Gordon Campbell on the politics of vaccine toughlove
Vaccine mandates begin to kick in today for education and healthcare workers. All of them will need to have taken a first dose step towards […]
Labour
Gordon Campbell on why Judith Collins should consider the Canada model
For months now, Judith Collins has been doubling down on National as the party of angry talkback radio. If you’ve got a beef about Jacinda […]
Gordon Campbell on our polarised attitudes to the Covid response
Thesis meets antithesis again, this time in the pages of the New Zealand Herald. A week ago, Liam Dann wrote a column pondering how in […]
Gordon Campbell on populism’s changing of the guard, plus a soul music playlist
The weekend’s Newshub/Reid Research poll results – Act up to 11.1%, National up 1% but still sitting at only 28.7%, Labour down to 43%, the […]
Gordon Campbell on yesterday’s big parliamentary air kiss to China
In order to obtain support from the two major parties, Act Party deputy leader Brooke Van Velden twice had to soften the language of her […]
Gordon Campbell on our determination to ignore China’s human rights abuses
For nearly two decades, New Zealand has been juggling our dependency on China when it comes to trade, while expecting our traditional allies to look […]
Gordon Campbell on Labour refusing to lead a progressive drugs policy
Once again, Labour has chosen not to use (a) its parliamentary majority and (b) the huge mandate it was given at the last election in […]
Gordon Campbell on why raising corporate taxes has become a hot new political cause
Surprisingly, “raising taxes” has become a very fashionable political idea in 2021. That’s right. After decades of being seen (at best) as a necessary evil, […]
Gordon Campbell on Labour’s timid uses (so far) of the power that voters have given it
Long on aims, short on delivery. Greta Thunberg is not the only person who feels that the Ardern government is better at aspirations than achievement. […]
Gordon Campbell on why the Greens shouldn’t join the government
We know she’s a miracle worker, but can Jacinda Ardern really find a cure for capitalism? Tough job. Especially when Ardern is being expected to […]
Gordon Campbell on some electorates to watch on Saturday night
On the eve of Election Day, Judith Collins can claim that she has done exactly what she was chosen to do: namely, she looks like […]
Gordon Campbell on National going rogue, and US militia madness
In the wake of Judith Collins descent into negative politicking, the real question has to be – did she slip, or did she jump? Was […]
Gordon Campbell on flirting with Act, and on the euthanasia/cannabis measures
Less than convincingly, Judith Collins says that if elected to govern, she would not be enacting any of the austerity measures and welfare cuts advocated […]
Gordon Campbell on last night’s debate, and beyond
It really hasn’t been a good week for Judith Collins to be wheeling out her Little Me impression of Donald Trump, yet the similarities have […]
Gordon Campbell on four-year terms of Parliament, and on how the US courts are dismantling democracy
Last week, the issue of four-year parliamentary terms surfaced again. Infuriatingly, it is being discussed purely in terms of its convenience for political parties. They’d […]
Gordon Campbell on debates as game-shows, and why mixing politics and religion is a bad idea
Political debates have dominated the week’s campaign cycle, here and elsewhere. Routinely, leaders’ debates ( and polls) are the roadside diners and comfort stops on […]
Gordon Campbell on whether this election is already a foregone conclusion
Currently, this election looks like being a no contest. The weekend’s Newshub poll has the centre left enjoying a roughly 57-36% lead over the centre […]
Gordon Campbell on last night’s leaders debate
Do political debates change voter intentions, and cause voters to switch sides? According to a 2019 Harvard Business School study conducted across 61 elections in […]
Gordon Campbell on campaign politicking
The microdoses of policy that get released on the campaign trail are not meant to be ego-shattering psychedelic events that transform our concepts of political […]
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 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 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 the Greens’ attempts to look like underdogs
The Greens’ opposition to homecoming New Zealanders being required to pay about $3,000 towards the cost of their two week Covid-19 quarantine, needs to be […]
Gordon Campbell on who really deserves sympathy when stress makes people behave badly
Sex always makes people sit up and pay attention to what‘s on the news bulletins. The political circus aside…. Power (not sex) has really been […]
Gordon Campbell on the Clark exit, convention centres, and the killing of Hachalu Hundessa
Goodbye, David Clark. In the end, the outgoing Health Minister decided that in the midst of a pandemic the best thing he could do for […]
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 Labour’s list, and our Victorian monuments
We’re currently in the “phoney war” stage of the 2020 election campaign, before the contest begins in earnest. Yesterday’s release of Labour’s party list rankings […]
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 the double standard that’s bound to dominate Election 2020
Are National really better political managers than Labour, particularly when it comes to running the economy? For many voters – and the business community in […]