Gordon Campbell on D-Day for dairy at the TPP
While New Zealand may feel flattered at being called “the Saudi Arabia of milk” it would be more accurate to regard us as the suicide […]
International Trade
Gordon Campbell on the PM’s concessions about medicines and the TPP
So, on the eve of the last round of talks meant to finalise the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal, Prime Minister John Key has conceded […]
Gordon Campbell on John Key trying to talk up our – and China’s – ailing economy
It wasn’t exactly Winston Churchill rallying the nation in 1940, but Prime Minister John Key chose to open his post-Cabinet press conference yesterday with a […]
Gordon Campbell on Treasury’s plans for Kiwirail
Is there any more terrifying phrase in the English language than “Treasury recommends”? The latest idiotic idea to emerge from the Treasury – lets close […]
Gordon Campbell on today’s showdown over Obama’s TPP trade agenda
The defeat that the White House suffered last Friday in its quest for effective ‘fast track’ authority (aka Trade Promotion Authority, or TPA) need not […]
Gordon Campbell on why the Reserve Bank has cut interest rates
All hail Graeme Wheeler. Because at some point this year, the government appears to have contracted out all the major decisions to do with running […]
Gordon Campbell on the TPP revelations about Pharmac
The health system transparency measures contained in the latest Wikileaks revelations about the TPP have been a long running concern. The fact that the Pharmac-related […]
Gordon Campbell on the FIFA scandal , and similar dirty dealings
Face it, it has been a very, very bad week for anyone who thinks that a) FIFA is a damn fine organisation run by guys […]
Gordon Campbell on the Cullen Review of our security service
Whatever the conflicts and point scoring between them on other issues, National and Labour have always spoken virtually as one on free trade and the […]
Gordon Campbell on the latest good reason for dumping the monarchy
The monarchy, the media and the masses is a threesome made in tabloid heaven, and it has seen a lot of action during this past […]
Gordon Campbell Key’s abuse of secrecy over Iraq & The TPP
Gordon Campbell on John Key’s abuse of secrecy over Iraq, and the TPP For the past week or so we’ve been hearing a lot about […]
Gordon Campbell on the key battle Obama is waging over the TPP
For the past two and a half years, this column has been arguing that the fate of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal will hinge […]
Gordon Campbell on dollar parity with Australia, and disarming Israel
As the New Zealand dollar edges towards parity with the Aussie dollar, it seems facile to treat this as some game of Transtasman arm-wrestling that […]
Gordon Campbell on a funeral in Asia, the Northland by-election, and news priorities
Supposedly, New Zealand’s destiny lies in Asia, and that was one of Foreign Minister Murray McCully’s rationales for his bungled reforms at MFAT. OK. So, […]
Gordon Campbell on the Northland by election, and a TPP news round-up
Incredibly, Winston Peters is back at centre stage of New Zealand politics, and in the role he likes best – as the virtuous underdog, fighting […]
Gordon Campbell on the recent smackdown over Greece, and Mr Spock RIP
There had been a fortnight of fevered buildup. Yet here we are in the aftermath of the February 28 showdown between the new Syriza government […]
Gordon Campbell on the Lyttleton executive pay scandal, and more TPP problems
It isn’t often that one story can encapsulate (a) the bogus rhetoric used to justify sky-high pay packages for top executives, (b) the unequal way […]
Gordon Campbell on the last rites for the TPP
The Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal is one of those litmus issues that has always had more to do with one’s place on the political […]
Gordon Campbell on the media’s duty to evaluate the Trans Pacific Partnership
One downside of so called ‘objectivity’ is that it can turn the media into a simple megaphone for those in power – especially in situations […]
On Kim Dotcom’s appearance at Parliament tomorrow
Ironic that in the same week that Kim Dotcom will appear before a Parliamentary committee to defend the right of New Zealanders to live free […]
On Criminalising Protest, and Christchurch Cathedral Options
The Tauranga MP Simon Bridges – he’s also the Labour Minister and the Minister of Energy and Resources – is carving out quite a niche […]
On the Solid Energy debacle
So according to its former chairman John Palmer, Solid Energy could have done nothing about the sudden and dramatic fall in the price of coal. […]
On the subsidies for The Hobbit
It does have a familiar Winston Peters ring to it. Peters’ proposal earlier this week that Warners should repay its Hobbit subsidies taps into (a) […]
Gordon Campbell and a Canadian analysis of the TPP
As the latest nine day round of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations begins in Auckland today, Canada will be a full-blown participant for the […]
On the relevance of the latest Hobbit revelations
This morning’s release by RNZ of its OIA requests on The Hobbit is not ancient history. It offers a rare glimpse into the fashion in […]
On the dubious economic case for the Auckland convention centre
For now, Labour and the Greens are not opposing the convention centre in Auckland per se, but are asking for the tendering process to be […]
On where government could be saving millions
Image: RNZAF Ever since the last White Paper in 2010, Defence has been putting its staff through the wringer in a cost reduction exercise so […]
On the Chinese cyber security threat
On paper, the decisions to partner with the Chinese firm Huawei in the roll out of ultra fast broadband (and rural broadband) in New Zealand […]
On McCully’s latest debacle, and on a fracking counter-measure
So Nick Smith has fallen on his sword, while dutifully covering for John Key’s leadership inadequacies on this issue as he did so. At the […]
On the mixed-ownership model for state assets
By focussing on the spectre of foreign ownership, the critics of the partial asset sales process have been inadvertedly helping the government, by deflecting attention […]