Gordon Campbell on the attacks on Israel and Gaza
On the day after the Hamas attacks, the Jewish newspaper Haaretz concluded that only a few options were available to Israel’s leaders and all of […]
Columns
Gordon Campbell on why Winston Peters could be National’s new BFF
Over the weekend, some classic double speak from National. Christopher Luxon is saying he’ll be able to make a deal with whatever power configuration the […]
Gordon Campbell on the centre-right’s cynically divisive messages on race
Could be wrong, but I have a hunch that if a male Maori activist entered the home of a National Party candidate uninvited, it would […]
Gordon Campbell on National’s disdain for the Press debate
Christopher Luxon evidently thinks this election is SO in the bag that he can afford to spurn the still-undecideds, the entire South Island, and the […]
Gordon Campbell on National’s myths about the desolated state of the economy
Familiarity breeds consent. If you repeat the line “six years of economic mis-management” about 10,000 times, it sounds like the received wisdom, whatever the evidence […]
Gordon Campbell on the cynical brutality of the centre-right’s welfare policies
The centre-right’s enthusiasm for forcing people off the benefit and into paid work is matched only by the enthusiasm (shared by Treasury and the Reserve […]
Gordon Campbell on whether Winston Peters can be a moderating influence
As the centre-right has (finally!) been subjected to media interrogation, the polls are indicating that some voters may be starting to have second thoughts about […]
Gordon Campbell on chaotic coalitions, drinking water and useless debates
This week’s ONE News-Verian poll had the National/ACT coalition teetering on the edge of being able to govern alone while – just as precariously – […]
Gordon Campbell on National’s (lack of) plans for El Nino
Debate time: In contrast to most debates, political debates aren’t simply about winning on points of logic, but are also about looking likeable on television […]
Gordon Campbell on the centre-right’s credibility problems
Supposedly, people get the governments they deserve, but what on earth did we do in our past lives to deserve an Opposition as shambolic as […]
Gordon Campbell on the fictions about reckless government spending
Yesterday, the Treasury’s pre-election portrait was significantly out of whack with National’s repeated claims of rampant government mis-management of the economy. Instead, it seems that […]
Gordon Campbell on Seymour acting up, and Labour’s lost cause
To use a musical analogy, ACT Party leader David Seymour is to centre-right parties what Lindsay Buckingham was to Fleetwood Mac – a talented guy, […]
Godon Campbell on climate discounts, and corporates as children
Back when kids weren’t being taken to and from school in two tonne trucks, almost everyone was in climate change denial. Now, even the ACT […]
Gordon Campbell on the foreign buyers tax, and attack ads
It has now been six days since National unveiled its tax plan – eons ago in the 24/7 news cycle – but the credibility problem […]
Gordon Campbell on National’s tax cuts
Since tax cuts are never a free lunch, collecting the revenue to pay for them was always going to be the credibility test of National’s […]
Gordon Campbell on using contractors as an election bogey
The demonising of consultants and contractors in the public service assumes that their functions can readily be added to the work burdens of the existing […]
Gordon Campbell on why China isn’t a real military threat
Not that anyone would know it, but there has been quite a massive spendup on Defence since 2017 by the Labour government. The big ticket […]
Gordon Campbell on the elitism framing the election discourse
So… Almost all the tax experts rounded up by the mainstream media have damned the proposal to remove GST from healthy food. Some have called […]
Gordon Campbell on the “GST off fruit and vegetables” saga
To be clear…. Any package that offers people relief on the cost of healthy food (plus a boost to Working For Families entitlements) is welcome, […]
Gordon Campbell on gender posturing and mis-using PPPs in public health
What is it with right wing politicians getting standing ovations for doing the bare minimum? As in… Florida governor and presidential hopeful Ron De Santis […]
Gordon Campbell on the BlackRock deal and banning cellphones
If a National/ACT government had negotiated the renewables deal with the giant investment firm BlackRock, it is safe to assume that we would be never […]
Gordon Campbell on Winston Peters’ troubled tango with the ACT Party
In line with its ideological mission to destroy any and all of the creative partnerships between the state, business, science and public health, the ACT […]
Gordon Campbell on what China’s current economic woes signal for us
For 99% of the time, our worries about China revolve around the military and diplomatic threat that Beijing allegedly poses to New Zealand and to […]
Gordon Campbell on National’s 20th century transport policy, and Labours’ woes
In justifying its multi-squillion dollar, ten years in the making, four lane highway linking Whangarei to Tauranga, the National Party did what it always does […]
Gordon Campbell on ACT’s links to Big Pharma
Economists are weird. People are having trouble feeding their families. Yet the obvious solution – reduce the tax burden on their food – is treated […]
Gordon Campbell on the lessons from Spain’s election
Spain held an election last Sunday… And stop me if any of this doesn’t sound familiar. The two right wing parties were expected to win […]
Gordon Campbell on talking tough about law and order
Harsh sentences are being offered as a deterrent to crime, but voters are being sold a crock. For one thing… Fear of the consequences loses […]
Gordon Campbell on Sir Roger’s lament, and the Commonwealth Games
So Dr. Frankenstein is feeling upset about how his monster has turned out. To the dismay of Sir Roger Douglas, the ACT Party has become […]
Gordon Campbell on how political donations favour the centre-right
Political donations are not gifts. They’re an investment. Lest the recipients forget the gesture, one of the purposes of political lobbying is to remind everyone […]
Gordon Campbell on dancing with NATO on Defence
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has been keeping some serious company of late. He’s been signing a free trade deal with the EU, shooting off to […]