Politics Blog
Hager’s new book targets lobby group and ‘NZ’s hard right’
Alex Cairns/Stuff
Alex Cairns/Stuff
Alex Cairns/Stuff
Nicky Hager has now been introduced, and the title of the book has been confirmed: "Dirty Work: The Taxpayers Union and NZ's Hard Right".
The book's cover said it was "part three of the Dirty Politics trilogy" - a sequel to The Hollow Men (2006) and Dirty Politics (2014), which both focused on the National Party's election campaign tactics.
The latest book was characterised as another expose, scrutinising the influence of private donations that Hager said was harming New Zealand's democracy.
The principal target in the book was the The Taxpayers' Union (TPU), a lobby group that advocates for lower taxes and reduced government spending.
Addressing the crowd, Hager recalled the TPU issuing a press release in 2023 that said they'd heard he was writing a book about their organisation. They sent a legal letter demanding any allegations be put to them before it is published.
Hager denied he was looking into the TPU at the time, telling The Spinoff the group was "not important enough for a book".
Hager said if TPU executive director Jordan Williams had not publicised the “non-existent book” through his press release in 2023, inside sources would not have subsequently contacted him, and Dirty Work would not have been written.
"This book is an expose of the so-called Taxpayers' Union, the latest front for New Zealand's hard right," Hager said, alleging the group was raising millions for the purpose of "moving New Zealand politics to the right".
Speaking to the timing of the book - less than seven weeks out from the election - Hager said, "elections are exactly the time we should be discussing politics".
Ministers had benefitted from the TPU, he claimed, "and should be held accountable by the public".
Williams, speaking on Newstalk ZB earlier on Tuesday, harshly criticised Hager for "fail[ing] on the most important journalistic duty, which is to put the allegation[s] to the subject of your work".
"What's unfair for those that are subject to it," Williams said, "is that you're always on the back foot because it's already out there."
Williams repeated that line in an email sent out to TPU members after the launch of Hager's book, saying the organisation was "under attack," and that they had been given no opportunity to respond to Hager's allegations before publication.
After the book launch, Hager responded to that particular criticism. "I go for comment of every article I write," he told reporters. "In an article, you go and you get the other person's point of view and you put it in the story. But books are different from articles. Books are really uniquely vulnerable. If somebody wants to sabotage you... they can close down the book for ages."
Hager said he feared injunctions - court orders preventing publication - or "of leaving enough time for something to be kind of just comprehensively smeared and attacked before any people can even get to see what it was about".
The author said he believed strongly in fairness, balance and accuracy - but prized accuracy the most. "I also believe strongly in fairness," he said, "but it's not fairness if people can't get the stories."
On Monday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon dismissed Hager's latest work. "I’ve never read a Nicky Hager book,” he told reporters. “I don’t know who he is, I don’t know what the book’s about.”
The book's cover said it was "part three of the Dirty Politics trilogy" - a sequel to The Hollow Men (2006) and Dirty Politics (2014), which both focused on the National Party's election campaign tactics.
The latest book was characterised as another expose, scrutinising the influence of private donations that Hager said was harming New Zealand's democracy.
The principal target in the book was the The Taxpayers' Union (TPU), a lobby group that advocates for lower taxes and reduced government spending.
Addressing the crowd, Hager recalled the TPU issuing a press release in 2023 that said they'd heard he was writing a book about their organisation. They sent a legal letter demanding any allegations be put to them before it is published.
Hager denied he was looking into the TPU at the time, telling The Spinoff the group was "not important enough for a book".
Hager said if TPU executive director Jordan Williams had not publicised the “non-existent book” through his press release in 2023, inside sources would not have subsequently contacted him, and Dirty Work would not have been written.
"This book is an expose of the so-called Taxpayers' Union, the latest front for New Zealand's hard right," Hager said, alleging the group was raising millions for the purpose of "moving New Zealand politics to the right".
Speaking to the timing of the book - less than seven weeks out from the election - Hager said, "elections are exactly the time we should be discussing politics".
Ministers had benefitted from the TPU, he claimed, "and should be held accountable by the public".
Williams, speaking on Newstalk ZB earlier on Tuesday, harshly criticised Hager for "fail[ing] on the most important journalistic duty, which is to put the allegation[s] to the subject of your work".
"What's unfair for those that are subject to it," Williams said, "is that you're always on the back foot because it's already out there."
Williams repeated that line in an email sent out to TPU members after the launch of Hager's book, saying the organisation was "under attack," and that they had been given no opportunity to respond to Hager's allegations before publication.
After the book launch, Hager responded to that particular criticism. "I go for comment of every article I write," he told reporters. "In an article, you go and you get the other person's point of view and you put it in the story. But books are different from articles. Books are really uniquely vulnerable. If somebody wants to sabotage you... they can close down the book for ages."
Hager said he feared injunctions - court orders preventing publication - or "of leaving enough time for something to be kind of just comprehensively smeared and attacked before any people can even get to see what it was about".
The author said he believed strongly in fairness, balance and accuracy - but prized accuracy the most. "I also believe strongly in fairness," he said, "but it's not fairness if people can't get the stories."
On Monday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon dismissed Hager's latest work. "I’ve never read a Nicky Hager book,” he told reporters. “I don’t know who he is, I don’t know what the book’s about.”