Gordon Campbell on the elusive charms of Christopher Luxon
Well, the first 36 hours of viewing the Christopher Luxon selfie were always going to be the best, before the repetitions set in. We get […]
National
Gordon Campbell on Omicron, and the Bridges/Luxon dilemma
At this early stage, the Omicron variant seems to be more infectious, and more able to bypass the protection offered by vaccines and by the […]
Gordon Campbell on National’s less than stellar choices
Amid all the jostling in the National caucus ranks, spare a thought for Andrew Bayly. Who? Well might you ask. Plucked from obscurity by Judith […]
Gordon Campbell on the demotion of Simon Bridges
So Simon Bridges has been bounced from the front bench and stripped of his shadow portfolio responsibilities for the crudely “inappropriate” comments that he allegedly […]
Gordon Campbell on the politics of vaccine toughlove
Vaccine mandates begin to kick in today for education and healthcare workers. All of them will need to have taken a first dose step towards […]
Gordon Campbell on our weird ways of funding care for the dying
National Party leader Judith Collins thinks the government’s traffic light system for emerging from Covid lockdowns is “confusing.” Perhaps she could be looking in the […]
Gordon Campbell on National’s Covid re-opening plan
After banging for what has seemed an eternity about how the government doesn’t have a plan for removing restrictions and re-opening the country, National’s own […]
Gordon Campbell on why Judith Collins should consider the Canada model
For months now, Judith Collins has been doubling down on National as the party of angry talkback radio. If you’ve got a beef about Jacinda […]
Gordon Campbell on our polarised attitudes to the Covid response
Thesis meets antithesis again, this time in the pages of the New Zealand Herald. A week ago, Liam Dann wrote a column pondering how in […]
Gordon Campbell on populism’s changing of the guard, plus a soul music playlist
The weekend’s Newshub/Reid Research poll results – Act up to 11.1%, National up 1% but still sitting at only 28.7%, Labour down to 43%, the […]
Gordon Campbell on the whining vocal minority of farmers, plus the weekly playlist
Granted, working on the land can be a lonely job and the weather can be a bitch… But speaking in general, what have farmers got […]
Gordon Campbell on when National’s leaders had a more enlightened approach to gangs
One can sympathise with Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt and the lose/lose situation he has just found himself in. If he had stayed safe and […]
Gordon Campbell on the hate speech panic, and the weekly playlist
So far, much of the fuss about the government’s proposed legislation on hate speech has focused on the state – the state ! – being […]
Gordon Campbell on yesterday’s big parliamentary air kiss to China
In order to obtain support from the two major parties, Act Party deputy leader Brooke Van Velden twice had to soften the language of her […]
Gordon Campbell on our determination to ignore China’s human rights abuses
For nearly two decades, New Zealand has been juggling our dependency on China when it comes to trade, while expecting our traditional allies to look […]
Gordon Campbell on Collins’ desperation, and Joe Biden’s left-wing image
The difficulty with translating the Treaty partnership into the realities of parliamentary rule is that at best, Maori have been treated only as co-pilots, still […]
Gordon Campbell on Labour refusing to lead a progressive drugs policy
Once again, Labour has chosen not to use (a) its parliamentary majority and (b) the huge mandate it was given at the last election in […]
Gordon Campbell on why raising corporate taxes has become a hot new political cause
Surprisingly, “raising taxes” has become a very fashionable political idea in 2021. That’s right. After decades of being seen (at best) as a necessary evil, […]
Gordon Campbell on how the tourism industry pressured the government to create the travel bubble
Today is when the fate (and date) of the trans-Tasman travel bubble will be announced by PM Jacinda Ardern and -already– Opposition leader Judith Colins […]
Gordon Campbell on the rivals for the Covid saliva testing dollar
As the cliché goes, every crisis is an opportunity. The pandemic seems no exception. To be clear though: at any time, it is quite OK […]
Gordon Campbell on National’s weekend of doing wheelies, going nowhere
Evidently, a year is not a long time in politics. The National Party for example, has just chosen to end this year much as it […]
Gordon Campbell on National’s reshuffle, Pfizer’s vaccine & Trump’s non-exit strategy
Good to hear there is at least one Covid vaccine in the pipeline, and that Pfizer is claiming a 90% level of efficacy for it. […]
Gordon Campbell on National being shafted by its own creation
As it licks its wounds, let’s hope the National Party can still find time to look back with some pride at what it has achieved […]
Gordon Campbell on some electorates to watch on Saturday night
On the eve of Election Day, Judith Collins can claim that she has done exactly what she was chosen to do: namely, she looks like […]
Gordon Campbell on National going rogue, and US militia madness
In the wake of Judith Collins descent into negative politicking, the real question has to be – did she slip, or did she jump? Was […]
Gordon Campbell on flirting with Act, and on the euthanasia/cannabis measures
Less than convincingly, Judith Collins says that if elected to govern, she would not be enacting any of the austerity measures and welfare cuts advocated […]
Gordon Campbell on last night’s debate, and beyond
It really hasn’t been a good week for Judith Collins to be wheeling out her Little Me impression of Donald Trump, yet the similarities have […]
Gordon Campbell on four-year terms of Parliament, and on how the US courts are dismantling democracy
Last week, the issue of four-year parliamentary terms surfaced again. Infuriatingly, it is being discussed purely in terms of its convenience for political parties. They’d […]
Gordon Campbell on debates as game-shows, and why mixing politics and religion is a bad idea
Political debates have dominated the week’s campaign cycle, here and elsewhere. Routinely, leaders’ debates ( and polls) are the roadside diners and comfort stops on […]
Gordon Campbell on whether this election is already a foregone conclusion
Currently, this election looks like being a no contest. The weekend’s Newshub poll has the centre left enjoying a roughly 57-36% lead over the centre […]