Gordon Campbell on yesterday’s Budget
It may seem like Oliver to be so bold as to ask the Finance Minister for more gruel – but what the Dickens, Steven Joyce… is this Budget really as good as it gets?
Columns
Gordon Campbell on (not) taking responsibility, terrorism porn, and Dylan’s 76th birthday
So Martin Matthews, our current Auditor-General wishes he could have detected “earlier” the fraud that occurred on his watch at the Ministry of Transport.
Gordon Campbell on the Navy’s dealings with Fat Leonard, and Twin Peaks
Oversight at any level of performance is not New Zealand’s strong suit… The Navy has now gone one step beyond. It won’t even ask itself whether it did a good job.
Gordon Campbell on the demonising of Iran
Will New Zealand still be willing to pursue its recent trade overtures to Iran, now Donald Trump has singled out Iran as the main source of terrorism and instability in the Middle East?
Gordon Campbell on Bill English’s bizarre new/old trade deal
English has not got the foggiest idea what benefits this deal stands to bring right now, in a month’s time, or by year’s end – much less longer term out until 2030.
Gordon Campbell on housing, exploding lap-tops and Jon Taplin
How useful a thing really is National’s programme of building 34,000 houses, as a solution to the crisis of housing affordability? Answer: not very.
Gordon Campbell on dealing with Japan over the TPP
As PM Bill English flies off to Japan with his business delegation today, his discussions with Shinzo Abe will focus on how to keep the TPP trade pact alive, now that the US has bailed.
Gordon Campbell on Alfred Ngaro’s standover tactics
When someone like Alfred Ngaro is being paid circa$350,000 a year (in salary and perks) you’d think he wouldn’t have to learn on the job about the basic moral rules of his role.
The Social Investment Model, Explained
As Chairman-at-large of the National Committee for Ideas that Sounded Good at the Time, I get asked a lot about this social investment strategy lark.
Gordon Campbell on our caving in to the Aussies
The latest expression of this lopsided relationship has seen young Kiwis at Australian universities being hit with a trebling of their tuition fees.
Gordon Campbell on the killing of the Fairfax/NZME merger
The vast majority of the public would agree with the Commission. Journalism is not baked beans. Society conveys certain powers and responsibilities on the Fourth Estate for a reason.
Gordon Campbell on the kerfuffle over Willie Jackson’s list ranking
For a brief period yesterday, extreme weather conditions associated with Hurricane Willie resulted in an ‘unprecedented’ delay in the release of the Labour list rankings.
Gordon Campbell on the Kim regime
It would be nice to know (a) what the guy in Pyongyang is thinking about all this and (b) what an achievable strategy goal for the US might look like.
Gordon Campbell on the French election result
Macron is shaping as the third major test case, after Bill Clinton, after Tony Blair – on whether ‘progressive social policy’ and realities of ‘neo-liberal economic settings’ credibly co-exist.
Gordon Campbell on the snap election in Britain
Supposedly, Theresa May’s calling of a snap election in Britain is all about ‘getting a mandate’ and ‘leadership’ and other such cant. In fact, the […]
Gordon Campbell on the aged-care settlement
Strange indeed to hear a National Prime Minister not only singing the praises of raising wages, but also preaching that this will enable employers to reap future benefits.
Gordon Campbell on the costs of cost-cutting
Finance Minister Steven Joyce has been persuaded to pony up an extra $10 million to keep the jobs of 26 safety officers in the Police commercial vehicle investigations unit
Gordon Campbell on the fate of Edgecumbe’s uninsured
Should Edgecumbe residents who don’t have enough (or any) insurance still receive assistance from central government – or not?
Gordon Campbell on regime change, bombs and Syria
Now that America has found its greatness again the traditional way – by bombing someone – the misgivings have set in.
Gordon Campbell on the MSD’s privacy problems
This fiasco has been a perfect example of a bad policy, terribly executed – on a rushed timetable that appears to have been driven by an MSD desire to cut costs in the contracts due for renewal, mid year.
Gordon Campbell on Shifty Bill’s Last Stand
Nothing to see with this SAS raid bizzo, move on. Or so PM Bill English would have us believe.
Gordon Campbell on the Labour/Greens Deal
Labour and the Greens have made concessions intended to establish themselves as a credible alternative government, but they’ve made the concessions to the wrong people.
Gordon Campbell on war crimes and the Afghan insurgency
Truly, with friends like former defence Minster Wayne Mapp, the SAS does not need enemies.
Gordon Campbell on the Hit and Run book
Without an independent inquiry into this incident it will remain a blot on our military record, and on any subsequent Anzac Day celebrations of the exploits of our troops abroad.
Gordon Campbell on Chuck Berry
A 30-ish black r&b musician from a middle class family in St Louis managed to recreate the world of white teenagers, at a time when the very notion of a “teenager” had just been invented.
Gordon Campbell on Dutch lessons for Labour
Do yesterday’s election results in the Netherlands have any lessons for our own election campaign this year?
Gordon Campbell on the conflicts over abortion
The 1977 legislation is a conservative law on the books that has been interpreted liberally in practice.
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 National’s token National Super age hike
A policy rollout about appearances rather than urgency, driven more by National’s political need to guard its flank than the country’s best interests. Is there a pattern here?
From the Hood: In Which My Computer Develops A Bug
Some free verse poetry a cockroach typed into my computer over the weekend.