Gordon Campbell on NZ’s silence over Trump’s anti-Muslim agenda
Shame that the New Zealand government has been missing in action over the weekend, during the time when the Trump presidency has been carrying out […]
Columns
Gordon Campbell on Peter Thiel’s bid for citizenship
So we now we know how much it costs to buy New Zealand citizenship.
Gordon Campbell on journalism’s future in the era of “alternative facts.”
Already, the White House has made it clear that the media are the new enemy that the new President’s supporters will be encouraged to unite against.
Gordon Campbell on the team behind the throne
Team of charlatans, bigots and stunningly ignorant crackpots that Trump is appointing to head key federal agencies is alarming.
Gordon Campbell on Bill English, abroad
If David Cameron was the closest thing John Key had to a political mentor, their successors also share a whole lot in common. Theresa May […]
A Small Ode on a Trump Inauguration Poem
I figure if this guy can write an inauguration poem, anyone can.
Gordon Campbell on populism and Labour 2017
For many on the centre-left, populism is a dirty word, and shorthand for the politics of bigotry.
The best albums of 2016
I’m not even going to try and rationalise this surrender to a ‘best of’ listicle.
Gordon Campbell on the politics of boredom
Last weekend’s Cabinet shuffle of the same old names around a few different chairs didn’t tell us much.
Gordon Campbell on the Murray McCully exit
Leaving has been his finest gift to caucus, and to the nation. Would that it had been done sooner, but welcome that it be done at all.
Gordon Campbell on the Fairfax/NZME merger
Elsewhere in the world, media cutbacks and consolidation haven’t exactly ushered in a bright new era of more diverse, more substantial news coverage.
Gordon Campbell on the National leadership “contest”
Key’s endorsement of English has turned this “contest” into a race for second place.
Gordon Campbell on the Key resignation
The resignation of John Key is one thing. The way that Key and his deputy Bill English have screwed the scrum on the leadership succession […]
Gordon Campbell on India’s huge socio-economic experiment
Without much coverage at all in the West, India has just been engaged for the past few weeks in one of the world’s biggest socio-economic […]
Gordon Campbell on Anne Tolley’s callous folly
Last week’s conflict between Social Development Minister Anne Tolley and District Court judge Carolyn Henwood illustrated quite a few of the flaws in the system.
Gordon Campbell on the death of Fidel Castro
New Zealand likes to think we played ourpart – via the 1981 Springbok tour – in bringing the apartheid regime in South Africa to an […]
Gordon Campbell on the media normalisation of Trump
We all supposedly agree that the media is going to hell in a tabloid handbasket, but the trends to the contrary can be a bit harder to spot.
Gordon Campbell on the transport options, post earthquake
The configuration of rail, road and shipping likely to emerge in the longer term, post earthquake, still remains opaque.
Gordon Campbell on the government’s tax cuts fixation
Long before the earthquake hit, the dodginess of the government tax cuts programnme was evident in the language of its packaging.
Gordon Campbell on the Gareth Morgan crusade
One significant factor Morgan does have going for him is that doesn’t appear to regard success or failure in ordinary political terms.
Gordon Campbell on the US election home stretch
Once again at the business end of a US election, the result will hinge on the same old bits of geography as always
Gordon Campbell on news from the US election eve
“The Cubs Have A Smaller Chance Of Winning Than Trump Does”
Yet as we now know…yesterday, the Chicago Cubs concluded their incredible World Series comeback run with an 8-7 victory
Gordon Campbell on the latest McCully fiasco
Well, as Auditor-General Lynn Provost has just found in her long-awaited report into the Saudi sheep deal: plenty.
Gordon Campbell on the Police (and MSD) abuses of power
Apparently, the Police have deliberately abused the powers of detention they possess under the Land Transport Act…
Gordon Campbell on plastic bag activism, and street harassment
What has aroused the ire of Act Leader David Seymour this time is the introduction of a Greens private members bill to the ballot process, “calling for a 15 cents levy on plastic bags to reduce pollution.”
Gordon Campbell on the Surplus, And Bob Dylan
To quote the distinguished Nobel laureate, “Something is happening here, and you don’t know what it is, do you Mr Jones?”
Gordon Campbell on how the political centre is a mirage
Since the GFC, the myth of the centre ground has been amply documented.
Gordon Campbell on dairy farming, the battle for Mosul and drugs in sport
Arguably, the last thing New Zealand needs is for the current levels of dairy production to return to profitability anytime soon.
Gordon Campbell on child poverty, and John Coltrane
John Key’s rationale for refusing to throw the state’s resources behind reducing child poverty is the lamest excuse since “The dog ate my homework.”
Gordon Campbell on privatising education, and the Amen Break
John Quiggin’s argument on market experiments seems especially relevant to this country at a time.