On the World Cup, and the media’s buy-in to the national mood of elation
Well, New Zealand made a splash in the Fifa World Cup coverage yesterday – and I don’t mean via the draw with Italy. No, the […]
Gordon Campbell
On our costly and futile efforts in Afghanistan
Routinely, we are told that the New Zealand Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Afghanistan’s Bamiyan province has been doing a great job – and maybe […]
Gordon Campbell on the foreshore and seabed deal, and Gaza blockade
By Gordon Campbell The Maori Party seems to have won few immediate and tangible benefits from its long awaited deal on the foreshore and seabed […]
On a solution for the Ministerial spending scandal, and for child poverty
The litmus test in the Ministerial expenses scandal is what would happen to an ordinary employee who repeatedly misused the company or departmental credit card […]
On the Green Party conference
The Greens held their party conference last weekend – the first for some years not dominated by an actual or pending leadership change. This time, […]
On the rugby apology to Maori, the Gaza blockade and lying about Kiwibank
Isn’t there something truly weird about any Maori Party request to government for an apology over the exclusion of Maori players from tours to apartheid-era […]
On the need for New Zealand to condemn the Gaza blockade
The Israeli attack on the Turkish aid convoy to Gaza, and its subsequent slaughter of the civilians on board is being condemned around the world. […]
On the international aid flotilla now approaching Gaza
Some days ago, a flotilla of nine ships left a port in Turkey bound for the Gaza enclave, laden with medical and building supplies and […]
On the plans to sell state assets
At yesterday’s post-Cabinet press conference Prime Minister John Key said that work ‘had not yet begun’ on deciding which state assets – if any – […]
On the trade-offs in the Budget
Audio + Images: Budget Lockup Press Conference Raising the level of GST – which will hit those on low incomes the hardest – and offering […]
On John Key’s shifting rationales for tax cuts (& leaky homes)
[Leaky homes below] See: PM’s Presser Audio & Report – Leaky Home Loan Scheme When asked by Scoop at yesterday’s post-Cabinet press conference to name […]
On Sir Peter Gluckman, and the government’s science package for business
So far, at least two isotopes of the government’s chief science advisor Sir Peter Gluckman have been isolated, and identified. The commonly observed variant – […]
On Gordon Brown’s exit, and the SAS role in defending women’s oppression in Afghanistan
Now that Gordon Brown has resigned, the way is a little bit clearer for Nick Clegg to make a deal with Labour – but only […]
On the ongoing Peter Saunders saga, and the UK election
Now that everyone has had a good laugh at Social Development Minister Paula Bennett for mixing up which Peter Saunders she had actually appointed to […]
On CEO pay, and the calls to hike up interest rates
Lets get this straight. Paying schoolteachers is said to be a very very bad thing to do as we emerge from the recession – but […]
On privatizing water, and the SAS in Afghanistan
Local Government Minister Rodney Hide continues to pursue his vocation in life, of turning public assets into profit centres for the private sector. The amendment […]
On banning 18-19 year olds from bars (& cigarette tax)
Girl Talk. See: Gordon Campbell IV’s Girl Talk, About Copyright In what passes for a public debate here about the flow of young New Zealanders […]
On RWC fever, and Obama’s Supreme Court choice
RNZ this morning carried the news that “new research” now shows that the Rugby World Cup would add an estimated $535 million to the nation’s […]
On our unhealthy fixation with Gallipoli
Image: Selwyn Manning: ANZAC Day 2008 Dawns in NZ At the post-Cabinet press conference last Monday, Prime Minister John Key had to field a range […]
On Paula Bennett’s decidedly strange welfare panel
Last week when Social Development Minister Paula Bennett named the working group on welfare reform, she also cited in a footnote two experts that the […]
On getting a fair deal for our oil and mining resources
As the deadline approaches for public submissions on the government’s plans to open up sensitive conservation areas to mining, the likely economic returns to New […]
Gordon Campbell On Welfare Insurance
The new working group on welfare reform to be headed by former Commerce Commission head Paula Rebstock will be looking at schemes of unemployment insurance […]
On New Zealand's Anti-Nuclear Posturing
Click for big version New Zealand’s national identity is very much based on our sense of virtuous purity – and the feeling that we can […]
On the Whanau Ora scheme
At the unveiling of Whanau Ora, the government scrapped a key feature that its expert Task Force had deemed to be ‘pivotal’ – namely, that […]
On the child abuse scandal within the Catholic Church
At the school I attended as a child, any and all queries by parents about the standard of teaching or the content of the syllabus […]
On the Iraq election, and the attacks on Andrew Williams
So Iyad Allawi’s secular Sunni coalition has won the most seats in the Iraqi elections. While the mainstream media from the New York Times to […]
On the missing-in-action Jackson film review, and the new benefit policy
I know Peter Jackson is a busy guy, but where oh where is his review of the New Zealand Film Commission? There was no hard […]
On the Government’s Greenlight to the Mining Industry
Click for big version Well, we learned yesterday that Forest and Bird leaks had been right all along, and that the government is indeed planning […]
On the Waihopai Three Verdict, and East Jerusalem
2008 Image: Ploughshares Penetrate Waihopai Base Deflate Dome The acquittal of the Waihopai Three for their attack on the Waihopai spy base is as welcome […]
On the Economics of Mining DOC Land
Click to enlarge At yesterday’s Post cabinet press conference [video], Prime Minister John Key repeated the government’s current defensive position on the proposal to extend […]