Nicky Hager’s new book Dirty Work has landed in the middle of Election 2026, but for me one of its most important stories is not simply about the Taxpayers’ Union or its executive director Jordan Williams. It is about Maiki Sherman — and what Hager alleges was a coordinated political campaign that helped drive one of this country’s most prominent Māori journalists from her job.
Hager describes Sherman’s treatment as a hit job. His book examines the role of campaigner Ani O’Brien, whose campaign against the former 1News political editor was amplified through organisations connected to the wider network Hager investigates. POLITIK reports O’Brien has links to the Taxpayers’ Union’s commercial arm, the Campaign Company, and the Free Speech Union. Those connections are documented, but Hager’s broader characterisation of the Sherman episode as an organised hit job remains his allegation rather than an independently established finding.
That distinction matters. Sherman acknowledged making inappropriate comments to another journalist and apologised. But her departure unfolded against a much wider backdrop of political pressure and public campaigning. Earlier reporting showed ministers and political offices had publicly criticised her journalism, while the Prime Minister’s Office had contacted TVNZ management with concerns about balance during an election year. TVNZ said political pressure did not influence its editorial decisions.
For Te Kaupapa, this raises a bigger issue. When a senior Māori journalist is targeted by campaigners and political figures, we should be asking who is driving the campaign, who is amplifying it, what relationships exist between those organisations, and whether the public understands the machinery operating behind the headlines.
That is particularly relevant because Dirty Work alleges the Taxpayers’ Union increasingly moved into campaigns involving Māori, co-governance and Three Waters after its opposition to Three Waters generated significant supporter and fundraising growth. The Taxpayers’ Union and people named in the book strongly dispute a number of Hager’s claims, including allegations that it deliberately used race to drive political support.
Then came Jordan Williams’ appearance on Newstalk ZB.
Williams strongly denied one of Hager’s most serious allegations, concerning an alleged sexual-harassment complaint and settlement. Hager says he has two independent sources with direct knowledge; the Taxpayers’ Union and its current and former leadership say no such settlement exists. At this point, publicly available reporting does not resolve that dispute.
But the interview became extraordinary when Williams was repeatedly challenged over whether he would waive confidentiality and whether he would sue Hager. Williams said there was nothing to waive, that he was taking legal advice, and described suing as very tempting — but he did not announce legal proceedings.
That does not prove Hager’s allegation is true, and declining to sue is not evidence of guilt. But it leaves the dispute exactly where it should now be: under intense public scrutiny.
There is also an irony worth confronting.
An organisation that has spent years participating aggressively in public debates over Three Waters, co-governance, Te Tiriti and Māori political issues is now arguing that it is being unfairly targeted by Hager. Hager, meanwhile, says his investigation is precisely about the networks, money and campaigning methods operating outside political parties but capable of profoundly influencing public debate. The Taxpayers’ Union says what Hager portrays as something sinister is ordinary democratic advocacy.
That disagreement is where the real story sits.
This should not become an excuse for the political left to imitate the tactics it condemns. It should be a reason for journalists, Māori media, political parties and voters to scrutinise organised political advocacy with far greater intensity — who funds it, who coordinates it, whose messages it amplifies and where advocacy ends and election campaigning begins.
Because Dirty Work raises a question that goes well beyond Jordan Williams or Nicky Hager.
If organised political networks can help determine who becomes the target, what becomes the controversy and which issues dominate an election campaign, voters deserve to know who is standing behind the curtain.
And perhaps the lesson from what happened to Maiki Sherman is that we should have started asking those questions much sooner.
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