Gordon Campbell On National’s Long Whimper Of Discontent
Christopher Luxon went into and came out of today’s special caucus meeting as damaged goods. If survival is to be counted as winning, it has […]
Blog
Recent News
Gordon Campbell On National’s Abusive, Co-Dependent Relationship With Christopher Luxon
Correction: In this article I have mis-stated the rules around casting a vote in a place other than the electorate in which you are enrolled. […]
Gordon Campbell On Tom’s Midnight Garden By Philippa Pearce
This week’s essay on classic children’s books features Philippa Pearce’s great YA novel about memory and loss. The image of Ely Cathedral is from circa […]
Gordon Campbell On Christopher Luxon’s No Good, Very Bad Fortnight
Decades ago, the Washington Post ran a carton showing White House advisors gibbering in terror backstage as a beaming Ronald Reagan suddenly looked away from […]
Gordon Campbell On A Week Of Luxon And Peters, Unhinged
Newsflash: PM Christopher Luxon does not take any responsibility for the condition in which the New Zealand economy currently finds itself. Not his problem. He’s […]
Gordon Campbell On The Hunger Games By Suzanne Collins
The Werewolf essays on classic children’s books focusses this week on Suzanne Collins’ trilogy about war’s on children True, it may seem weird to try […]
Gordon Campbell On National’s Rejection Of Opportunity
Earlier this week, when Christopher Luxon ruled out forming any government with Opportunity, it was like the ugly kid in class suddenly announcing that he’s […]
Gordon Campbell On The Americanisation Of Our Public Health System
Soaring temperatures, bigger storms, more lightning strikes hitting tinder-dry conditions. Wildfires in Canada, France, ad Spain. Could climate change possibly be to blame? Not according […]
Gordon Campbell On Homecoming By Cynthia Voigt
The Werewolf series of essays on classic children’s books focusses this week on Cynthia Voigt’s great story of a young girl’s resourcefulness, against the odds. […]
Gordon Campbell On The Centre-Right’s Attempt To Steal The Election
People with more wealth enjoy better health, and their children get a head start in life. Pretty obvious, really. Yet criticism of this state of […]
Gordon Campbell on the World Cup final, and Defence double standards in the Pacific
Well, the football World Cup is over and the good guys won, geo-politically speaking. Meaning: Spain was the first European country to officially join the […]
Gordon Campbell on Mrs Frisby and The Rats of NIMH
This week, the Werewolf series of essays on classic children’s literature turns the spotlight onto Robert C. O’Brien’s book about one family’s encounter with genetic […]
Gordon Campbell On Why Professional Sport Needs Strong Unions
True to form, US President Donald Trump has found a way to try and monetise the war he launched against Iran. Trump is proposing to […]
Gordon Campbell On Abel’s Island, By William Steig
More than anything else, Abel’s Island is a tale about love enduring through peril. It is also about the beauty of solitude. Over the course […]
Gordon Campbell On The Amoral Panic Over China’s Missile Test
Head for the basement, people! China has just tested an intercontinental ballistic missile with a dummy warhead! It splashed down somewhere into international waters in […]
Gordon Campbell On The Strange World Of Israel’s Domestic Politics
The genocidal carnage in Gaza has not ceased. The settler violence on the West Bank has sharply increased this year, the UN has denounced the […]
Gordon Campbell On The True Confessions Of Charlotte Doyle
The Werewolf series of essays on classic children’s books continues this week with this story by Avi of murder, mutiny and teenage rebellion on the […]
Gordon Campbell On The School Lunch Fiasco, And Homelessness
The Auditor General’s damning report on the school lunch programme– and the litany of callous bungles it has uncovered – should require associate education minister […]
Gordon Campbell On The Shaky Iran Truce And MPs’ Housing Rorts
To no-one’s surprise, the fragile 60 day truce that began on June 17 has already been broken by attacks on Iran by the US, by […]
Gordon Campbell On The Dark Is Rising
This week, the Werewolf series of essays on classic children’s books features Susan Cooper’s 1973 novel The Dark Is Rising. The antlered horseman on the […]
Gordon Campbell On Being Thankful That Someone Is Talking About Income Inequality
Political myths die hard. For decades it has been taken on faith – all evidence to the contrary – that those business-savvy National Party types […]
Gordon Campbell On RNZ’s Morning Report – Flagship, Or Sinking Ship?
No doubt, the government’s plan (a) to make KiwiSaver compulsory and (b) significantly increase the contribution rate required of both workers and employers would end […]
Gordon Campbell On The Indian In The Cupboard
The Werewolf series on classic children’s books continues this week with “The Indian in the Cupboard” by Lynne Reid Banks. Usually, fantasy offers a means […]
Gordon Campbell On Trump’s Temporary Fix In Iran
When Britain tried (and failed) to re-take control of the Suez Canal in 1956, it marked the moment when a formerly Great Power was forced […]
Gordon Campbell On Being Spooked Into Settling For Less
Every three years around this time, the election campaign begins to feel a bit like the old carnival Ghost Train. All aboard. After the lurch […]
Gordon Campbell On Harriet The Spy
The Werewolf series of essays on classic children’s books continues this week with Harriet The Spy by Louise Fitzhugh. Ever since Harriet the Spy was […]
Gordon Campbell On The Epic Falling Out Between Trump And Netanyahu
Here’s a snapshot of government priorities: one third of staff at a key facility that seeks to prevent the incidence of family and sexual violence […]
Gordon Campbell On The Myths Of Frugality In Our Defence Spending
In one sense, Peru is the poster child of political instability, having gone through nine presidents in the past 10 years, with several ending up […]
Gordon Campbell on The Incredible Journey
The Werewolf series on classic children’s books focusses this week on The Incredible Journey (1961) by Sheila Burnford Ultimately, The Incredible Journey is worth admiring […]
Gordon Campbell On Having The Backbone To Restrict Our Defence Spending
Lynda Topp can look after herself. Yet the rejoinder by Paul Goldsmith to her criticism of our irresponsible spending spree on Defence was so patronising […]