Nicky Hager’s new mystery book has me looking beyond the Beehive

OPINION: Nicky Hager’s next book arrives on 22 September, weeks before the 2026 general election, with its title and subject still a secret. Having followed the revelations surrounding his Dirty Politics book, I think the question worth asking is how much dirty political influence operates beyond the voters’ view.

Dirty Politics examined connections between blogger Cameron Slater’s Whale Oil site and senior National figures. For me, its enduring lesson concerns how political attacks are organised and fed into public debate.

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Image: Whale Oil was a highly influential and controversial New Zealand political blog run by blogger Cameron Slater from 2005 until it shut down in 2019. It began as a personal outlet but became known for its right-wing commentary, aggressive political posts and for publishing material linked to smear campaigns and attacks. (Supplied / thisquality / whaleoil.co.nz)

Slater’s subsequent legal record gives that history weight.

As thisquality documented, the High Court ordered Slater and his company to pay Matthew Blomfield $475,000 for defamation. The court found he had facilitated a personal vendetta.

The Human Rights Review Tribunal awarded Blomfield $70,000 over Slater’s interference with his privacy. That record underlines the human cost of reputational attacks.

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My strongest theory is that Hager could be examining networks of lobbying, funding and campaigning outside Parliament.

That inference comes from the Taxpayers’ Union’s expansive 2023 statement defending its own record and account.

Image: The Taxpayers’ Union defended its independence in a 2023 release addressing campaign connections, donor confidentiality and its ties to the Atlas Network. (Screenshot / Taxpayers' Union website)

The statement acknowledged Jordan Williams’ company had assisted Groundswell NZ with digital campaigning and that former Union chair Casey Costello had been involved with Hobson’s Pledge before becoming a NZ First candidate. The Union said such overlaps did not compromise its independence.

It also defended donor confidentiality, named Sir Bob Jones as its largest donor and said industry memberships, including tobacco, supplied about 2% of annual funding. It acknowledged Atlas Network ties and support for staff development while rejecting the description of being foreign-funded.

The statement ranged further, covering Te Tiriti, co-governance and pseudonymous Official Information Act requests. It said pseudonyms followed allegations that its requests were treated differently, and denied collaborating with Stop Co-governance.

The breadth makes me wonder whether the potential story concerns the infrastructure connecting apparently separate campaigns.

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Money matters, but an investigation could also examine shared contractors, campaign technology, personnel and international training.

International affiliations do not establish foreign control, but their practical role in domestic campaigning is a fair subject for investigation. Understanding who supplies those resources would help voters assess whose interests a campaign represents.

None of those associations alone establishes misconduct, and a defensive statement cannot reveal a book’s contents. Organisations seeking to shape public policy should expect scrutiny of who funds them, who works across them and how influence is exercised.

When Hager’s newest book appears, I want evidence that lets voters judge those questions for themselves.

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