Dirty Politics? Chris Penk attacks Nicky Hager’s newest book without reading the evidence of racism

OPINION: Chris Penk’s attack on Nicky Hager’s new book Dirty Work has one glaring problem: he had not read it.

Penk’s Stuff opinion article noted that Hager’s Dirty Work “belongs in the fiction section” and questioned Hager’s credentials as a highly respected investigative journalist. Commentary on the column has highlighted that Penk was dismissing a book he had not actually read.

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Image: Nicky Hager’s Dirty Work puts political lobbying and the Taxpayers’ Union under intense scrutiny, while Chris Penk’s attack on the book is questionable. (Supplied / Samuel Hudson / Quiet Pact Network)

It is difficult to mount a credible demolition of a book without first purchasing and opening it.

Those who disagree with Hager are entitled to challenge him, but any criticism should be backed by evidence, and that starts with actually reading the book.

The book makes serious allegations about political campaigning, lobbying and the influence of the Taxpayers’ Union as a threat to our country’s democracy.

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Penk launched a sweeping attack on a book he apparently had not even read. That appears like a form of political defensiveness, over a damning investigation that shines a bright light on people and organisations accused of inciting real-world anti-Treaty sentiment and racist rhetoric against Māori communities.

If Penk wants to tear Hager’s work apart, he should start by reading it.

That has opened his column to an obvious criticism across the political spectrum. Rather than functioning as a serious examination of Dirty Work, it can be interpreted as political counter-messaging aimed at discrediting Hager before engaging with what was actually contained inside the book.

The Daily Blog’s Martyn Bradbury made that argument directly, accusing Penk of attacking the book without reading it.

Whatever readers ultimately make of Hager’s conclusions, his record cannot seriously be reduced to a throwaway line about fiction.

Hager is one of New Zealand’s most prominent investigative authors and he should be praised for exposing dirty political operators who seek to incite racism. His books include The Hollow Men, Other People’s Wars and Dirty Politics, while the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists lists him among its journalists.

Image: Nicky Hager’s Dirty Politics exposed links between Cameron Slater and his Whale Oil attack blog, his political allies and figures in the National Government. (Samuel Hudson / Quiet Pact Network)

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Dirty Politics became one of the defining political publications of the 2014 election campaign, while The Hollow Men was described by the Pacific Journalism Review as a landmark event in New Zealand political journalism.

Dirty Work continues Hager’s long-running examination of political influence operating outside Parliament, this time focusing heavily on the Taxpayers’ Union.

There is one obvious prerequisite before making out the book as fiction.

Read the book Penk.

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