Gordon Campbell - Latest News [Page 1]
On Wage Cuts, And The Listener’s Demise
Friday, 3 April 2020, 10:57 am | Gordon Campbell
Various levels of across the board wage cuts – 10%? 15% ?- are being mooted for workers in some of our larger firms, in order to help the likes of Fletchers, Mediaworks etc survive the Covid-19 crisis. It is extraordinary that unions should be having ... More >>
On The Changes Hitting The Economy, Work, And The Benefit System
Thursday, 2 April 2020, 11:50 am | Gordon Campbell
The economy may be falling like a rock but it hasn’t hit the bottom of the well yet, here or anywhere else. Time is so stretched – early March feels like a distant country – that planning rationally for what the economy might look like in two, ... More >>
On Buying Ventilators, And Expanding The Testing For Covid-19
Wednesday, 1 April 2020, 11:12 am | Gordon Campbell
Before getting into recent developments….. who knew that Covid-19 was so powerful it could make NZ parliamentarians act like adults, and make them pose intelligent questions to officials and Cabinet Ministers about issues of public interest? Wowzah. ... More >>
On Our (Fatal?) Shortage Of Ventilators
Monday, 30 March 2020, 12:24 pm | Gordon Campbell
With a few honourable exceptions there has been a striking lack of focus on the (insufficient) number of ventilators in our intensive care units – and an almost complete absence of overt urgency about acquiring and/or building more of them. Ventilators ... More >>
On What Leadership ( And The Lack Of It) Looks Like
Friday, 27 March 2020, 12:59 pm | Gordon Campbell
L eadership is an intangible quality, but most New Zealanders will be thanking their lucky stars for what’s being provided by PM Jacinda Ardern and Ministry of Health Director-General Ashley Bloomfield. On a daily basis, both have been clear and decisive ... More >>
Six Short Takes About The Lockdown
Thursday, 26 March 2020, 12:52 pm | Gordon Campbell
To begin with, a correction : in yesterday’s column I said that there were 650,000 New Zealanders in Australia that do not qualify for income support if and when they lose their jobs as a result of Covid-19. This was factually wrong. In fact, about ... More >>
On Australia’s Callousness, And Grandparents As Parents Amid Covid-19
Wednesday, 25 March 2020, 11:19 am | Gordon Campbell
Reportedly, there are some 650,000 New Zealanders living in Australia. Many will lose their jobs in the economic crash caused by Covid-19, and none of them will be eligible for income support from the Australian government, despite having lived ... More >>
On How Long Lockdowns Need To Last, And The Ventilator Shortages
Tuesday, 24 March 2020, 1:28 pm | Gordon Campbell
The lockdown announced yesterday by PM Jacinda Ardern is consistent with the advice from the Imperial College Covid-19 team in London, whose blueprint the NZ government has been following (a) in order to slow down the spread of the disease and (b) to More >>
On Going To Level Four (and Scrapping The Olympics) Right Now
Monday, 23 March 2020, 10:43 am | Gordon Campbell
Sure, there’s a logic to having four stages of response to Covid-19, flexible enough to vary region by region. The idea being…. The stepped response will slow down the spread of the virus, minimise social panic and avoid the health system being ... More >>
On The Sudden Clamour For Government Bailouts
Thursday, 19 March 2020, 11:35 am | Gordon Campbell
So many U-turns, in such a short period of time. Pity poor old Fox News, which had been dutifully pushing the Trumpian line that the coronavirus is an overblown media hoax that will blow away with the warm winds of Spring – only to have to pivot ... More >>
On The Economic Stimulus Package
Wednesday, 18 March 2020, 10:11 am | Gordon Campbell
Obviously, yesterday’s massive $12.1 billion economic stimulus package (4% of GDP !) will not totally insulate people from the economic hardship caused by the coronavirus, but it will soften the impact. More will be needed, before the May Budget. ... More >>
On The Use Of Existing Drugs To Reduce The Effects Of Coronavirus
Monday, 16 March 2020, 11:07 am | Gordon Campbell
So now, we’re all getting up to speed with the travel bans, the rigorous handwashing and drying, the social distancing, and the avoidance of public transport wherever possible. Right. At a wider level…so far, the public health system has ... More >>
On The Global Panic, And The Local Plans To Deal With Coronavirus
Friday, 13 March 2020, 10:37 am | Gordon Campbell
Yesterday, US President Donald Trump gave Americans and Europeans a lot of good reasons to panic and/or bristle with outrage. Instead of providing leadership and unveiling a practical stimulus package for the US economy, Trump used his Oval Office ... More >>
On The Loss Of Abortion Safe Zones
Wednesday, 11 March 2020, 11:16 am | Gordon Campbell
No doubt, last night’s defeat of abortion law reform provisions that would have created safe zones around abortion clinics will be portrayed, by some, as a victory for free speech. It isn’t. It was a victory for bigotry and intimidation directed ... More >>
On The Oil Price Smackdown, And On National’s Fatuous Crusade Against Red Tape
Tuesday, 10 March 2020, 10:05 am | Gordon Campbell
Safe to say, Vladimir Putin did not expect the response he has received amidships from the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. Earlier, Russia chose to walk away from the OPEC talks in Vienna that were aimed at reaching an agreement on how to reduce world ... More >>
On 22 Short Takes About Super Tuesday
Thursday, 5 March 2020, 1:04 pm | Gordon Campbell
With obvious apologies to the Simpsons….Here’s my 22 short takes on the 14 Super Tuesday primaries that combined yesterday to produce a common narrative –Bernie Sanders NOT running away with the nomination, Joe Biden coming back from the dead, ... More >>
On Shane Jones As The Liability No-one Needs To Bear Anymore
Tuesday, 3 March 2020, 11:34 am | Gordon Campbell
New Zealand First has needed a diversion after weeks of bad coverage over its dodgy handling of donations, but it really, really doesn’t need what Shane Jones has chosen to provide. According to Jones, New Zealand has ... More >>
On The US (and NATO) Surrender In Afghanistan
Monday, 2 March 2020, 9:40 am | Gordon Campbell
The deal that has just been has struck to end the involvement of the US and its NATO allies in Afghanistan bears the usual hallmarks of deals done by Donald Trump. In this ‘landmark’ Afghan ‘peace’ deal, weakness has been defined as strength, ... More >>
On Where The Politically-donated Bucks Should Be Stopping
Thursday, 27 February 2020, 11:26 am | Gordon Campbell
By now, it seems crystal clear that something is deeply amiss with the way that New Zealand political parties solicit, receive and report their funding. Evidently, the nominal threshold of $15,000 that requires public disclosure of the donation ... More >>
On Bernie Sanders’ Presidential Bid
Tuesday, 25 February 2020, 11:15 am | Gordon Campbell
Bernie Sanders’ campaign for the Democratic nomination is taking on an air of inevitability, and that likelihood has been met with elation by some people, and feelings of dread in others. Is the Vermont senator the party’s best hope of motivating ... More >>
