Tony Simpson

Guest writer

Tony Simpson is the author of 17 published books, mostly of social history, including his classic work The Sugarbag Years (1974), an oral history of the 1930s depression. His most recent book Along for the Ride is a political memoir. He has worked as a journalist and as a public servant, and was senior policy advisor to Cabinet Minister Jim Anderton. Tony was born in Rangiora in 1945.

Some of the key players during the current term for Question Time

Why Question Time is more than just squabbling and mud-slinging

From the outside, parliamentary Question Time looks like a juvenile farce. But it matters far more than many give it credit.

By Tony Simpson | 28th July, 2018

Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and President Richard Nixon sit in the Oval Office during the 1973 US-USSR summit. (Photo by © Wally McNamee/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

The bloodless diplomat: Tony Simpson looks for a pulse in New Zealand’s former ambassador to Moscow

New Zealand career diplomat Gerald McGhie witnessed the fall of Gorbachev and the rise of Yeltsin when he served as our ambassador to Russia - but seems to have seen nuzzink, writes reviewer Tony Simpson.

By Tony Simpson | 4th July, 2017

On writing a memoir: a brief essay by Tony Simpson

On writing a memoir: a brief essay by Tony Simpson

Long-time political insider Tony Simpson has written his 17th book - this time about himself, and the times he lived through.

By Tony Simpson | 30th May, 2017