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 […]
National
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 […]
Gordon Campbell on National’s rampant pandering to the farming vote
What on earth has happened to the political parties n the centre-right? Once upon a time in the US, the party of Lincoln was a […]
Gordon Campbell on last night’s leaders debate
Do political debates change voter intentions, and cause voters to switch sides? According to a 2019 Harvard Business School study conducted across 61 elections in […]
Gordon Campbell on that $4 billion hit to National’s economic cred
National released its economic and tax policy last Friday. Weirdly, the plan was announced right at the end of the news week, when whatever impact […]
Gordon Campbell on campaign politicking
The microdoses of policy that get released on the campaign trail are not meant to be ego-shattering psychedelic events that transform our concepts of political […]
Gordon Campbell on James Shaw’s spectacular own goal
The apology by Greens co-leader James Shaw was certainly comprehensive. He’s so very sorry that he’s let down not only you, but you and you […]
Gordon Campbell on kneejerk negativism, Cardi B, and Linda Manz
Yesterday, Victoria recorded 216 new Covid-19 cases and twelve deaths. An inquiry released a couple of days ago found that 90% of Victoria’s second wave […]
Gordon Campbell on Judith Collins’ apparent inability to read the public mood
The basic skill that a successful politician needs is the ability to “read the room” and gauge the public mood. If National Party leader Judith […]
Gordon Campbell on the new lockdowns, leadership and Lebanon
As Melbourne has shown, the webs of urban life overlap so extensively that community transmission can be very hard to trace, let alone control. Each […]
Gordon Campbell on showing the Aussies how to reach a consensus on quarantine fees
Back at the dawn of time, MMP was created (a) to impose a discipline on government and (b) to prevent any one party from riding […]
Gordon Campbell on the Greens’ attempts to look like underdogs
The Greens’ opposition to homecoming New Zealanders being required to pay about $3,000 towards the cost of their two week Covid-19 quarantine, needs to be […]
Gordon Campbell on who really deserves sympathy when stress makes people behave badly
Sex always makes people sit up and pay attention to what‘s on the news bulletins. The political circus aside…. Power (not sex) has really been […]
Gordon Campbell on why high taxes and austerity shouldn’t ruin the Covid recovery
Even before you factor in the tendency of National’s caucus to self-implode, Judith Collins should have her work cut out. Somehow, she has to convince […]
Gordon Campbell on the mainstream media’s romance with Judith Collins
Crikey. It feels like the media and Judith Collins should just get a room and be done with it. Such has been the commentariat’s love […]
Gordon Campbell on National’s Great Leap Backwards
It isn’t surprising that at the height of its disarray, National should have looked for certainty and picked the least introspective candidate on offer. With […]
Gordon Campbell on the Todd Muller resignation
Given the factions within National’s own caucus, anyone picked as the new leader of the National Party will struggle to unify their own troops, let […]
Gordon Campbell on why Todd Muller needs to own the privacy leak scandal
Whenever a political scandal breaks, party leaders have two basic options. They can confess to being in boots and all, and try to brazen it […]