Written By:
- Date published:
11:51 am, September 23rd, 2026 - 2 comments
Categories: act, casey costello, David Farrar, Dirty Politics, national, nz first, spin, taxpayers union, Tobacco -
Tags: Dirty Work, jordan williams, nicky hager
I haven’t read Nicky Hagers’ new book Dirty Work yet, mostly because it will take some time to drift towards this end of the earth. There wasn’t a e-pub option to purchase.
Most of the book highlights in the release and the news media I read this morning were not a surprise to me. It has been clear since its inception about its goals and tactics.
As an organisation, The Taxpayers Union clearly didn’t give a shit about citizens or taxpayers apart from the taxpayers who paid for it to exist. There has been rumours for a long time that it was a shit employer, something that Nicky Hager has clearly tapped into. But what has always been quite opaque is who has been funding it. The idea that it is funded by tens of thousands of small donations was quite clearly ludicrous.
To date I haven’t met a single person in the business community who is a member. Even ardent supporters of Act or National who’d proudly admit to anything that supported their own interests say that they haven’t been asked or offered.
Which is why it is the revelation of its role as a big tobacco lobby front was a revelation. I didn’t think that the even sleazy founders of the TPU would be so debased that they would allow themselves to be funded by an industry that lives off killing our citizens by addiction to dangerous drugs and delivery mechanism byproducts. But that sounds like exactly what they or their successors have been doing.
Hopefully our local news media journos will read the book, and have a more critical look at information from this source. Just tagging the TPU as a big tobacco protection influenced organisation would bring some balance.
But it makes me wonder just how far this kind of invidious political corruption by tobacco companies has infiltrated the political community. I suspect that a serious review of some of the funding of political parties would be of interest. NZ First and Casey Costello come to mind. As well as the National parties habit of making MPs out of ex-tobacco lobbyists.
Agreed – but it can't only be the tobacco industry. That wouldn't explain why the TPU were so determined to kill 3Waters. It seems to me that there are three possible reasons why the TPU so cynically and easily leveraged provincial anti-Maori sentiment to kill 3Waters:
I too will await a copy of the book.
I think re-reading the prior books, then reading the third volume will show the 'pathways' or 'web'
Webs have sticky parts to entrap prey and warn the spider. That is a very telling analogy.
The stated goals of TPU of 'Low taxes' does not show low taxes = low public services.
The second goal to prove uafordability seals in a false premis about government and money creation.
Too much debt' is a mantra for aqueezing Public spend and redirecting money towards private use.'
We need photos of Luxon et al with Jordan Williams and Farrah.
The photo of Jonhn Key with Whale oil and Farrah was worth a 1000 words,
Birds of a feather. Just to add, John Key on the board of a school getting 27million without oversight… wow! just wow.
Removal of the BSA, tightening of OIA rules, but not passing the anti xlavery bill, the failure to record instructions and minutes and emails to confirm oral instructions in the Education curriculum rewrite. These are warnings of what will come in the future.
Register, vote. Out in 26!!