Gordon Campbell on Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal
While his new deal is flawed, British PM Boris Johnson has achieved the impossible by coming up with a formula that (a) significantly differs from […]
Gordon Campbell
Gordon Campbell on the inquiry into the abuse of children in care
Apparently, PM Jacinda Ardern has chosen to exclude faith-based institutions from the government’s promised inquiry into the abuse of children in state care. Any role […]
Gordon Campbell on Oprah as a presidential hopeful
Oprah for President…That was one of those summer silly season stories, right ? Maybe not. On the morning after the Golden Globes Awards ceremony where […]
Gordon Campbell on the new Pike River agency, and the air strike wing
Much of the sympathy the public still feels for the families of the Pike River miners has been sustained by the sense that the previous government has never dealt honestly, or fairly, with them.
Gordon Campbell on the Peters/Ardern triumph
On the Peters/Ardern triumph by Gordon Campbell There are a lot of good reasons to feel joyful about this outcome. It is what so many […]
Is Kaiser Bill alive and well in the White House?
The Trump/Kaiser parallels are quite unnerving…
Is Winston Peters our best current defence against market extremism?
On trade and foreign ownership, Peters is talking sense…
What’s New Zealand telling Trump about his threats to North Korea?
Sometimes friends have to tell friends they’re acting crazy…
Gordon Campbell on scrapping the legal rights of gang members
So, Police Minister Paula Bennett thinks some New Zealanders deserve “fewer human rights than others”
Gordon Campbell on marketing the Greens
While there will be a sigh of relief all around that the old Morris dancing/hemp smoking days have gone for good, it is not quite so evident what the current Greens stand for.
Gordon Campbell on tobacco politicking, and the TPP death watch
Has Act leader David Seymour got the easiest job in the world, or what?
Gordon Campbell on yesterday’s Budget
Budgies, so their Wikipedia page says, are popular pets around the world due to their small size, low cost, and ability to mimic human speech. […]
Gordon Campbell on the latest allegations against Helen Clark
According to former PM and UNDP leader current Helen Clark, the allegations leveled at her this week in a Foreign Policy magazine article by the […]
Gordon Campbell on the rise of the far right, and battle bots
In his victory speech at the Cannes film festival this week, the British film director Ken Loach warned that the rise of far right parties […]
Gordon Campbell on bank scandals and air crashes
Libor. It stands for the London Interbank Offered rate. Back in 2012, Libor became synonymous with a scandal involving the dodgy manipulation of how interest […]
Gordon Campbell on electricity pricing, executions, and Bob Dylan at 75
This week, New Zealand’s crisis of poverty and homelessness has been making headlines around the world. At exactly the same time, Electricity Authority has unveiled […]
Gordon Campbell on New Zealand’s support for the Kazakh dictatorship
Thanks to Sacha Baron Cohen, Kazakhstan will always seem like a bit of a jokey, ramshackle kind of place. To that end, the Stuff story […]
Gordon Campbell on the proposed media merger
Monopolies are bad for people, and bad for capitalism, too. Look at what happened in the late 1980s when a Labour government handed a state […]
Gordon Campbell on the future of conservatism
For years, observers have noted the contrast between Prime Minister John Key’s ordinary Kiwi bloke persona, and the patrician prat more commonly seen in Parliament. […]
Gordon Campbell on how class colours the reactions to the Panama Papers
Not many heroes so far in the Panama Papers saga, but any number of villains. Those villains happen to include: criminals laundering their ill gotten […]
Gordon Campbell on the govt’s token plans for cyber-security
Basically, the world is divided into two types of people: those who think the Panama Papers illustrate the bad shit that some people do, and […]
Gordon Campbell on Pharmac’s grudging concession to reality
Is this any way to run a health system… whereby terminally ill patients are forced into public demonstrations before the government (and its funding agency […]
Gordon Campbell on Pharmac’s indefensible stance on the new melanoma drugs
One of the interesting line items in this month’s Budget will be the one that sets out the increase – if any – in Pharmac’s […]
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 […]
Gordon Campbell on Trump and the Madman Theory
Years ago, Richard Nixon explained to his chief adviser Bob Haldeman what has since become known as the “Madman Theory” of foreign policy. Basically, if […]
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 having an extradition treaty with China
Reportedly, an extradition treaty with China is now on the table, although – thankfully – Prime Minister John Key has also indicated that a lot […]
Gordon Campbell On Our Fearless PM's Foray Into China
Don’t mention the South China Sea dispute. Oh, but he will! Earlier this week, the image of dauntless Prime Minister John Key not backing down […]
Gordon Campbell on the banning of a leading Iranian film-maker
For the past fortnight, New Zealand has been obsessing on the reputational risk to this country of being seen as a tax haven – despite […]
Gordon Campbell on political rhetoric, and the Dark Triad
Unfortunately, the systematic use of tax avoidance strategies – by corporates and by wealthy individuals – is not occurring in a vacuum. At an accelerating […]