Gordon Campbell On Budget 2026
The Luxon government won the last election by claiming that it alone possessed the managerial competence to fix the nation’s cost of living crisis. Three […]
Gordon Campbell
Gordon Campbell On Labour’s Vanishing Act
Chris Hipkins is testing the patience (and allegiance) of every centre- left voter. We may be now only a few months out from the election, […]
Gordon Campbell On The Social Housing Debacle, And The Red Tape Fantasy
Fair is foul, and foul is fair. Truly, the witches in Macbeth had a pretty accurate take on the government’s new demands for social housing […]
Gordon Campbell On Goodnight Moon By Margaret Wise Brown
The Werewolf series on classic children’s books continues this week with the bedtime favourite Goodnight Moon, and the brief life of the tragic genius who […]
Gordon Campbell On The Public Service Chainsaw Massacre
According to Finance Minister Nicola Willis, trashing the public service (“an old clunky system” says Willis, a “make work scheme” says Christopher Luxon, “a job […]
Gordon Campbell On James Cameron, And The Paramount Bid For Warners
Late last year, our resident Hollywood titan James Cameron got a good deal of publicity for his opposition on principle to the attempted sale of […]
Gordon Campbell On Classic Children’s Books: Badger’s Parting Gifts
Every Friday, Werewolf is re-publishing some essays about classic children’s book, that I began writing in 2009. This essay on Badger’s Parting Gifts has been […]
Gordon Campbell On Pauline Hanson’s Rise, And The TOP Renaissance
Routinely in politics, there is a double standard for outrage. The same people who regarded Jacinda Ardern as a jackbooted tyrant seem to be quite […]
Gordon Campbell On How US Courts Are Helping Donald Trump Steal The Mid-Terms
The world has been quietly hoping and praying that the Republicans will lose control of the lower House or Senate – or both – in […]
Gordon Campbell On Children’s Book Classics: The Moomins
About 15 years ago on Werewolf, I started writing a series of articles about classic children’s books. Over the next few months, these articles will […]
Gordon Campbell On The Political Panic Over Immigration
In the wake of WW2, immigration policy was driven by a mixture of compassion for the refugees of war, and by a less admirable desire […]
Gordon Campbell On The Risks Of AI In The Workplace
Clearly, last year’s fears of a stockmarket “AI bubble” have long gone. AI firms and related stocks are now being treated as the backbone of […]
Gordon Campbell On The FTA With India
Labour finally came down off the fence last week and agreed to give National the votes required to get the free trade deal with India […]
Gordon Campbell On The Lifeline Thrown To Christopher Luxon
The National Party caucus seems to have a death wish. In increasingly “uncertain and volatile times,” it has placed all its bets on the guy […]
Gordon Campbell On New Zealand’s Luxon Liability
The National Party caucus has got itself into in a real bind. For weeks, their Cabinet Ministers and MPs have had their work cut out […]
Gordon Campbell On The Government’s Zombie Shuffle Into A Fuel Crisis
The US rationale for the blockade/entire war is that Iran must never, ever be allowed to have a nuclear weapon and that Iran has always […]
Gordon Campbell On The Rise And Fall Of Hungary’s Viktor Orban
Hungary has made its mark before on the world stage. (Composer: Bela Bartok; ballpoint pen inventor: Laszlo Biro; national dish: goulash.) Even so, why did […]
Gordon Campbell On Australia’s Failing R16 Social Media Ban
So that you can tell the grandkids…I hope you know where you were yesterday around noon, for what US President Donald Trump called “one of […]
Gordon Campbell On National’s Caucus Ructions
In his tilt at the leadership last November, Chris Bishop plainly forgot Omar’s excellent advice from The Wire: “If you come at the king, better […]
Gordon Campbell On The Folly Of Blaming Everything On Trump
The recently infamous “I’m the CEO/ Your job is the Prime Minister” exchange between Christopher Luxon and Tova O’Brien should be a defining moment in […]
Gordon Campbell On The Government’s Leadership Failure On The Fuel Crisis
As the last stop on the global supply chain for oil and diesel, New Zealand should be the first country taking pre-emptive steps to conserve […]
Gordon Campbell On The Feeble Fuel Support Package, And Israel’s Violent Land Grabs
Two big calls this week by the two real decision makers in this government. First, David Seymour all but sank the government’s plan to make […]
Gordon Campbell On The Government’s Juggling Of Public Anxiety Over Fuel Prices
When it comes to its public messaging on the Iran war, the Luxon government is talking optimistically, while trying to ease the public gradually into […]
Gordon Campbell On Our Willingness To Earn US Approval, Via China-Bashing
The Chinese Embassy is right. The recent joint statement by Australia and New Zealand condemning China’s actions in the South China Sea reads like a […]
Gordon Campbell On The Weaponising Of IRD
So hard to pick and choose but the $2.9 billion tax break for landlords still stands out as the coalition government’s most abject surrender to […]
Gordon Campbell On The Grail Quest For The Elusive Luxon Voter
At this point, fans of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon are rare birds indeed. Safe to say, if the National Party does swallow hard and go […]
Gordon Campbell On The Threat To Carve Iran Into Pieces
Oil prices are still rising amid fears that Iran may be laying mines in the Straits of Hormuz. The initial market confidence that the US […]
Gordon Campbell On The Iran War’s Impact On The Economy, And On Air New Zealand
Oil and gas prices have surged since the war on Iran began. The real surprise is that oil prices haven’t risen as much as you’d […]
Gordon Campbell On The Iran War
Funny…back when Russia invaded Ukraine, New Zealand didn’t wait for Vladimir Putin to tell us whether his acts of aggression were legal under international law. […]
Gordon Campbell On The “Move On” Homeless Fiasco, And Country Music In The Age Of Trump
According to Police Minister Mark Mitchell, applying the new “move on” laws to the homeless will not put any extra strain on Police resources. Well, […]