Gordon Campbell on living in Seymour World
So far, the horse race journalism surrounding the polling rise of the Act Party has not included much consideration of the policies an Act -influenced […]
Construction
Gordon Campbell on Labour’s less than radical housing package
Houses are now like Bitcoin with a street address, a speculative currency priced beyond the reach of ordinary humans. The public is not impressed. Don’t […]
Gordon Campbell on a superb new book on the leaky homes scandal, and Cowboy Bebop
The real value of Dyer’s book lies in how thoroughly he has unpicked all the various factors that came together to turn this entirely preventable disaster into an inevitability.
Gordon Campbell on Paula Bennett’s gaffe, and Luna in Newtown
Local Government Minister Paula Bennett’s statement of support for cutting red tape in the building industry was probably self-certified as being politically OK, but it […]
Gordon Campbell on Budget 2015
From the outset, the slogan for yesterday’s Budget – “The Plan Is Working” – begged to be mocked. There’s actually a plan for the national […]
Gordon Campbell on the SkyCity debacle
“What is this? A centre for ants? …I don’t wanna hear your excuses! The building has to be at least three times bigger than this!” […]
Gordon Campbell on muzzling the Ruataniwha dam evidence
In case anyone still questions the value of our public investment in state radio, the revelations about the Ruataniwha dam project – which began with […]
On how the government is ducking responsibility for meeting needs in Christchurch
Like events in some 19th century Russian novel, hardship in Christchurch keeps grinding on, while the powers-that-be appear quite indifferent to the suffering occurring all […]
On the government’s new PPP deal in education
Supposedly, the big advantage of public/private partnerships is that they will bring the alleged efficiencies of the private sector to projects that involve public money […]
On workplace deaths, and Italy’s threat to Europe
It has been a bad week for those who think that business can be safely left to regulate itself. Workplace safety failures have been revealed […]
On the EQC’s funding woes, and a peak oil update
So, it seems, the Greens were right all along – a special levy to fund the costs involved with the Christchurch earthquake still makes good […]
On the Christchurch rebuild, and the political abuse of the SIS
Probably, some will regard the height restriction of seven stories for the rebuild of Christchurch’s central city area as being unnecessarily arbitrary and uniform, and […]
On the Christchurch deal, and sexist dinosaurs
Clearly, the deal put on the table for Christchurch yesterday by the government has to be only an opening bid, not a final resolution. Those […]
On rebuilding Christchurch – and Rupert Murdoch’s beef with the Rugby World Cup
So the long awaited report on land remediation in Christchurch by the consulting engineers Tonkin and Taylor has been delivered to Prime Minister John Key […]
On yesterday’s quakes in Christchurch
In the short term, as CERA chief Roger Sutton claimed yesterday, the collapse of some 50 already-damaged buildings in the Christchurch CBD red zone will […]
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 […]
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 draconian Christchurch Earthquake legislation
Come back Frank Bainimarama, all is forgiven. As of last night, New Zealand has surrendered the moral high ground from which to could denounce the […]