Investigative journalist Nicky Hager is standing by a contested allegation in his new book Dirty Work, after the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union issued a categorical denial.
The dispute centres on Hager’s claim that the organisation made a payment to a former employee following allegations of sexual harassment involving executive director Jordan Williams. Taxpayers’ Union chair Ruth Richardson says there was no such claim or settlement and says previous chairs and a co-founder had also rejected the allegation.
Hager has now responded, saying he had two separate sources with knowledge of the alleged events and would not have published the claim without being confident in the information. He has stressed the allegation concerns sexual harassment rather than sexual assault.
Williams has also rejected the allegation and accused Hager of failing to approach the organisation before publication. Hager says his decision not to seek comment before releasing the book was influenced by concerns about potential legal attempts to stop publication.
But Hager says the disagreement over this particular allegation should not overshadow the wider issues raised in Dirty Work, which examines the Taxpayers’ Union, its campaigning methods, political relationships and its role in debates including Three Waters, co-governance and Māori issues. The Taxpayers’ Union disputes Hager’s broader portrayal of the organisation and describes the book as a politically motivated attack.
With the competing accounts now firmly on the public record, the allegation remains disputed and has not been independently established.
The controversy is likely to keep attention on the wider question at the centre of Hager’s book — how political advocacy organisations operate, who influences them and how transparent they should be when attempting to shape public debate.
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