On the problems in making the tax cuts equation stack up
Would scrapping the depreciation rules on rental residential property really deliver the $1.6 billion promised? That $1.6 billion sits on one side of the ledger […]
General Politics
On John Key’s agenda for the nation
Compensate is such a slippery word. If you set out to make the elite squad in team A immensely better off with money taken from […]
On the government’s clueless response to unemployment and why Mike Moore shouldn’t go to Washington
Well, we’re now seeing some of the fruits of small government, and having government butt out of our lives. Unemployment rose to 7.3 % during […]
Gordon Campbell on the government's tolerance of white collar crime
This government takes a crush ’em and crate ’em approach to crime – unless that is, the offender happens to be wearing a tie. In […]
Gordon Campbell on the SAS in Kabul, and the media’s duty to report on their actions
The saga of media coverage of the SAS in Afghanistan took another turn on the weekend with National MP Eric Roy bizarrely blaming Helen Clark […]
On the ‘Three Strikes’ Policy and the SAS in Kabul
Click to enlarge In the Book of Leviticus, God takes a no nonsense, zero tolerance approach to offending. Curse your parents, or let your child […]
On whether people should be able to burn the flag at Anzac Day
Click to enlarge Any masochist who wants to feel depressed about the state of the New Zealand judiciary needs only to turn to Justice Terence […]
The Treasury Update, And Calls for Austerity
Any future built on Treasury forecasts is on shaky ground, but lets assume the relative optimism expressed by Treasury in yesterday’s half yearly fiscal update […]
Anne Tolley’s last stand, and those abusive mayoral texts
Education Minister Anne Tolley is painting herself into a dangerous corner by threatening to sack the boards of trustees at any primary schools still refusing […]
China’s role in our problems with P
Media coverage of the battle against P has tended to focus on the role of Maori gangs in the P trade. Yet most of the […]
Margaret Bazley’s attacks on legal aid
The ‘gone by lunchtime’ response to legal aid that the Key government has chosen to adopt in the wake of Margaret Bazley report needs to […]
Phil Goff and the race card
Click to enlarge Playing the race card is one of those claims that is meant to shut down any further debate, and Phil Goff knew […]
Campbell: Using kids as guinea pigs (+ Hone, ETS)
Over the past 30 years, the public has regularly been treated as laboratory rats for this or that ideological hobby horse of government. Crash on […]
The selective targeting of Beenie Man
Reportedly, Big Day Out organizers have backed down from their original intention to include the Jamaican dancehall musician Beenie Man in the next BDO festival […]
The powers of search and surveillance
Does the Search and Surveillance Bill, as the NZ Herald has recently maintained, really give a web of state agencies ‘sweeping powers to spy, bug […]
The Harawira junket, and Sean Plunket
At least the coalition government has shown itself to be united this week – it seems intent on junketing at taxpayer expense across a broad […]
Gordon Campbell: Foreshore and Seabed deals & dealing with Iran
Click to enlarge So today, the government formally agrees to dump the foreshore and seabed legislation. On one level, this means karma retribution for National, […]
Anne Tolley’s 19th century approach to education
Remember National’s election promise to return New Zealand to the top half of the OECD tables? In government, its moves in education seem motivated more […]
Managing the Press Gallery, and Afghanistan
Click for big version As a free fire exercise in which anything at all can be raised, the Prime Minister’s post Cabinet press conference should […]
The RWC resolution, and ACC changes
So the outcome of the Rugby World Cup fiasco is a reversion to sanity – one bid only, involving Maori Television, TVNZ and TV3. In […]
The Rugby World Cup bids
There seem to be two Rugby World Cups taking place in 2011. One is an absolutely splendid affair being overseen by RWC Minister Murray McCully […]
Tim Groser’s battle with the Wall Street Journal, and the Obama Peace Prize
Ouch. The main media byproduct of the recent Tim Groser march on Washington seems to have been this nasty editorial in the Wall Street Journal […]
A Few Extra Reasons Why The Boscawen Bill Should Be Dumped
Interesting that Act MP John Boscawen wants to introduce legislation that will try to re-define what is or isn’t a permitted means, and level, of […]
The Referendum About Hitting Kids
Diversion, as every parent knows, is a useful ploy in good parenting. You divert the angry child’s attention away – with a game, or another […]
Rodney Hide’s Supercity ultimatum to the Government
Click to enlarge Image from: Scoop Satire: Super-City Map As Rodney Hide crawls out onto the ledge and threatens to resign all of his ministerial […]
Gordon Campbell: Deliberate defeat in Afghanistan
Defence Minister Wayne Mapp’s main contribution to the House debate yesterday on Afghanistan was that New Zealand would want to see an improvement in the […]
Gordon Campbell On The Afghan Marital Rape Law
New Zealand has a special interest in the rape law that Hamid Karzai has reportedly sneaked into effect only days before the Afghan election on […]
Bill English’s Homing Instincts, for the Money
Clearly, the first item on the review of ministerial expenses is going to be to create a clear definition of what constitutes ‘home’ – because […]
Taxpayer support for Bill English’s home and happiness
In recent days, there has been an odd symmetry between Graham Henry’s response to the All Blacks defeat in Durban and John Key’s rationale for […]
Gordon Campbell on the travel expenses of MPs
The issue of MPs’ travel expenses – and its disreputable cousin, government spending – have thrown up a pretty interesting moral distinction. Government spending, which provides services to the general public, is seen to be an intrinsically bad thing that must be rationed. MPs’ travel spending on the other hand, is seen as an intrinsically good thing that does not even need to be justified. It just is – here’s the amount we spent, don’t ask to know the purpose. The worth is assumed, and is beyond challenge.