Gordon Campbell on a few things about the year gone, and the year ahead
In October, the public rewarded the government for the way it has steered New Zealand through the Covid-19 crisis this year, and rightly so. The […]
covid-19
Gordon Campbell on the mixed outlook for our Covid vaccine supplies
As PM Jacinda Ardern explained at yesterday’s press conference, the government has signed supply contracts for delivery of four Covid-19 vaccines, in numbers sufficient (on […]
Gordon Campbell on whether we should be betting quite so heavily on Astra Zeneca’s Covid vaccine
According to this week’s Speech from the Throne, maintaining public safety during the pandemic will remain the government’s top priority. Next year will (hopefully) bring […]
Gordon Campbell on Stuart Nash’s plan to turn New Zealand into a playground for wealthy tourists
But first, a Covid-19 vaccine update. Early results from stage three trials on at least two Covid-19 vaccine contenders have been highly positive, at 90% […]
Gordon Campbell on National’s reshuffle, Pfizer’s vaccine & Trump’s non-exit strategy
Good to hear there is at least one Covid vaccine in the pipeline, and that Pfizer is claiming a 90% level of efficacy for it. […]
Gordon Campbell on why herd immunity isn’t a valid option, and what’s with our reluctance to wear masks ?
Herd immunity has recently bounced back into the headlines as a tool for managing Covid-19, and as a supposed alternative to lockdowns. In the US, […]
Gordon Campbell on why sport just doesn’t seem to be so important during a pandemic
During a pandemic, what role does sport play? That question suddently looks more complicated than it had first seemed. Back during the first lockdown an […]
Gordon Campbell on tourism’s endless sense of grievance
Sad that a once in a century pandemic should have come along before the government had a clearly thought out plan for rescuing all the […]
Gordon Campbell on the transTasman tinkering with Covid-related poverty
On September 25, the government’s Covid-19 rent freeze will expire. A fortnight ago, the Commerce Commission (in response to a complaint) sent out a letter […]
Gordon Campbell on Trump’s current chances of re-election
How likely is it that the world will wake up on November 4th facing the prospect of another four years of Donald Trump? Short answer: […]
Gordon Campbell on the challenges we face in securing Covid-19 vaccines
The early wave of Covid-19 vaccines appear unlikely to deliver a complete shield against getting the infection, as (say) a measles inoculation comes close to […]
Gordon Campbell on kneejerk negativism, Cardi B, and Linda Manz
Yesterday, Victoria recorded 216 new Covid-19 cases and twelve deaths. An inquiry released a couple of days ago found that 90% of Victoria’s second wave […]
Gordon Campbell on the sorry plight of the international education sector
Tourism and international education have been two of the sectors hardest hit by the pandemic. They’re both key export industries. Yet the government response to […]
Gordon Campbell on the election delay
Hi, team. While the majority of the team of five million has gritted its teeth and obeyed the rules throughout the Covid-19 crisis, a sizeable […]
Gordon Campbell on Judith Collins’ apparent inability to read the public mood
The basic skill that a successful politician needs is the ability to “read the room” and gauge the public mood. If National Party leader Judith […]
Gordon Campbell on the new lockdowns, leadership and Lebanon
As Melbourne has shown, the webs of urban life overlap so extensively that community transmission can be very hard to trace, let alone control. Each […]
Gordon Campbell on the problems the pandemic is causing for Big Oil
Chances are, climate change won’t kill you overnight, and that’s got to be significant. Yet while we were all in lockdown listening to the birdsong, […]
Gordon Campbell on showing the Aussies how to reach a consensus on quarantine fees
Back at the dawn of time, MMP was created (a) to impose a discipline on government and (b) to prevent any one party from riding […]
Gordon Campbell on using the Army to soak up the Covid unemployed
Once the government’s wage subsidies run out and the Covid job losses really kick in, there could – conceivably – be a role for the […]
Gordon Campbell on National’s Great Leap Backwards
It isn’t surprising that at the height of its disarray, National should have looked for certainty and picked the least introspective candidate on offer. With […]
Gordon Campbell on why Todd Muller needs to own the privacy leak scandal
Whenever a political scandal breaks, party leaders have two basic options. They can confess to being in boots and all, and try to brazen it […]
Gordon Campbell on why we shouldn’t be pushed into re-opening our borders
I believe in yesterday as much as Paul McCartney, but it was bemusing to see the amount of media attention lavished last week on the […]
Gordon Campbell on the media collusion with National’s attack lines
For most of the past week, any consumer of this country’s management of Covid-19 would think New Zealand was actually Brazil, or Texas. The media […]
Gordon Campbell on negating Covid-19 success, and K-pop’s links with black activism
National MP Michael Woodhouse took his party’s credibility to a new low this morning via his inability to prove his claim that a homeless man […]
Gordon Campbell on managing Covid-19 better than the Australians, and the Ellis case
If anything the Covid-19 outbreaks occurring this week in and around Melbourne are a timely reminder of the bullet we dodged by not having a […]
Gordon Campbell on the perils of making damage control your top priority
Surely, the only thing worse than making a serious mistake is to then try and minimise its implications – especially when the efforts at damage […]
Gordon Campbell on Level One, and living with predatory markets
Welcome to Level One, earthlings. This is the new normality while the virus still roams beyond the border walls. Those borders will remain closed and […]
Gordon Campbell on National’s day of reckoning
Congratulations. You are one of the 55 members of the National caucus being called together tomorrow to choose who will lead you to either (a) […]
Gordon Campbell on the Govt attempts at poaching the soft centre-right vote
More than once in the past few days Finance Minister Grant Robertson has been at pains to thank both his predecessors – Michael Cullen and […]
Gordon Campbell on Budget 2020
Welcome to the breadline. Treasury’s best case scenario sees unemployment reaching 9.8% by September and yet… the coalition government seems to have decided it can […]