By focussing on the spectre of foreign ownership, the critics of the partial asset sales process have been inadvertedly helping the government, by deflecting attention […]
On yesterday’s welfare reform announcements
We’ve all become more politically literate the hard way over the last couple of decades. The words “efficient” and “greater efficiency” for instance, has been […]
On Kiwirail’s current problems with its Chinese-built wagons
For many people, Kiwirail’s decision to buy 500 flat top wagons from manufacturers in China instead of building them at Hillside workshops in Dunedin was […]
On the government’s inertia on housing needs
The weekend protests about Housing New Zealand’s Tamaki Transformation programme (which aims to relocate residents of 156 state house to make way for a mix […]
On asset sales and the Mallard ticket saga
Click for big version. Way back at the start of this week, the government was in deep trouble on at least three fronts. First, came […]
On bank profits, and Gerry Brownlee’s asset sales plans for Christchurch
Click for big version. The news that the banks in New Zealand have returned to their pre-global recession levels of profit comes as no real […]
On Cunliffe’s likely role, and France as the next Eurozone crisis country
Later this afternoon, we’ll find out just how the new Labour leader David Shearer has managed the difficult task of rewarding his faction while bringing […]
On Peter Dunne’s casting vote on asset sales
As the late Roger Kerr pointed out in 2005, Peter Dunne went into the election that year advocating the 40% selldown of the government’s stake […]