Allegations of voter interference and dirty politics have rocked the normally benign political landscape of Māngere-Ōtāhuhu, reports Justin Latif. A candidate in the Auckland Council by-election for the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board is accusing a rival of shoddy politics for publicly airing allegations of voter interference before going to authorities. Six candidates are competing for the … Read more
Some people were shocked when Judith Collins told Nicky Hager he would have to account for his mean words about her when he ‘meets his maker’. The National leader was simply articulating an orthodox theological position, writes Hayden Donnell. Working at The Spinoff has its challenges. Editors keep posting unflattering pictures of me above my … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: PM sacks Iain Lees-Galloway, Winston Peters makes stirring contribution to day of chaos, and Tarras locals not thrilled about potential new airport. By now, you’ll probably have heard the news that Labour MP for Palmerston North Iain Lees-Galloway’s political career is over. PM Ardern dismissed him from all … Read more
A few election cycles ago Judith Collins would have been a formidable political contender, writes the Dirty Politics author. Now she’s the wrong person, at the wrong time. Judith Collins, who starred in the book Dirty Politics two elections ago, is an intelligent and politically capable person. However, as many of her National Party colleagues … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Deputy PM both admits and denies involvement in smear on journos, new poll shows National have the numbers, and dozens of Te Kuiti sawmill jobs gone. NZ First leader Winston Peters has admitted and also denied involvement in a hit job against journalists pursuing the … Read more
There are few book launches more hotly anticipated than a new Nicky Hager work. This time Hager is not the author, but it is introduced by him, with the same publisher, and the same closely guarded leadup to publication. The book, we can now reveal, is by Margie Thomson, and its title is spare and … Read more
After news of Cameron Slater’s departure from Whale Oil, Liam Hehir reflects on the fading influence of New Zealand’s politics blogs. Cameron Slater, founder of Whale Oil, is stepping away from his creation and has filed for bankruptcy. This follows an earlier announcement that the blogger had suffered a stroke, and that recovery was not … Read more
Five years ago, Mark Rickerby crafted code to analyse the full text of the Whaleoil blog after Dirty Politics. That experience, and the unveiling this month of a language model trained on internet text that can generate startlingly coherent prose, offer a profound warning of the dangers of allowing AI innovation to be controlled by … Read more
The Jami-Lee Ross saga prompted many to draw parallels with Dirty Politics, the 2014 exposé of attack politics and tactics emanating from the then prime minister’s office. The author of the book argued in the Spinoff that it is a stark reminder that our politics remain at risk from the poison of dirty politics. This … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: PM makes no new regional fuel taxes pledge on the fly, dream of merger over for media companies, and Hager speaks out on JLR saga. Jacinda Ardern has made what could become something of a defining pledge for her career – no new regional fuel taxes … Read more
The Jami-Lee Ross saga has prompted many to draw parallels with Dirty Politics, the 2014 exposé of attack politics and tactics emanating from the then prime minister’s office. Here the author of the book argues that it is a stark reminder that our politics remain at risk from the poison of dirty politics. The Jami-Lee … Read more
Last night RNZ reported that a woman alleging bullying by rogue National MP Jami-Lee Ross said she had received threatening phone calls from Simon Lusk. Ross himself had earlier confirmed that he was taking advice from the shadowy political operative. But who is he, and where have we heard that name before? When private security … Read more
Investigative reporter Nicky Hager reviews the new memoir by one of the world’s most renowned investigative journalists, Seymour ‘Sy’ Hersh. There are only a few people I have really looked up to in my life, in the sense of thinking about their life admiringly as I wonder about what I am doing with my own. … Read more
The NZ Police have apologised to journalist Nicky Hager over their tactics in seeking to identify Rawshark following the publication of Dirty Politics. And it must never happen again, writes Otago law professor Andrew Geddis Readers able to remember events of more than a fortnight ago (or, events prior to Fortnite, for that matter) will … Read more
Dirty Politics landed like a bombshell in the NZ election campaign of 2014. It may not have affected that outcome, but that was never the ambition. It has, however, made a big impact on our politics, argues Nicky Hager Three long years ago, during the last election campaign, the book Dirty Politics revealed a political … Read more
Three years ago today Dirty Politics was published, lighting the fuse on an extraordinary election campaign. Hayden Donnell looks into what the cast of Nicky Hager’s book have been up to since. It seems impossible, but there was a time when politics was even worse than it is now. Today our most fractious political debate … Read more
After eight years watching John Key from the deputy’s seat, Bill English was thrust into leadership late last year. In the first in a series of election-year interviews with our political leaders, Duncan Greive goes to the ballet with the prime minister, and chews over his new job and how he plans to keep it. Photography … Read more
It’s a struggle to like either of the creeps who locked horns in the High Court, but the measure of the winner’s character will be in how he spends the damages, writes Toby Manhire The Hollow Men was turned into a stage play. Secret Power was adapted into a visual art spectacular. And now another … Read more
This afternoon, Cameron Slater’s name suppression was lifted in a case regarding his conspiring to hack The Standard website. To mark the occasion, here are some of the fearless Whaleoil blogger’s previous posts about name suppression. It’s like 10,000 Whales when all you need is a knife. However Alanis would have styled it, today is a … Read more
Did you know the key to winning in politics is having enough votes in Parliament to form a government after the election? If not, Danyl Mclauchlan has found just the publication for you. It’s Christmas. The political year is over. Parliament has risen. The festive season has begun: work parties, family holidays, barbecues, long car … Read more
Nicky Hager tells The Spinoff about his case in the High Court, Dirty Politics a year on, and his next book – “one of the most important projects that I could imagine”. Nicky Hager has been back in headlines lately after court documents revealed, among other things, that Westpac had provided his transaction statements to … Read more