Gordon Campbell on why right wingers think all governments (including their own) are incompetent
Since open denial of climate change is no longer a viable political option, denial now comes in disguise. The release this week of the coalition […]
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Gordon Campbell on the Trump shooting and a potential hike in fees for visiting the doctor
Having watched Donald Trump systematically exploit social grievances, urge people not to accept his election loss and incite his followers to violent insurrection… it is […]
Gordon Campbell on Luxon in the NATO pressure cooker
New Zealand is one of six countries invited as onlookers to this week’s NATO summit in Washington. As such, PM Christopher Luxon will be made […]
Gordon Campbell on the elections in France, Iran and Britain
As Werewolf predicted a week ago, it was premature to call Emmanuel Macron’s snap election call “a bitter failure” and “a humiliating defeat” purely on […]
Gordon Campbell on saving journalists, not an industry that routinely exploits them
Labour is saying it needs to listen. Apparently, Labour is going to spend 2024 listening, and 2025 thinking about its options. It could be 2026 […]
Gordon Campbell on Macron’s gamble, and Biden’s last stand
Emmanuel Macron’s plan B involves a risky, rope-a-dope strategy. Deliberately, he has opened a corridor to power for the far right, in the belief they […]
Gordon Campbell on the freeing of Julian Assange
Finally, Julian Assange is free after 12 years of confinement, much of it spent while under the threat of rendition to the US to face […]
Gordon Campbell on cancer drugs, and the Great Ferries Cancellation Disaster of ’23
The decision taken last December to cancel the contract for the two purpose-built Cook Strait ferries – without having a Plan B in mind, let […]
Gordon Campbell on why we shouldn’t buy new planes for the PM
Its not often that one has to agree with Judith Collins, but yes, it would indeed cost “hundreds of millions of dollars” (at least) to […]
Gordon Campbell on why the Biden “peace plan” for Gaza is doomed
After months and months of blocking every attempt by the UN and everyone else to achieve a Gaza ceasefire, US President Joe Biden is now […]
Gordon Campbell on how moderates empower the political right
Struth, what a week. Having made sure the rural sector won’t have to pay any time soon for its pollution, PM Christopher Luxon yesterday chose […]
Gordon Campbell on our doomed love affair with oil and gas
What if New Zealand threw a fossil fuel party, and nobody came? On the weekend, Resources Minister Shane Jones sent out the invitations and strung […]
Gordon Campbell on cutting the sick leave of vulnerable workers
Should sick leave be part and parcel of the working conditions from Day One on the job, just like every other health and safety provision? […]
Gordon Campbell on the curse of being politically moderate about everything
Nigel Farage’s initial reason for not standing in the British election – because he wanted to be a Trump adviser – never looked very convincing. […]
Gordon Campbell on Nicola Willis and her surplus fetish
So…. according to the Treasury, we’ll have to borrow $17.1 billion by June 2028, to help fund ( among other things) a nearly $10 billion […]
Gordon Campbell on South Africa’s harsh election choices
T he ANC’s goal in Wednesday’s election will be to staunch the bleeding of its support. The ANC has reason to feel anxious. For months, […]
Gordon Campbell On Blurring The Lines Around Political Corruption
It may be a relic of a previous era of egalitarianism, but many of us like to think that, in general, most New Zealanders are […]
Gordon Campbell on the privatising of state housing provision, by stealth
The scathing “independent” review of Kāinga Ora barely hit the table before the coalition government had acted on it. The entire Kāinga Ora board will […]
Gordon Campbell On Israel’s Political Split, And The New Caledonia Crisis
The split opening up in Israel’s “War Cabinet” is not just between PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his long-term rival Benny Gantz. It is actually a […]
Gordon Campbell on the psychological horror film Possession
This is one of the (extra) weekly columns on music or movies. Plenty of solid analyses of Possession exist online and most of them – […]
Gordon Campbell on ACT’s charter schools experiment
If there was still any doubt as to who is actually running this government – and it isn’t the buffoon from Botany – then this […]
Gordon Campbell on why anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitic
To be precise, the term “anti- Zionism” refers to (a) criticism of the political movement that created a modern Jewish state on the historical land […]
Gordon Campbell on miserly school lunches, and the banning of TikTok’s Gaza coverage
Another week goes by in the Luxon government’s efforts to roll back the past 70 years of social progress. The school lunches programme is to […]
Gordon Campbell on the Hamas Ceasefire Offer, and Mark Mitchell’s Incompetence
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would […]
Gordon Campbell on unemployment, Winston Peters’ low boiling point and music criticism
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music […]
Gordon Campbell on the coalition’s awful, not good, very bad poll results
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, […]
Gordon Campbell on Iran killing its rappers, and searching for the invisible Dr. Reti
As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. […]
Gordon Campbell on bird flu, AUKUS entry fees and Cindy Lee
Uh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling […]
Gordon Campbell on fast track powers, media woes and the Tiktok ban
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to […]
Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public […]