Gordon Campbell on National’s new, fledgling blue-green partner
Every year around about this time, National floats its own distinct vision of a different sort of Green Party…
Women’s Affairs
Gordon Campbell on how the Kavanaugh case relates to women’s suffrage
On suffrage day – reportedly – we celebrate women winning a political voice, and ensuring that their voices are heard, respected, and acted upon, despite attempts to ignore and silence then.
Gordon Campbell on the Transport Ministry scandal, quad bikes and Frankie Cosmos
There will always be a risk in bringing the wrong-doing by one’s superiors to the attention of senior management. That’s why the protections for whistle blowers were created.
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 whether Donald Trump has peaked
For the past ten days, the world has been daring to hope that the wheels may finally be coming off the Trump bandwagon – sufficiently […]
Gordon Campbell on John Key’s do’s and don’ts list when it comes to detainees
Since Prime Minister John Key plainly has trouble with the leadership thing, maybe we should keep it simple for him. So, here’s a list of […]
Gordon Campbell on the gender pay gap
Column – Gordon Campbell Care to know what Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence thinks about the gender wage gap? No? Well, I suppose she is […]
Gordon Campbell on the Chris Brown furore
Thank goodness Dame Tariana Turia has been able to inject a bit of common sense into the Chris Brown visa issue – her argument being […]
Gordon Campbell on Carly Fiorina and the anti-abortion scam
So Carly Fiorina – hitherto best known as the CEO who drove Hewlett-Packard to the brink of ruin – was the big winner in the […]
Gordon Campbell on the Children’s Commission report on CYF
Accusing the overworked and underfunded staff at Child, Youth and Family of a “dump and run culture of neglect” is the kind of luxury that […]
Gordon Campbell on the new bureaucratic tests facing solo parents
Offhand, its hard to think of a more cynical example of political opportunism than the requirement that solo parents will now need to re-apply for […]
Gordon Campbell on Budget 2015
From the outset, the slogan for yesterday’s Budget – “The Plan Is Working” – begged to be mocked. There’s actually a plan for the national […]
Gordon Campbell on the hair-pulling finale and Gallipoli
Don’t know about you, but when hi-jinks and horsing around are going on, my understanding is that everyone involved is supposed to be having a […]
Gordon Campbell on the PM's Hair-Pulling Power Trip
There have been striking differences between (a) the account of the waitress involved in the hair-pulling incidents, and (b) the account being given by Prime […]
Gordon Campbell on the inadequate response to sexual violence prevention
On combatting sexual violence, the government has finally begun to undo some of the problems that were of its own making. Early in March, ACC […]
Gordon Campbell on the diplomatic immunity fallout at MFAT, and Iraq/Vietnam comparisons
Image by Neetflux Terrific. I’m glad that Murray McCully is well and truly determined to get to the bottom of who screwed up the Malaysian […]
On short term contracting in the public service, and paid parental leave
It is always dangerous to base a story on personal experience… So this is being offered mainly out of curiosity, to see whether anyone out […]
On The Hunger Games and body image
Earlier this year, Next magazine published a scary survey on the body image of young New Zealand women, a story that prompted Labour MP Sue […]
On whether politicians should have the same rights to privacy
Eight days before an election. The Police are poised to search major newsrooms to try and validate the government’s determination to conceal (at least until […]
On the welfare reform proposals
Remember the so called ‘underclass? Remember when John Key in 2007 went walking down McGehan Close in Owairaka, and took 12 year old Aroha Nathan […]
On evidence that New Zealand is a more socially just society than Australia
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com Before this election campaign began, there was a lot of angst about our income gap with Australia. We will […]
Gordon Campbell on the Rugby World Cup Victory
Opinion – Gordon Campbell This close, nail biting victory – without the triumphalism that the All Blacks running riot over their opponents would have entailed […]
On the Christchurch deal, and sexist dinosaurs
Clearly, the deal put on the table for Christchurch yesterday by the government has to be only an opening bid, not a final resolution. Those […]
On John Key’s Assault On The Welfare System
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com If John Key is the face of moderation, there’s not much room left on the margins for the extremism […]
On Paul Quinn’s rape comments, and health spending
Now that the dust has settled on National MP Paul Quinn’s outrageous comments about women and rape made on TVNZ7’s Back Benches programme – “I […]
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 Welfare Working Group final report
Bureaucrats and academics tend to enjoy playing God with the lives of the vulnerable – but evidently, even the Welfare Working Group members couldn’t agree […]
Gordon Campbell on the prelude to the welfare reform package
At his post-Cabinet press conference yesterday PM John Key identified the root cause of the unrest in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain and Libya in terms that […]
On the campaign to free Jafar Panahi, and Julian Assange
Credit: Cine del Sur Just before Christmas, Scoop reported on the silencing of Iran’s leading film-maker, Jafar Panahi. Panahi has been imprisoned by the authorities […]
On the Welfare Working Group’s latest round of welfare bashing
Well, in its Options report this week, at least the Cabinet-appointed Welfare Working Group was clear about whose interests it is there to serve: ‘The […]