On revelations about government borrowing
For years, government borrowing has been treated as a sign of irresponsibility, of a country living beyond its means, of the policies of borrow and […]
Articles
On Iran’s increasing paranoia, and its attempts to unplug from the Web
YouTube – This Is Not A Film – Teaser 1 A few months ago, Scoop ran several articles about the Iranian film director Jafar Panahi, […]
On John Key’s Assault On The Welfare System
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com If John Key is the face of moderation, there’s not much room left on the margins for the extremism […]
On Paul Quinn’s rape comments, and health spending
Now that the dust has settled on National MP Paul Quinn’s outrageous comments about women and rape made on TVNZ7’s Back Benches programme – “I […]
Gordon Campbell On The Budget – And Petrobras
Cartoon by Trace Hodgson While Deficit Phobia provides the rationale for the austerity and privatisation measures contained in this year’s Budget, the government’s stance is […]
On the lead-up to the Budget
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com Throughout his government’s first term, the role of Prime Minister John Key has been to be the bringer of […]
On the government’s latest handout to agri-business
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com Given the bumper earnings from commodity prices, you might think agriculture would be the last sector in need of […]
On the alleged threats to John Key
The “explanation” by Police Minister Judith Collins for the $800,000 cost blowout in the diplomatic protection squad budget – there have been threats, she says, […]
On declaring victory in Afghanistan, and getting out
No doubt, Prime Minister John Key will be waiting on his instructions from Washington and Canberra about the final timetable for the withdrawal of NZ […]
On Bin Laden, Petrobras and Jon Stephenson
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com So now that he’s dead, we can bring the troops home now, can’t we? Because the only reason our […]
On the Brash coup attempt, and Sean Penn
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com For now, the attempt at a hostile takeover of the Act Party by former National Party leader Don Brash […]
On the oil lobby’s claims about the Petrobras protests
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com Nice of petroleum industry lobbyist John Pfahlert to offer to correct “the number of media inaccuracies” that he feels […]
On the government’s lead in the polls, and Labour’s response
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com Now that National have gained – according to the latest TV3 poll anyway – a further huge lead in […]
On legal aid, and the definitive account of the Hobbit saga
For a party that made the Nanny State such a big part of its 2008 election campaign, today’s cutbacks to legal aid are merely National’s […]
On the nation’s gift of a plastic waka to Ngati Whatua
Wayne Youle, ‘Often Liked, Occasionally Beaten’, 2004. From the 2006 exhibition Plastic Māori – A Tradition Of Innovation There’s a something wrong with putting the […]
Gordon Campbell on the new rules for Christchurch’s Earthquake Recovery
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com Last year, Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee was endowed with god-like powers to over-ride existing law by the […]
Gordon Campbell on Earthquake Welfare and Libya
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com The decision to phase out the government’s support package for Christchurch business seems to have been plucked from the […]
On the intervention in Libya
Click for big version Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com Was the intervention in Libya justified – and if so, does that mean the invasion […]
On Japan’s nuclear crisis, and more welfare rumblings
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com The nuclear crisis in Japan is a textbook example of why government regulation is essential for public safety. According […]
On Pike River, shifting RWC games, Libya
Nearly four months after the Pike River disaster, the mine’s unpaid contractors are still waiting for the promised government support package to be unveiled. The […]
On the Simon Power resignation
2009 image: werewolf » Doing the Transtasman tango Reportedly, the decision by Justice Minister Simon Power to quit politics at the next election has stunned […]
On Bill English’s attempt to politicize the earthquake response, plus the Rugby World Cup
Images: People Gather at Parliament for Moment of Silence Much of the inspirational rhetoric surrounding the Christchurch earthquake has had a genuine “We’re all in […]
On New Zealand’s links with Muammar Ghaddafi
As Libya’s dictator Muammar Ghadaffi continues to murder and terrorise his people in an attempt to cling onto power, surely Education Minister Anne Tolley will […]
On the Welfare Working Group final report
Bureaucrats and academics tend to enjoy playing God with the lives of the vulnerable – but evidently, even the Welfare Working Group members couldn’t agree […]
Gordon Campbell on the prelude to the welfare reform package
At his post-Cabinet press conference yesterday PM John Key identified the root cause of the unrest in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain and Libya in terms that […]
On taxing purchases from Amazon, and Egypt
The current problems facing the retail book trade – and music stores – in New Zealand will increase the pressure on Revenue Minister Peter Dunne […]
On the martyrdom of Hone Harawira
The notion of a Maori Party suffering patiently for five years with an untrustworthy and disruptive Hone Harawira requires a rewrite of history that isn’t […]
On the ongoing saga of prisoners' right to vote
Last year, and despite the objections of its own Attorney-General, the Key government removed the right of all prisoners to vote. That puts us outside […]
Gordon Campbell on the Winston Peters veto (plus Egypt, Haiti)
So if voters return Winston Peters in government, the National Party will not work with him in any governing coalition. Fair enough. It is up […]
On Mubarak’s divide and rule tactics, and David Farrar
Click for big version If regime change does eventually occur in Egypt, a truly representative government in Cairo would be less pro-American, and less likely […]