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 […]
Columns
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 how the animals fare within a racing industry in decline
Somehow, the office sweepstake on the Melbourne Cup is still likely to be a thing, even in the year 2021. Probably though, most non-punters would […]
Gordon Campbell on the demonisation of film and TV subsidies
Yesterday’s big winner at the Oscars was Chinese-American director Chloe Zhao and her film Nomadland…. And Weta Digital happens to be listed here among the […]
Gordon Campbell on welcoming the major health reforms
Usually “reform” of government agencies is a cost cutting exercise in disguise, but this morning’s revision of the health system looks totally different. These reforms […]
Gordon Campbell on the implications of the travel bubble
A midst the coverage of the hugs and kisses and reunion tears one hates to be a killjoy… But there has been little attention paid […]
Gordon Campbell on the Erebus memorial in Parnell
Social media can be a wonderful tool for bringing people together in a common cause. It can also be a seedbed and spreader of mis-information […]
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 bubble economics, and the new pro-gun, pro-hunting firearms panel
The travel bubble with Australia will throw a lifeline to tourism operators, who have first-hand experience that thrifty domestic tourists are no real substitute for […]
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 battle to bring some humanity into Amazon’s work practices
Whenever we use Amazon for online shopping delivery, we should feel guilty. The company’s labour practices are notoriously unsafe. Shop floor employees in Amazon warehouses […]
Gordon Campbell on why China’s pact with Iran is a big deal, and why a vaccination target isn’t
One of the most significant developments in global politics in a generation has flown in almost entirely beneath the radar of the Western media. On […]
Gordon Campbell on Labour’s less than radical housing package
Houses are now like Bitcoin with a street address, a speculative currency priced beyond the reach of ordinary humans. The public is not impressed. Don’t […]
Gordon Campbell on why Emirates Team New Zealand is a really, really bad look
Now that the patriotic frenzy has died down, maybe we should all look in the mirror and reconsider the implications of our America’s Cup victory […]
Gordon Campbell on why re-defining “terrorism” won’t make us any safer
All very well to talk about “modernising” our terrorism legislation (hey, it was written back in 2002 in the wake of 9/11) in order to […]
Gordon Campbell on abortion safe access zones, and the need for the Police and SIS to go open source
Yesterday, the abortion law reform organisation ALRANZ celebrated 50 years of existence since its founding AGM in 1971 – and in marking the anniversary, former […]
Gordon Campbell on the Myanmar coup and the immense, enduring success of BTS
During yesterday’s protests in Myanmar over 50 demonstrators were shot dead, one police officer died, and several Chinese owned factories were set on fire. Among […]
Gordon Campbell on the Pope’s visit to Iraq
As an exercise in global symbolic politics, it would be hard to top last week’s meeting in Iraq between Pope Francis and the most respected […]
Gordon Campbell on why we’ll need three doses of the Pfizer vaccine – and on Rocket Lab’s work for the Pentagon
Yesterday, the government finally released a four part timetable setting out which groups will get vaccinated with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and in what sequence …And […]
Gordon Campbell on some of the moral objections being levelled at Covid vaccines
Quite the switch. Barely three months ago, the government was priding itself on cannily spreading its vaccine bets between Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Novovaxx and the Johnson […]
Gordon Campbell on Australia’s superior ways of communicating about its vaccine rollout
It isn’t only on the cricket field that Australia performs better. The clarity and degree of detail in Australia’s published schedule of the priorities for […]
Gordon Campbell on why the public doesn’t always do what its told, even in 24 different languages
Today we were told that the Covid vaccines available to New Zealand are both halal and kosher. Good to know. And good to officially recognise […]
Gordon Campbell on who decides on the priority list for Covid vaccines
During the past week, the nation has gone through a range of mixed feelings about south Auckland. Understandably, there’s been a hankering in some quarters […]
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 Labour’s fudging on child poverty, and America’s diplomatic dance with Iran
If you want a good insight into what the limits of tiny, barely discernible steps to reduce poverty actually look like, delve into the latest […]
Gordon Campbell on Australia’s attempt to demonise Facebook
It is a free country. Feel free to treat the battle between Australia and Facebook as a case of Facebook using its immense power to […]
Gordon Campbell on welcoming Pfizer’s vaccine, and saying goodbye to Afghanistan
Good news, meet bad news. Co-incidentally, on the same day that New Zealand delivers its first doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to our frontline border […]
Gordon Campbell on another epic failure by Australia to act decently on the world stage
Not for the first time, New Zealand’s leaders did us proud yesterday while – faced with the same moral challenge- Australia leaders fouled their nest. […]