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 […]
Economy
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 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 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 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 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 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, […]
Gordon Campbell on the foreign buyers tax, and attack ads
It has now been six days since National unveiled its tax plan – eons ago in the 24/7 news cycle – but the credibility problem […]
Gordon Campbell on National’s tax cuts
Since tax cuts are never a free lunch, collecting the revenue to pay for them was always going to be the credibility test of National’s […]
Gordon Campbell on using contractors as an election bogey
The demonising of consultants and contractors in the public service assumes that their functions can readily be added to the work burdens of the existing […]
Gordon Campbell on why China isn’t a real military threat
Not that anyone would know it, but there has been quite a massive spendup on Defence since 2017 by the Labour government. The big ticket […]
Gordon Campbell on the elitism framing the election discourse
So… Almost all the tax experts rounded up by the mainstream media have damned the proposal to remove GST from healthy food. Some have called […]
Gordon Campbell on the “GST off fruit and vegetables” saga
To be clear…. Any package that offers people relief on the cost of healthy food (plus a boost to Working For Families entitlements) is welcome, […]
Gordon Campbell on gender posturing and mis-using PPPs in public health
What is it with right wing politicians getting standing ovations for doing the bare minimum? As in… Florida governor and presidential hopeful Ron De Santis […]
Gordon Campbell on the BlackRock deal and banning cellphones
If a National/ACT government had negotiated the renewables deal with the giant investment firm BlackRock, it is safe to assume that we would be never […]
Gordon Campbell on Winston Peters’ troubled tango with the ACT Party
In line with its ideological mission to destroy any and all of the creative partnerships between the state, business, science and public health, the ACT […]
Gordon Campbell on what China’s current economic woes signal for us
For 99% of the time, our worries about China revolve around the military and diplomatic threat that Beijing allegedly poses to New Zealand and to […]
Gordon Campbell on National’s 20th century transport policy, and Labours’ woes
In justifying its multi-squillion dollar, ten years in the making, four lane highway linking Whangarei to Tauranga, the National Party did what it always does […]
Gordon Campbell on ACT’s links to Big Pharma
Economists are weird. People are having trouble feeding their families. Yet the obvious solution – reduce the tax burden on their food – is treated […]
Gordon Campbell on the Greens plan to help renters
One of the best things about the Greens plan to cap rent increases at 3% annually is that it spreads around some of the pain […]
Gordon Campbell on National’s law and ordure policy
So here we are… Barely 75 days out from election day, and National STILL hasn’t revealed how it is going to pay for its stupendously […]
Gordon Campbell on the recession engineered by the Reserve Bank
This week, we got official confirmation that the Reserve Bank has finally achieved the recession it has worked so hard to engineer. The Bank has […]
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 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 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 […]