Gordon Campbell on why the public doesn’t always do what its told, even in 24 different languages
Today we were told that the Covid vaccines available to New Zealand are both halal and kosher. Good to know. And good to officially recognise […]
Economy
Gordon Campbell on why the Reserve Bank won’t be spooked by inflation making a comeback
One year into the pandemic, people are still getting sick and dying at different rates according to their age, gender, ethnic background and income level […]
Gordon Campbell on leaving women out of the job creation plans, plus the current vaccine blues
Women workers have taken an unequal impact of the job losses caused by the pandemic but so far almost all the government’s job creation efforts […]
Gordon Campbell on the case for investing in coastal shipping
The enduring damage done by the economic reforms of the 1980/1990s is still playing out in the communities that lost thousands of well-paid full time […]
Gordon Campbell on that $4 billion hit to National’s economic cred
National released its economic and tax policy last Friday. Weirdly, the plan was announced right at the end of the news week, when whatever impact […]
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 saving small firms, and disowning Peter Thiel
According to Business NZ, over 97^ of New Zealand firms employ only 20 or fewer staff. One of the political myths about such firms is […]
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 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 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 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 why high taxes and austerity shouldn’t ruin the Covid recovery
Even before you factor in the tendency of National’s caucus to self-implode, Judith Collins should have her work cut out. Somehow, she has to convince […]
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 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 why women with opinions can be SO annoying
Good grief. Well, we shouldn’t be all that surprised at National MP Paul Goldsmith and his “ stick to your knitting” comment yesterday. Sexism and […]
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 why welfare reform has no champions in Parliament
Ever since Victorian times, the unemployed have been a problem for those more fortunate, wealthy and powerful. Down the ages, society has been torn between […]
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 […]
Gordon Campbell on Level Two, and Little Richard
Level Two will be life Jim, but not as we’ve known it. At 4pm today, PM Jacinda Ardern will announce the Cabinet decision on when […]
Gordon Campbell on one of the shadows over Level Two
For many New Zealanders, the imminent shift to Level Two is going to be a momentous occasion. Here’s another looming landmark likely to be just […]
Gordon Campbell on the trans-Tasman bubble, and the future of airlines
As the epidemiologists keep on saying, a trans-Tasman bubble will require having in place beforehand a robust form of contact tracing, of tourists and locals […]
Gordon Campbell on the dodgy politics of easing Level Three
As countries around the world tentatively emerge from lockdown, a lot of political noise is being generated by politically-driven arguments that (a) the safeguards need […]
Gordon Campbell on exceptions for tourism, and on the quest for a Covid-19 vaccine
As David Foster Wallace famously pointed out, each of us regard our own precious selves as the realest, most vivid and important persons in the […]
Gordon Campbell on living at Level Three with residual anxiety
Two weeks. That’s roughly the length of time the government has given itself between moving to Level Three, and making a decision on May 11 […]
Gordon Campbell on why governments are in effect, printing cash to defeat Covid-19
Part of the psychology of moving to Level Three is the sense of people heading back to work – at least 400,000 more of them […]
Gordon Campbell on living with the extension, and with Edward Hopper
In the end, it was obvious that the lockdown had to be extended. According to epidemiologist Ayesha Verrall, our tracing systems are still struggling to […]
Gordon Campbell on why we shouldn’t be trying to emulate Australia
On today’s Coronocast podcast on the ABC state broadcasting network in Australia, New Zealand’s policy of going out hard early with a stringent economic shutdown […]
Gordon Campbell on the argument over whether lives or livelihoods are more important
It is hardly business as usual, but this week is shaping up to be all about business and its needs, how the economy will emerge […]
Gordon Campbell on the changes that Covid-19 is causing, plus a Spotify playlist for y’all
Will life (and the economy) ever be the same again after the Covid-19 crisis is over? Obviously not, even leaving aside the impact on people […]