Gordon Campbell on not crying foul, Argentina
So a couple of guys found to be criminally liable of environmental pollution in Argentina lodge an application with the Overseas Investment Office… in order […]
Environment and Conservation
Gordon Campbell on Kiwirail’s latest stint in the dogbox
The denigration of Kiwirail continues. The latest review (based on a 2014 assessment) of the options facing the company have enabled Kiwirail to be hung […]
Gordon Campbell on the Dotcom extradition decision
Inevitably – and with justification – Kim Dotcom has already lodged an appeal against yesterday’s District Court decision that he is eligible for extradition to […]
Gordon Campbell on climate change protest, and Iraq training
For sheer style, humour and content fit for purpose, it would be hard to beat yesterday’s Greenpeace protest at Parliament. The fact that the hanging […]
Gordon Campbell on the Greens’ new co-leader, James Shaw
No doubt, the new Green Party co-leader James Shaw will be on the receiving end of a ton of advice in the coming weeks about […]
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 […]
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 […]
On the (lack of) incentives for Anadarko to behave responsibly
Here’s how you’d think the system would work, when it comes down to the environmental impacts of oil and gas exploration. You’d hope and expect […]
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 McCully’s latest debacle, and on a fracking counter-measure
So Nick Smith has fallen on his sword, while dutifully covering for John Key’s leadership inadequacies on this issue as he did so. At the […]
On the predator society
In these last few days before Parliament opens and the cycle of normal political life resumes, significant stories are gaining coverage that they might otherwise […]
On the Greens’ end game this week
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com Into the home stretch, and National is moving the campaign focus from one diversion (the Epsom tape) to the […]
On credibility, and the government’s irrigation plans
Like the Biblical loaves and fishes, the government’s Future Investment Fund from asset sales just keeps on giving – $1 billion for schools and hospitals […]
On the death of Gaddafi and how the Rena spill relates to East Cape oil exploration
The death of Muammar Gaddafi – either from wounds inflicted by a NATO air strike, or (more likely) from summary execution on his way to […]
On the Christchurch rebuild, and the political abuse of the SIS
Probably, some will regard the height restriction of seven stories for the rebuild of Christchurch’s central city area as being unnecessarily arbitrary and uniform, and […]
Gordon Campbell On The Budget – And Petrobras
Cartoon by Trace Hodgson While Deficit Phobia provides the rationale for the austerity and privatisation measures contained in this year’s Budget, the government’s stance is […]
On the government’s latest handout to agri-business
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com Given the bumper earnings from commodity prices, you might think agriculture would be the last sector in need of […]
On the oil lobby’s claims about the Petrobras protests
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com Nice of petroleum industry lobbyist John Pfahlert to offer to correct “the number of media inaccuracies” that he feels […]
On Japan’s nuclear crisis, and more welfare rumblings
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com The nuclear crisis in Japan is a textbook example of why government regulation is essential for public safety. According […]
On the Pike River inquiry
Image: TV3 – Flames seen from above the Pike River mine The Royal Commission of inquiry into Pike River disaster has an open slate to […]
On the draconian Christchurch Earthquake legislation
Come back Frank Bainimarama, all is forgiven. As of last night, New Zealand has surrendered the moral high ground from which to could denounce the […]
On the Aussie election stalemate
As the Sydney Morning Herald columnist Peter Hartcher says, there’s a rough justice to the Australian election outcome, given that both major parties ran essentially […]
On the mining backdown
The government’s formal capitulation ( due later today) on the mining of Schedule Four conservation land is a smashing victory for the public – one […]
On the ideology behind state spending cuts, and the Bethune aftermath
Clearly, the cuts to government spending are being driven by ideology and not by the state of the economy. Yesterday’s figures revealed a government deficit […]
On the Green Party conference
The Greens held their party conference last weekend – the first for some years not dominated by an actual or pending leadership change. This time, […]
On getting a fair deal for our oil and mining resources
As the deadline approaches for public submissions on the government’s plans to open up sensitive conservation areas to mining, the likely economic returns to New […]
On New Zealand's Anti-Nuclear Posturing
Click for big version New Zealand’s national identity is very much based on our sense of virtuous purity – and the feeling that we can […]
On the Government’s Greenlight to the Mining Industry
Click for big version Well, we learned yesterday that Forest and Bird leaks had been right all along, and that the government is indeed planning […]
On the Economics of Mining DOC Land
Click to enlarge At yesterday’s Post cabinet press conference [video], Prime Minister John Key repeated the government’s current defensive position on the proposal to extend […]
On the government’s environmental credibility problems in Canterbury, and attacks on Police
Click to enlarge Reportedly, Ronald Reagan’s aides would go into in panic mode whenever the avuncular President started to ad lib a few additional points […]