Gordon Campbell on a fun summer, with Covid anxiety
No more traffic light alert system. No more vaccine mandates, even for those in healthcare. Masks are no longer mandatory in retail outlets or on […]
Columns
Gordon Campbell on being co-dependent on the royals
For those who do not regard King Charles III as their liege lord, these have been a difficult few days, with the promise of more […]
Gordon Campbell on what the rise of Liz Truss signals for us
True, the writing is a bit florid, but the following passages capture a few of the psychological realities that have been dawning for some time: […]
Gordon Campbell on why Chile’s experiment in direct democracy failed
In overwhelming numbers yesterday – the “no” vote was 62% – the people of Chile voted to reject a draft Constitution that would have been […]
Jeremy Rose on the grassroots struggle to create a new Constitution in Chile
Yesterday (4th September) New Zealand’s Chilean community voted overwhelmingly to approve a draft constitution in their homeland. It has been described as the world’s first […]
Gordon Campbell on King Coal’s comeback, plus a music playlist
Of late, the news bulletins have been carrying alarming images of extreme flooding in parts of Asia, and extreme drought across Europe. Pakistan has 7,000 […]
Gordon Campbell on Labour’s self-inflicted Kiwisaver disaster
In years to come, the Great Kiwisaver Fees Fiasco is going to be taught in schools as a lesson in political mis-management. To put it […]
Gordon Campbell on the centre-left’s reluctance to pursue radical options
The term “Overton Window” was coined by the US political scientist Joseph Overton, and it refers to the policies deemed to be politically acceptable at […]
Gordon Campbell on our paranoid policies on immigration
If only we could take one tenth of the energy we currently expend on worrying about what Ian Foster’s coaching policies are doing to the […]
Gordon Campbell on Appalachian music, with a playlist
Around the globe, culture is being homogenised by dominant styles of popular music, spread far and wide by delivery platforms like Tik Tok and Youtube. […]
Gordon Campbell on saying goodbye to Dr Sharma, and the monarchy
Dr. Guarav Sharma is now an independent MP. We probably won’t have to wait much longer before we hear he’d be willing to work with […]
Gordon Campbell on why the state buying Kiwibank is no big deal
So… The government itself has bought Kiwibank off its current trio of state-related owners (NZ Post, NZ Super Fund and the ACC) in a transaction […]
Gordon Campbell on why big spenders are not our tourism salvation
Covid and climate change have been changing the face of tourism. That’s why it seemed oddly premature last week for Tourism Minister Stuart to announce […]
Gordon Campbell on the case for nationalising our urban bus services
When it comes to funding and managing public transport, should local government or central government bear most of the responsibility for delivering a quality service? […]
Gordon Campbell on the Sharma chameleon
Gather round the camp-fire, folks. Let me tell you about the Ice Age era of the fourth Labour government, when mean, sabre-toothed tigers like Richard […]
Gordon Campbell on how National’s ”new” welfare plan resurrects a past failure
Sam Uffindell’s defenders keep reminding us that he was only 16 at the time of the King’s College incident, and haven’t we all done things […]
Gordon Campbell on Sam Uffindell’s sorry excuse for an apology
Most of us believe in redemption and atonement… But the timing, the nature and the semantics of Sam Uffindell‘s apology for his role in a […]
Gordon Campbell on National’s plan to privatise welfare delivery
On the rare occasions when it ever gets asked, the public keeps rejecting tax cuts as such, as a policy priority. It keeps saying it […]
Gordon Campbell on National’s incredible disappearing tax policy
During the years of the Key government one hardy perennial of political journalism was that whenever the Labour Opposition would suggest a policy alternative to […]
Gordon Campbell on the “one person, many votes” principle
That gormlessly glum picture of Christopher Luxon in Samoa graphically tells us what kind of image New Zealand would be projecting abroad if there’s a […]
Gordon Campbell on why we should pay Kiwis living abroad
This morning, National’s deputy leader Nicola Willis managed to get top of the bulletin news coverage by pointing out that some Kiwis living abroad might […]
Gordon Campbell on Games fervour, and the music of S.G. Goodman
Given how the pandemic has disrupted the sporting calendar, no-one would begrudge our elite athletes their chance to compete at international level. What with the […]
Gordon Campbell on Luxon’s holiday, and the Greens phantom revolt
If nothing else, some of the media treatment of the Luxon lu’au has reeked of a double standard. If Jacinda Ardern – or any of […]
Gordon Campbell on the Greens, and on free market myopia
Climate change has gone from being one of those allegedly wacky Green ideas to wide mainstream acceptance. In their own ways, leaders like Jeanette Fitzsimons, […]
Gordon Campbell on the Covid surge, and re-infection
Hate to sound “fearful” and “inward”in my thinking, but it seems Covid can’t be beaten simply by a dose of positive thinking and a “can […]
Gordon Campbell on the US attempt to regain lost ground
The brief fist bump between Joe Biden and Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader Mohammad bin Salman was the most memorable image from the US President’s […]
Gordon Campbell on Labour’s bunker mentality
RNZ spokesperson John Barr says in reply to this column that RNZ’s “live” coverage of the Luxon press conference was carried only on its website, […]
Gordon Campbell on the Pacific Islands Forum gathering
In recent months, China has been widely portrayed as a major strategic threat to the Pacific region, yet the Pacific states themselves beg to differ. […]
Gordon Campbell on the trade deal with the Europeans
We’ve grown so used to thinking the “we punch above our weight” cliché is real that the shortcomings in our free trade deal with the […]
Gordon Campbell on finding a model to replace the monarchy
One feels reluctant to pre-empt the verdict of history, but maybe we need to have a Plan B in mind just in case the reign […]