Nicky Hager’s new book, Dirty Work is the third instalment of what his publisher is calling the “Dirty Politics trilogy”. The book focuses on the Taxpayers’ Union, which Hager describes as “the latest front for New Zealand’s radical right.”

The two previous books in the trilogy have coincided with the resignation of significant political figures. In 2006, Don Brash said that the book “was not a factor in his resignation”, but political commentators have argued that had he not resigned as National Party leader prior to the release of The Hollow Men, he would have had to resign afterwards.

Judith Collins resigned her ministerial portfolios in the wake of the release of Dirty Politics in 2014, however a government inquiry later revealed that she had done “nothing improper”.

Speaking to Ryan Bridge this morning, Jordan Williams, co-founder of the Taxpayer’s Union, said the book is “full of inaccuracies”. Speaking to RNZ, David Farrar, co-founder of the TPU, described one claim in the book as “totally, 1,000% wrong”, which he says “speaks to the wider book, that he has put things in there that are absolutely demonstrably false”.

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