151-594: Dirty Politics: How attack politics is poisoning New Zealand’s political environment is a book by Nicky Hager published in August 2014. The book is based on emails hacked from Cameron Slater 's Gmail account and on Facebook chats. These communications occurred around the same time that a denial-of-service (DOS) attack took down Slater's website – the right-wing blog Whale Oil Beef Hooked – and feature hundreds of items of correspondence in which prominent New Zealanders are criticised and vilified. Hager's book describes
302-458: A Guardian editorial in 2002 condemned antisemitism and defended the paper's right to criticise the policies and actions of the Israeli government, arguing that those who view such criticism as inherently anti-Jewish are mistaken. Harriet Sherwood, then The Guardian 's foreign editor, later its Jerusalem correspondent, has also denied that The Guardian has an anti-Israel bias, saying that
453-618: A $ 120 million transition package for the West Coast economy. Seeds of Distrust: The Story of a GE Cover-up was a study of government processes and decision-making under New Zealand's Labour-led government. The book details an incident in November 2000, during the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification , when government officials were alerted to evidence of an accidental release of genetically modified corn plants, which
604-421: A 27-year-old British Muslim and journalism trainee from Yorkshire . Aslam was a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir , an Islamist group, and had published a number of articles on their website. According to the newspaper, it did not know that Aslam was a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir when he applied to become a trainee, though several staff members were informed of this once he started at the paper. The Home Office said that
755-671: A Twitter account with the username @Whaledump2. On 5 September, after the release of a number of other documents online, Rawshark announced that he would no longer be releasing any information, tweeting a number of messages: "This was never about party politics for me. I have done what I set out to do. It is time to go. #whaledump" "I know vigilantism is a dangerous final resort. I hope history judges me kindly. #whaledump" "If I didn't do it, who would have? If I didn't do it this way, how could it have been done? #whaledump" "Don't try this at home.. unless you think it's important enough to risk 7 years in jail. Think it through. #whaledump" ... "By
906-865: A complaint with the police about the illegal hacking of his emails, and made a separate complaint with the Privacy Commissioner over the release of the email by the Prime Minister. Collins had been under pressure to resign earlier in the year over her involvement with Chinese officials at Oravida. Once Dirty Politics was published and Collins' alleged treatment of public servant Simon Pleasants came to light, there were renewed calls for her resignation. The Public Service Association said her actions breached an important constitutional principle and "Minister Collins must take responsibility for her actions and resign." Labour Leader David Cunliffe said Mr Key should fire Ms Collins, "because she has acted in
1057-460: A court injunction. Four days after release, it had sold about 10,000 copies, in addition to 1,000 e-book sales. Robbie Burton, executive director of Craig Potton Publishing, said: "I've never seen anything like this before, in terms of the speed at which it's happening." A week after release, sales had reached approximately 15,000, and by mid September, sales were at almost 20,000. The first two chapters are available free on-line. Two weeks after
1208-554: A database of Labour Party members, emails and donations which were used to attack the Labour Party. Also in 2011 the PM's office used its knowledge of secret SIS documents to tip off a right-wing blogger and arrange an attack on Labour leader Phil Goff, and drafted Official Information Act requests for a right-wing blogger to use in other attacks. In mid-June 2018, Hager accepted an apology and compensation for "substantial damages" from
1359-510: A growing fire. There is no knowing what kind of explosion will follow." On 24 August 1959, The Manchester Guardian changed its name to The Guardian . This change reflected the growing prominence of national and international affairs in the newspaper. In September 1961, The Guardian , which had previously only been published in Manchester , began to be printed in London. Nesta Roberts
1510-452: A humorous column by Charlie Brooker in its entertainment guide, the final sentence of which was viewed by some as a call for violence against U.S. President George W. Bush ; after a controversy, Brooker and the paper issued an apology, saying the "closing comments were intended as an ironic joke, not as a call to action". Following the 7 July 2005 London bombings , The Guardian published an article on its comment pages by Dilpazier Aslam ,
1661-492: A hypocrite. In January 2014, WhaleOil was hacked some time after he posted a blog post with the headline "Feral dies in Greymouth, did world a favour." Three other children in this family had already been killed in accidents and the post provoked a 'furious public reaction'. Some weeks later, Hager received an 8 gigabyte USB stick in the mail containing thousands of pages of emails hacked from Slater's website. Hager contacted
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#17327933947601812-464: A leading authority on addiction and an outspoken critic of the alcohol industry posting blogs with pejorative titles such as “Confirmed: Doug Sellman Gone Mad”. These were based on information supplied by Carrick Graham, son of former National party member Sir Douglas Graham . Hager says Carrick Graham's company, Facilitate Communications, paid Slater $ 6,555 a month and speculated that it was for him to do attack blogs. Former National MP Katherine Rich ,
1963-411: A lengthy history of correspondence between Slater and Justice Minister Judith Collins that eventually contributed to her resignation as a Minister. In response to the allegations in the book, Prime Minister John Key said that he talked to Slater on a regular basis. Hager claimed that using bloggers rather than journalists allowed Key to maintain a friendly public persona, while using right-wing blogs as
2114-719: A member of the Defence Force had illegally provided Hager with information for his book Other People's War . The NZSIS had seized two months' worth of his home phone's metadata in an attempt to track down the NZDF member. Ultimately, the phone data found no link between Hager and the suspected NZDF member. In August 2019, the acting Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security found that the spy agency had no reasonable grounds for suspecting espionage and had failed to exercise caution when investigating Hager's source. In August 2014, Hager published Dirty Politics: How attack politics
2265-578: A move to London. Along with its sister papers, The Observer and The Guardian Weekly , The Guardian is part of the Guardian Media Group , owned by the Scott Trust Limited . The trust was created in 1936 to "secure the financial and editorial independence of The Guardian in perpetuity and to safeguard the journalistic freedom and liberal values of The Guardian free from commercial or political interference". The trust
2416-474: A nation having slavery as its basis". There was a comment that "an effort had been made in a leading article of the Manchester Guardian to deter the working men from assembling together for such a purpose". The newspaper reported all this and published their letter to President Lincoln while complaining that "the chief occupation, if not the chief object of the meeting, seems to have been to abuse
2567-443: A new photo with the message: "Cam, any chance of a better photo going up?? Eek it looks really bad." Slater appears to have obliged using the pseudonym 'Jc press sec', which was subsequently changed to Polkad0t. In return, Slater also asked Collins for favours. The emails indicate Slater asked Ms Collins to get a prisoner moved to a different prison, while she was Minister of Corrections. Slater asked Collins to get him moved because he
2718-673: A number of years. Secret Power: New Zealand's Role in the International Spy Network , published in 1996, was Hager's first book. The book investigates various spying techniques, including signals intelligence (Sigint), a form of electronic eavesdropping between countries. The information was taken from interviews with staff in New Zealand's Sigint agency, the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), who revealed
2869-692: A role in the Balfour Declaration . In 1948 The Manchester Guardian was a supporter of the new State of Israel. Ownership of the paper passed in June 1936 to the Scott Trust (named after the last owner, John Russell Scott , who was the first chairman of the Trust). This move ensured the paper's independence. From 1930 to 1967, a special archival copy of all the daily newspapers was preserved in 700 zinc cases. These were found in 1988 whilst
3020-467: A scalpel over a dotted shape of the Gaza Strip on his stomach. The caption read: "Residents of Gaza, get out now." Due to what has been seen by some as a reference to Shakespeare's Shylock 's "pound of flesh", it prompted accusations that it was antisemitic. Bell said that he was inspired by the 1960s "Johnson's Scar" cartoon by David Levine of U.S. president Lyndon B Johnson within the context of
3171-615: A series of acts abhorrent to every true notion of constitutional right and human liberty", adding: "it is doubtless to be regretted that he had not the opportunity of vindicating his good intentions". According to Martin Kettle , writing for The Guardian in February 2011: " The Guardian had always hated slavery. But it doubted the Union hated slavery to the same degree. It argued that the Union had always tacitly condoned slavery by shielding
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#17327933947603322-402: A series of highly critical blogs about Feely in late 2011. Prime Minister John Key characterised Dirty Politics as a "cynically timed attack" from "a well known left wing [ sic ] conspiracy theorist". In response to Key's criticism that the book's publication so close to the 2014 general election was designed to be a political bombshell, Hager says he published the material that
3473-420: A speech "and the hate-gospellers of his entourage" that it encouraged readers to vote Conservative in the 1951 general election and remove Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government. The Manchester Guardian strongly opposed military intervention during the 1956 Suez Crisis : "The Anglo-French ultimatum to Egypt is an act of folly, without justification in any terms but brief expediency. It pours petrol on
3624-427: A true journalist would do. He didn't go and check out the facts, he didn't try and get that side of the story." In response, Hager spoke to his source to try to get back some of the emails that the book was based on in order to release them online. The hacker, known as Rawshark, apparently said: "Leave this to me" and began releasing the emails through an account on Twitter, @WhaleDump. The emails seem to back up many of
3775-469: A vehicle to attack opponents. Other bloggers mentioned in the book include Matthew Hooton, Cathy Odgers ( who goes by the name of Cactus Kate) and David Farrar . However, Hager reserves his strongest criticism for Cameron Slater, who he says received payment to write attack articles on public figures who opposed or criticised National Party policy – and Dirty Politics identifies those who paid him. Whale Oil Beef Hooked (generally referred to as WhaleOil)
3926-513: A wanton barrage of stones, steel bars, and other missiles. That still does not justify opening fire so freely." After the events of Bloody Sunday, John Widgery, Baron Widgery was appointed the head of a tribunal to investigate the killings. The resulting tribunal, known as the Widgery Tribunal , largely exonerated the actions of the soldiers involved in the incident. The Guardian published an article on 20 April 1972 which supported
4077-463: A warehouse, and then finally being sent unannounced to stores around the country. Dirty Politics was released at Unity Books in Wellington on 13 August 2014, with a crowd of approximately 150. Prior to the release of the book, details of what it would be about were the subject of substantial speculation, as the topic of the book was kept secret in order to avoid it being blocked from release by
4228-489: A way that is unbecoming and unfit" for a minister. Deputy Prime Minister Bill English distanced himself from her behaviour by saying "it's not a style I like". John Key called her "unwise" but refused to take any action. As the pressure on Collins mounted, she avoided the media entirely for a few days. Then on 23 August she fronted up but refused to answer questions about her friendship with Mr Slater. She declared she had no plans to resign and refused to acknowledge her behaviour
4379-547: Is a step to which there is no obvious alternative." In 1983, the paper was at the centre of a controversy surrounding documents regarding the stationing of cruise missiles in Britain that were leaked to The Guardian by civil servant Sarah Tisdall . The paper eventually complied with a court order to hand over the documents to the authorities, which resulted in a six-month prison sentence for Tisdall, though she served only four. "I still blame myself", said Peter Preston , who
4530-544: Is an investigative journalist who has written seven books. As of July 2019 , the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), an international network that has 249 investigative reporters in over 90 countries, has Hager as one of only two New Zealand members. Hager works on a number of projects at any given time, gathering information about them and looks for sources and mentors. Some projects "come together" but others can continue for
4681-435: Is based on a large amount of documentation leaked by a staff member from the local branch of Shandwick (now Weber Shandwick Worldwide ), a global public relations company, which had been hired by Timberlands to run a secret campaign against environmental groups such as Native Forest Action between 1997 and 1999. The book describes its tactics of surveillance of meetings, monitoring the press and responding to every letter to
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4832-562: Is generally on the mainstream left of British political opinion, and the term " Guardian reader" is used to imply a stereotype of a person with modern liberal , left-wing or " politically correct " views. Frequent typographical errors during the age of manual typesetting led Private Eye magazine to dub the paper the "Grauniad" in the 1970s, a nickname still occasionally used by the editors for self-mockery. In an Ipsos MORI research poll in September 2018 designed to interrogate
4983-570: Is not a less one; and we would not seek the abolition even of the former through the imminent hazard of the latter". It suggested that the United States should compensate slave-owners for freeing slaves and called on President Franklin Pierce to resolve the 1856 "civil war", the Sacking of Lawrence due to pro-slavery laws imposed by Congress. In 1860, The Observer quoted a report that
5134-741: Is one of two New Zealand members of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists . Hager was born in Levin to a middle-class "socially aware" family. His father was from Vienna , Austria , a clothing manufacturer who emigrated to New Zealand as a refugee from the Nazis. His mother was born in Zanzibar (part of Tanzania ), where her father studied tropical medicine, and later grew up in Kenya and Uganda . His surname Hager
5285-437: Is poisoning New Zealand’s political environment , featuring leaked emails between National Party figures and right-wing bloggers. According to Hager the book aims to tell the story of "how attack politics is poisoning NZ's political environment". Among the claims in the book are that during the 2011 election campaign a right-wing blogger, Cameron Slater , who is the son of former National Party President John Slater, obtained
5436-529: Is pronounced Har-gar, rhyming with lager . Hager studied physics at Victoria University of Wellington , where he also did an honours degree in philosophy. He stood as a Values Party candidate for Pahiatua in the 1978 general election . After graduating from university, Hager worked at the ecology division of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), and later worked with his brother-in-law building and renovating houses. Hager
5587-483: Is shown in the participants' own words. Many of the party's previously anonymous major donors are identified and relations with them are documented. The book was initially prevented from being published when Brash obtained an injunction preventing anyone from publishing material from emails that had been stolen from him. At the time Brash was unaware that Hager had completed and was about to launch his book. However, on 23 November 2006, Brash announced his resignation from
5738-465: Is that Mr Lloyd George is fighting to enfranchise seven million women and the militants are smashing unoffending people's windows and breaking up benevolent societies' meetings in a desperate effort to prevent him." Scott thought the Suffragettes' "courage and devotion" was "worthy of a better cause and saner leadership". It has been argued that Scott's criticism reflected a widespread disdain, at
5889-437: Is the personal blog of Cameron Slater which he started in 2005. Slater, the son of former National Party president John Slater, claims WhaleOil is a "super-blog" attracting over one million unique visits every month. He admitted at that time to suffering from depression and has a reputation for vitriol and anger. He said in 2010 that he didn't care if people regarded him as 'stupid, a bully, or vicious' but would resent being called
6040-574: Is unsurprising, given that the conclusions that can be drawn are not palatable ones. The documents raise some serious questions about the level of open government New Zealand really has and the strength of our much-vaunted biosecurity regime." In November 2006 Hager's book The Hollow Men: A Study in the Politics of Deception was published. The book details a wide range of National Party internal party documents including emails which were leaked by six National Party insiders. The documents were written by
6191-436: Is wrong to state that Tel Aviv – the country's financial and diplomatic centre – is the capital. The style guide has been amended accordingly." On 11 August 2014 the print edition of The Guardian published a pro-Israeli advocacy advert during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict featuring Elie Wiesel , headed by the words "Jews rejected child sacrifice 3,500 years ago. Now it's Hamas' turn." The Times had decided against running
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6342-561: The Sunday Times , so phone-hacking will surely be to The Guardian : a defining moment in its history. In recent decades, The Guardian has been accused of biased criticism of Israeli government policy and of bias against the Palestinians. In December 2003, columnist Julie Burchill cited "striking bias against the state of Israel" as one of the reasons she left the paper for The Times . Responding to these accusations,
6493-638: The FTSE 100 companies. Internal documents relating to Barclays Bank 's tax avoidance were removed from The Guardian website after Barclays obtained a gagging order . The newspaper played a pivotal role in exposing the depth of the News of the World phone hacking affair . The Economist 's Intelligent Life magazine opined that: As Watergate is to the Washington Post , and thalidomide to
6644-521: The Hôtel Ritz in Paris, which would have amounted to accepting a bribe on Aitken's part. Aitken publicly stated that he would fight with "the simple sword of truth and the trusty shield of British fair play". The court case proceeded, and in 1997 The Guardian produced evidence that Aitken's claim of his wife paying for the hotel stay was untrue. In 1999, Aitken was jailed for perjury and perverting
6795-574: The Kosovo War in 1998–1999. The Guardian stated that "the only honourable course for Europe and America is to use military force". Mary Kaldor 's piece was headlined "Bombs away! But to save civilians, we must get in some soldiers too." In the early 2000s, The Guardian challenged the Act of Settlement 1701 and the Treason Felony Act 1848 . In October 2004, The Guardian published
6946-500: The Manchester Guardian ". Lincoln replied to the letter thanking the workers for their "sublime Christian heroism" and American ships delivered relief supplies to Britain. The newspaper reported the shock to the community of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865, concluding that "[t]he parting of his family with the dying President is too sad for description", but in what from today's perspective looks an ill-judged editorial wrote that "[o]f his rule we can never speak except as
7097-590: The New Zealand Police for raiding his home in 2014 as part of their investigation into the hacking that led to the Dirty Politics book. The Police also acknowledged accessing his financial records as part of the apology settlement. On 21 September 2016, Nicky Hager was subpoenaed by Colin Craig 's lawyers to testify as part of the latter's defence in a defamation suit filed by Jordan Williams,
7248-665: The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), The Guardian called for the British Armed Forces to be deployed to the region, arguing that their deployment would "present a more disinterested face of law and order" than the RUC." On 30 January 1972, troops from the 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment opened fire on a Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association march, killing fourteen people in an event that would come to be known as Bloody Sunday . In response to
7399-597: The State Services Commission . On 30 August, John Key released an email written by Slater in 2011 suggesting Judith Collins was also 'gunning' for former Serious Fraud Office (SFO) boss Adam Feely. Collins was the Minister responsible for the SFO at the time, and the email said: "Any information that we can provide her [Collins] on his [Feely's] background is appreciated." It was addressed to 'Mark' (with
7550-765: The Union blockade was causing suffering in British towns . Some including Liverpool supported the Confederacy as did "current opinion in all classes" in London. On 31 December 1862, cotton workers held a meeting at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester which resolved "its detestation of negro slavery in America, and of the attempt of the rebellious Southern slave-holders to organise on the great American continent
7701-576: The Vietnam War . In August 2004, for the US presidential election , the daily G2 supplement launched an experimental letter-writing campaign in Clark County , Ohio, an average-sized county in a swing state . Editor Ian Katz bought a voter list from the county for $ 25 and asked readers to write to people listed as undecided in the election, giving them an impression of the international view and
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#17327933947607852-684: The Watergate scandal . David Cunliffe , leader of the Labour Party , also describes the events portrayed in the book as akin to Watergate. The revelations in Dirty Politics have also been reported in international media. Under the headline "New Zealand's own House of Cards is collapsing", The Guardian newspaper said "New Zealanders are currently witnesses to an exposé of unprecedented proportions." Also in The Guardian , New Zealand journalist Toby Manhire wrote: " Dirty Politics has blown
8003-662: The " War on Terror ". Using leaked military information, Hager highlights the difference between what New Zealand was told about its role in Afghanistan and Iraq, and what the leaked documents show. The book demonstrates the role of public relations in blurring the lines between the idea of military as a public service and the agendas that the New Zealand Defence Force was orchestrating for foreign interests. Hager concludes that New Zealand needs greater accountability and neutrality in its armed forces. It
8154-456: The Act would encourage emancipation in other slave-owning nations to avoid "imminent risk of a violent and bloody termination." However, the newspaper argued against restricting trade with countries that had not yet abolished slavery. Complex tensions developed in the United States. When the abolitionist George Thompson toured, the newspaper said that "[s]lavery is a monstrous evil, but civil war
8305-532: The All Blacks go and have a look? The answer is yes. The reason I know that is it's happened." Another allegation is that in 2011, the Prime Minister's office facilitated the release of confidential Security Intelligence Service (SIS) documents to Cameron Slater so he could use them to embarrass Phil Goff . Slater made an Official Information Act (OIA) request to the SIS for confidential documents which confirmed
8456-489: The Beehive to what may have been coming." John Key called a press conference the next day, Saturday 30 August 2014, at which Collins resigned as a minister. In October, the Prime Minister announced that Collins would not be allowed to use the title 'Honourable' before her name unless she is cleared by the inquiry into her behaviour. Collins was reported to be 'appalled' and 'seething' that she heard about this decision through
8607-423: The Confederacy to self-determination. It criticised Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation for not freeing all American slaves. On 10 October 1862, it wrote: "It is impossible to cast any reflections upon a man so evidently sincere and well-intentioned as Mr Lincoln but it is also impossible not to feel that it was an evil day both for America and the world, when he was chosen President of the United States". By then,
8758-642: The European Union or the United States and in her role at the New Zealand Food and Grocery Council, Katherine Rich, has claimed all additives used in New Zealand are safe. Ms Nissen said she was attacked because Katherine Rich objected to her "highlighting the use of artificial colours commonly used in soft drinks and processed foods and the fact many had been banned in other countries." Confirming his connection with Katherine Rich, Slater publicly acknowledged that she had paid him twice, but claimed it
8909-656: The HPA board that might raise serious concerns about its management of conflicts of interest". However, the Auditor-General acknowledged they did not interview Ms Rich, nor did they investigate "allegations in Nicky Hager’s 2014 book Dirty Politics about things Mrs Rich is said to have done in her private capacity". Rich said she felt vindicated by the finding, but the Green Party called for an additional investigation by
9060-521: The Holy City of Jerusalem" and calling on all member states with diplomatic missions in the city to withdraw. The UN has reaffirmed this position on several occasions, and almost every country now has its embassy in Tel Aviv. While it was therefore right to issue a correction to make clear Israel's designation of Jerusalem as its capital is not recognised by the international community, we accept that it
9211-650: The Labour Party. 18,000 emails, lists of the party's donors and supporters and their credit-card transactions were downloaded. The book reveals Mr Slater and Mr Ede both accessed the site more than once and then "plotted how best to reveal the downloaded material on Mr Slater's blog". Slater did not deny he had accessed the website in May 2011, and said: "I was certainly into the backend of the Labour Party's website, if they couldn't manage security of their website, their credit card details and financial information about their membership, well then they weren't really fit for government at
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#17327933947609362-495: The NZDF's trust and credibility. Left-wing blogger Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury supported Hager and Stephenson's assertions that New Zealand forces had committed war crimes. The conservative blogger Matthew Hooton, Amnesty International New Zealand's Executive Director Grant Bayldon, and Fairfax political editor Tracey Watkins supported calls for an independent inquiry into New Zealand war crimes. The-then Prime Minister Bill English rejected calls for an inquiry into NZSAS actions on
9513-670: The NZSIS. In the 2023 King's Birthday and Coronation Honours , Hager was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit , for services to investigative journalism. Hager lives in Wellington in a house that he built from parts of demolished houses with money inherited from his parents. The Guardian The Guardian is a British daily newspaper . It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as The Manchester Guardian , and changed its name in 1959, followed by
9664-555: The National party (election) strategy dramatically off course, propelling the campaign into uncharted territory. Its allegations have dominated news bulletins for the 10 days since its publication, as accusations of dirty tricks, smear campaigns and conspiracy sally in every direction." In addition to the calls for Judith Collins to resign, Manhire suggested that John Key's "sparkling reputation" may be "contaminated by association with Slater’s toxic style." Cameron Slater subsequently laid
9815-502: The OIA would be expedited in unusually quick time. Goff believes this inside information could only have come from the SIS director Warren Tucker or from staff in the prime minister's office. The book also presents evidence which suggests that Justice Minister Judith Collins leaked the name of public servant, Simon Pleasants, to Cameron Slater. Pleasants worked in the ministerial property department at Internal Affairs , and Collins assumed he
9966-570: The PCC retracted its original ruling, leading to the newspaper's acknowledgement that it was wrong to call Tel Aviv Israel's capital. The Guardian later clarified: "In 1980, the Israeli Knesset enacted a law designating the city of Jerusalem, including East Jerusalem, as the country's capital. In response, the UN security council issued resolution 478, censuring the "change in character and status of
10117-413: The SIS had briefed Phil Goff about suspected Israeli spies who left the country after the second Christchurch earthquake – after Goff had said publicly he was not briefed. Slater was given access to documents within 24 hours – long before other media outlets who had also asked for them. Slater's emails described in Dirty Politics suggest he knew what was in the documents before they were released and that
10268-726: The Soviet Embassy and had taken benefits from the KGB on overseas visits. Gott resigned from his post. Gordievsky commented on the newspaper: "The KGB loved The Guardian . It was deemed highly susceptible to penetration." In 1995, both the Granada Television programme World in Action and The Guardian were sued for libel by the then cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken , for their allegation that Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed had paid for Aitken and his wife to stay at
10419-497: The United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Since the Edward Snowden revelations, this partnership has become more commonly known as the Five Eyes . As a result, the insights into the inner workings of the GCSB provide information about the allied agencies as well. In particular, Hager documented the US-coordinated ECHELON system, through which the five agencies intercept and process huge volumes of international e-mail, fax and telephone communications. Hager
10570-464: The ad, although it had already appeared in major American newspapers. One week later, Chris Elliott expressed the opinion that the newspaper should have rejected the language used in the advert and should have negotiated with the advertiser on this matter. In October 2023, The Guardian stated it would not renew the contract of cartoonist Steve Bell after he submitted a cartoon featuring Netanyahu, with his shirt open, wearing boxing gloves and holding
10721-456: The allegations in Dirty Politics became public, a group of 33 scientists and health practitioners were so concerned they wrote to John Key asking him to investigate Rich's apparent conflict of interest. Green Party health spokesperson Kevin Hague said Rich should resign, arguing that "Katherine Rich, Carrick Graham and Cameron Slater have all been involved in a systematic undermining of health promotion in New Zealand. She cannot tenably remain on
10872-511: The allegations raised by Hit & Run . On 13 March 2018, the New Zealand Defence Force confirmed that the location of an Afghan village mentioned in the book Hit & Run was the same place where the NZSAS raid Operation Burnham took place but maintained that claims of civilian casualties were "unfounded." On 19 March, the NZDF confirmed that the photos published in Hit & Run were taken in
11023-660: The board of that organisation." Rich responded by saying she had never been involved in undermining public health and found the claim very offensive. She said she put her heart and soul into the Health Promotion Agency and adhered to all parts of the Crown Entities Act. Nevertheless, the Auditor-General was asked to investigate and conducted a review of the HPA’s board minutes. It declared "we have not identified any particular matters before, or decisions by,
11174-613: The book was published, Mr Ede was employed by the National Party, rather than by John Key, but was still working from the Prime Minister's office. He resigned the day before the election. Dirty Politics also describes numerous email contacts between Cameron Slater and Judith Collins who are long-time friends. The email records span from 2009 to 2014 covering the entire time she was in Cabinet. One particular email shows that Collins asked Slater to edit her Misplaced Pages page and sent him
11325-417: The book was very much aimed at him. Blogger David Farrar said he thought Ede had resigned voluntarily and not due to the book's publication. However, Hager said he was sceptical about the reasons behind Ede's departure: Jason Ede disappeared during the last five-and-a-half weeks of the election campaign but it's pretty obvious that he was given a free holiday or something to get him out of the way, and then he
11476-757: The book's release, the Chief Executive of the New Zealand Ministry for the Environment , Barry Carbon, conceded that the book was largely accurate but disputed the interpretation of the material. The Christchurch newspaper The Press studied the official documents and concluded: "So who's telling the truth, Hager or the Government? Officials at a special briefing for journalists last week memorably commented that they did not disagree with most of Hager's facts, just his conclusions. That
11627-407: The book. He describes multiple email exchanges between Cameron Slater and National Party spin doctor Jason Ede who works for Prime Minister John Key. Up till August 2011 Mr Ede was employed by Ministerial Services and, in effect, was paid by the taxpayer. Hager says Ede tried to avoid scrutiny by using a 'dynamic' IP address, one that changed frequently making it difficult for him to be identified. When
11778-507: The books America's Secret Eyes in the Sky and The Ties That Bind . Secrets and Lies: The Anatomy of an Anti-Environmental PR Campaign was co-authored with Bob Burton and published in 1999. It documents the public relations information put out by Timberlands West Coast Limited in order to win public support for logging of native forests on the West Coast of New Zealand . The material
11929-524: The chief executive of the NZ Food and Grocery Council, is implicated in the book. Emails show that information she passed to Carrick Graham was passed on to Slater. Slater then used the information to attack health campaigners such as Professor Doug Sellman who campaigns about liquor legislation and New Zealand Herald columnist Wendyl Nissen, who writes about additives and healthy food. New Zealand allows 14 additives that have been banned or never allowed in
12080-472: The claims Hager makes in the book. The hacker also communicated with journalists using encryption to protect his identity. He denied any political motivation but indicated a desire to "take down this corrupt network". After a series of email releases on the @WhaleDump account, Cameron Slater tried to take out a court injunction to prevent the media from reporting hacked information obtained from his Whale Oil blog. Media lawyer Julian Miles QC argued on behalf of
12231-511: The co-founder of the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union . Hager had initially volunteered to give evidence, however decided he did not want to after Mr Williams gave evidence in relation to Craig's treatment of his former press secretary, Rachel MacGregor. Craig gave evidence that he had read Hager's book Dirty Politics before producing his pamphlet Dirty Politics and Hidden Agendas , which was found to have defamed Williams. Hager took
12382-517: The company. In subsequent years, however, The Guardian has hired various commentators on US affairs including Ana Marie Cox , Michael Wolff , Naomi Wolf , Glenn Greenwald and George W. Bush's former speechwriter Josh Treviño . Treviño's first blog post was an apology for a controversial tweet posted in June 2011 over the second Gaza flotilla, the controversy which had been revived by the appointment. Guardian US launched in September 2011, led by editor-in-chief Janine Gibson , which replaced
12533-634: The continuing "cruelty and injustice" to slaves in the West Indies long after the abolition of the slave trade with the Slave Trade Act 1807 wanted fairness to the interests and claims both of the planters and of their oppressed slaves. It welcomed the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 and accepted the "increased compensation" to the planters as the "guilt of slavery attaches far more to the nation" rather than individuals. Success of
12684-497: The course of justice . In May 1998, a series of Guardian investigations exposed the wholesale fabrication of a much-garlanded ITV documentary The Connection , produced by Carlton Television. The documentary purported to film an undiscovered route by which heroin was smuggled into the United Kingdom from Colombia. An internal inquiry at Carlton found that The Guardian ' s allegations were in large part correct and
12835-490: The diffusion of just principles of Political Economy and ... support, without reference to the party from which they emanate, all serviceable measures". In 1825, the paper merged with the British Volunteer and was known as The Manchester Guardian and British Volunteer until 1828. The working-class Manchester and Salford Advertiser called The Manchester Guardian "the foul prostitute and dirty parasite of
12986-500: The dirty work. Some bloggers... have no compunction using material even if its veracity is questionable. Cameron Slater – and the extent to which he is prepared to go – takes attack politics to a whole new plane. One of the main allegations is that during the 2011 election campaign, Cameron Slater and Jason Ede took advantage of a badly-configured website to enter the database of the Labour Party website. This enabled them to look at emails and personal details which were then used to attack
13137-500: The editor, greenwashing , the use of strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPPs), cleaning anti-logging graffiti and blotting out campaign posters in public places, and managing to install its pro-logging educational materials into schools. The year after the book's publication, the new Labour government passed the Forests ( West Coast Accord ) Act 2000, which halted the logging of publicly owned native forests and provided
13288-676: The exact location of the villages wrong but asserted that other information including the villages' names were correct. In late March 2017, the Tirgiran Valley villagers' lawyers McLeod, Rodney Harrison, and Deborah Manning requested that the New Zealand Government undertake a formal inquiry into the events at Naik and Khak Khuday Dad villages. Hager and Stephenson's book attracted considerable media coverage and commentary in New Zealand. University of Otago law professor Andrew Geddis opined that Operation Burnham damaged
13439-589: The existence of the surveillance program PRISM after knowledge of it was leaked to the paper by the whistleblower and former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden . In 2016, The Guardian led an investigation into the Panama Papers , exposing then–Prime Minister David Cameron 's links to offshore bank accounts . It has been named "newspaper of the year" four times at the annual British Press Awards : most recently in 2014, for its reporting on government surveillance. The Manchester Guardian
13590-458: The fighters were found but 15 civilians were wounded and six killed. The authors asserted that the NZSAS actions could be considered war crimes and alleged a cover up by the New Zealand Defence Force . The New Zealand Defence Force Chief Lieutenant-General Tim Keating challenged the book's accuracy and denied that NZ forces had operated in the Naik and Khak Khuday Dad villages. He asserted that
13741-479: The files on the web server, including sensitive membership and credit card information which was unencrypted. Mr Key also claimed there was nothing wrong with Jason Ede accessing the Labour Party website because "they left their website open." He justified the action to Radio New Zealand by saying: "If the Wallabies on Tuesday night had left their starting line-up up on their website, on their private website, would
13892-511: The grounds of inaccuracies in Hit & Run . In August 2017, the Afghan villagers' three lawyers took the New Zealand Government to court over its refusal to hold an inquiry into Operation Burnham. Following the formation of a new Labour-New Zealand First-Greens coalition government after the 2017 general election , Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Defence Minister Ron Mark announced in early November that they would hold an inquiry into
14043-402: The group's "ultimate aim is the establishment of an Islamic state (Caliphate), according to Hizb ut-Tahrir via non-violent means". The Guardian asked Aslam to resign his membership of the group and, when he did not do so, terminated his employment. In early 2009, The Guardian started a tax investigation into a number of major UK companies, including publishing a database of the tax paid by
14194-452: The hacker, known as Rawshark, and persuaded him that putting the information in a book would provide "something more lasting and of bigger value" than releasing it on Twitter . Hager says Rawshark was motivated by his dislike of Slater, and that he secretly met the hacker in public parks to discuss how the information should be released. He then spent a significant amount of time analysing the content and only published material which he believed
14345-425: The importance of voting against President George W. Bush. Katz admitted later that he did not believe Democrats who warned that the campaign would benefit Bush and not opponent John Kerry . The newspaper scrapped "Operation Clark County" on 21 October 2004 after first publishing a column of responses—nearly all of them outraged—to the campaign under the headline "Dear Limey assholes". Some commentators suggested that
14496-460: The incident, The Guardian argued that "Neither side can escape condemnation... The organizers of the demonstration, Miss Bernadette Devlin among them, deliberately challenged the ban on marches. They knew that stone throwing and sniping could not be prevented, and that the IRA might use the crowd as a shield ." The Guardian further stated that "It is certainly true that the army cordons had endured
14647-488: The language and footnoting this change. The Guardian ' s style guide section referred to Tel Aviv as the capital of Israel in 2012. In 2012, media watchdog HonestReporting filed a complaint with the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) after The Guardian ran a correction apologizing for "wrongly" having called Jerusalem as Israel's capital. After an initial ruling supporting The Guardian ,
14798-472: The leadership of the National Party. The following day he had the injunction lifted, allowing the book to be released. The Hollow Men was made into a theatrical piece by playwright Dean Parker . Hager assisted with the feature-length documentary of the book, made by Alister Barry, that was released in July 2008. In August 2011 Hager published Other People's Wars , an investigation into New Zealand's role in
14949-560: The library. Traditionally affiliated with the centrist to centre-left Liberal Party , and with a northern, non-conformist circulation base, the paper earned a national reputation and the respect of the left during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). George Orwell wrote in Homage to Catalonia (1938): "Of our larger papers, the Manchester Guardian is the only one that leaves me with an increased respect for its honesty". With
15100-581: The meaning of honour . The book explored the New Zealand Special Air Service 's involvement in Operation Burnham , a retaliatory military raid on two Afghan villages, Naik and Khak Khuday Dad, in Afghanistan's Tirgiran Valley in August 2010. The NZSAS soldiers had attacked a village while pursuing Taliban fighters following the death of a New Zealand soldier in a roadside bomb. According to Hager and Stephenson, none of
15251-436: The media about their relationship. Ede resigned from his position as a media researcher for the National Party the day before the election. Announcing his resignation after 11 years "loyal service to the National Party", John Key said: [Jason Ede's] primary role really, started out as a media person for us... and part of his role was talking to bloggers...I think he took the revelations in the book... personally because some of
15402-429: The media outlets that the information was of huge public interest. High Court Judge John Fogarty agreed but granted an order stopping the hacker, who was an unnamed defendant, from publishing any more "WhaleDumps", although media were allowed to publish material they had already received. In his judgement Justice Fogarty said that Slater's case against the hacker was overwhelming and that taking information from his computer
15553-437: The media rather than being told personally by Mr Key. Jason Ede was a central figure in Dirty Politics . Hager said Ede drafted Official Information Act requests on Slater's behalf and was frequently in contact with the blogger about ways to discredit the Labour Party. After the book's release, Ede entirely avoided the media. Slater subsequently described him as "squeamish" and "gutless" for going to ground rather than talking to
15704-478: The mill-owners' champions had the upper hand. The influential journalist Jeremiah Garnett joined Taylor during the establishment of the paper, and all of the Little Circle wrote articles for the new paper. The prospectus announcing the new publication proclaimed that it would "zealously enforce the principles of civil and religious Liberty ... warmly advocate the cause of Reform ... endeavour to assist in
15855-478: The most-read of the UK's "quality newsbrands", including digital editions; other "quality" brands included The Times , The Daily Telegraph , The Independent , and the i . While The Guardian ' s print circulation is in decline, the report indicated that news from The Guardian , including that reported online, reaches more than 23 million UK adults each month. Chief among the notable " scoops " obtained by
16006-676: The newly elected president Abraham Lincoln was opposed to abolition of slavery. On 13 May 1861, shortly after the start of the American Civil War , the Manchester Guardian portrayed the Northern states as primarily imposing a burdensome trade monopoly on the Confederate States , arguing that if the South was freed to have direct trade with Europe, "the day would not be distant when slavery itself would cease". Therefore,
16157-514: The newspaper asked "Why should the South be prevented from freeing itself from slavery?" This hopeful view was also held by the Liberal leader William Ewart Gladstone . There was division in Britain over the Civil War, even within political parties. The Manchester Guardian had also been conflicted. It had supported other independence movements and felt it should also support the rights of
16308-588: The newspaper's archives were deposited at the University of Manchester 's John Rylands University Library , on the Oxford Road campus. The first case was opened and found to contain the newspapers issued in August 1930 in pristine condition. The zinc cases had been made each month by the newspaper's plumber and stored for posterity. The other 699 cases were not opened and were all returned to storage at The Guardian ' s garage, owing to shortage of space at
16459-455: The occupation of the agents of the Union is gone. They live on strife ... ." In March 2023, an academic review commissioned by the Scott Trust determined that John Edward Taylor and nine of his eleven backers had links to the Atlantic slave trade through their interests in Manchester's textile industry. The newspaper opposed slavery and supported free trade . An 1823 leading article on
16610-610: The paper aims to cover all viewpoints in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict . On 6 November 2011, Chris Elliott, The Guardian ' s readers' editor, wrote that " Guardian reporters, writers and editors must be more vigilant about the language they use when writing about Jews or Israel", citing recent cases where The Guardian received complaints regarding language chosen to describe Jews or Israel. Elliott noted that, over nine months, he upheld complaints regarding language in certain articles that were seen as anti-Semitic, revising
16761-535: The paper from the estate of Taylor's son in 1907. Under Scott, the paper's moderate editorial line became more radical, supporting William Gladstone when the Liberals split in 1886, and opposing the Second Boer War against popular opinion. Scott supported the movement for women's suffrage , but was critical of any tactics by the suffragettes that involved direct action : "The really ludicrous position
16912-523: The paper was the 2011 News International phone-hacking scandal —and in particular the hacking of the murdered English teenager Milly Dowler 's phone. The investigation led to the closure of the News of the World , the UK's best-selling Sunday newspaper and one of the highest-circulation newspapers in history. In June 2013, The Guardian broke news of the secret collection by the Obama administration of Verizon telephone records, and subsequently revealed
17063-474: The paper's main newsprint sections have been published in tabloid format . As of July 2021 , its print edition had a daily circulation of 105,134. The newspaper is available online; it lists UK, US (founded in 2011), Australian (founded in 2013), European, and International editions, and its website has sections for World, Europe, US, Americas, Asia, Australia, Middle East, Africa, New Zealand , Inequality, and Global development. The paper's readership
17214-466: The party leader Don Brash and a wide range of people associated with him. The origin of the book was the exposing of Exclusive Brethren secret funding of National Party election advertising during the 2005 general election. It describes the National Party strategy discussions and the techniques the party advisors used to try to win the 2005 national elections. The thinking behind major speeches, media management, election advertising and election messages
17365-646: The pro-Liberal News Chronicle , the Labour -supporting Daily Herald , the Communist Party 's Daily Worker and several Sunday and weekly papers, it supported the Republican government against General Francisco Franco 's insurgent nationalists. The paper's then editor, A. P. Wadsworth , so loathed Labour's left-wing champion Aneurin Bevan , who had made a reference to getting rid of "Tory Vermin" in
17516-484: The project and hire a staff of American reporters and web editors. The site featured news from The Guardian that was relevant to an American audience: coverage of US news and the Middle East, for example. Tomasky stepped down from his position as editor of Guardian America in February 2009, ceding editing and planning duties to other US and London staff. He retained his position as a columnist and blogger, taking
17667-476: The public's dislike of the campaign contributed to Bush's victory in Clark County. In 2007, the paper launched Guardian America , an attempt to capitalise on its large online readership in the United States, which at the time stood at more than 5.9 million. The company hired former American Prospect editor, New York magazine columnist and New York Review of Books writer Michael Tomasky to head
17818-508: The public's trust of specific titles online, The Guardian scored highest for digital-content news, with 84% of readers agreeing that they "trust what [they] see in it". A December 2018 report of a poll by the Publishers Audience Measurement Company stated that the paper's print edition was found to be the most trusted in the UK in the period from October 2017 to September 2018. It was also reported to be
17969-477: The radical reformers, writing: "They have appealed not to the reason but the passions and the suffering of their abused and credulous fellow-countrymen, from whose ill-requited industry they extort for themselves the means of a plentiful and comfortable existence. They do not toil, neither do they spin, but they live better than those that do." When the government closed down the Manchester Observer ,
18120-403: The raid had taken place at the nearby "Tirgiran Valley village" and that the raid was carried out to protect New Zealand's Provincial Reconstruction Team in neighbouring Bamiyan Province . In response, the Tirgiran Valley villagers' lawyers including Richard McLeod responded that "Tirgiran Valley village" did not exist and challenged Keating's assertions. Hager and Stephenson acknowledged getting
18271-599: The release of the book, Hager spoke at the four-day biennial Writers & Readers Festival in Christchurch. About 5000 people attended 57 events, one of which was a public discussion called Secrets, Spies and Free Speech featuring Dirty Politics author Nicky Hager, Guardian journalist Luke Harding and Australian journalist Richard King. The discussion was mainly about the freedom of speech in Western democracies. Hager provides numerous incidents of dirty politics in
18422-609: The same location where Operation Burnham had taken place. On 9 April 2018, the Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier ruled in favour of the New Zealand Defense Force's decision to withhold most of the information relating to Operation Burnham. On 11 April, Attorney-General David Parker announced that the Government would be holding an inquiry into Operation Burnham and the allegations in Hit & Run . On 16 April 2018, Nicky Hager
18573-402: The secrecy was necessary because they were wary that the book might annoy some people with "deep pockets" who "might be inclined to revenge". The book was produced very quickly by Craig Potton Publishing, where staff worked on it from Thursday evening to the following Tuesday. Once the book was finished, first it was printed in secret in Wellington, before being shipped back to Nelson and stored in
18724-502: The southern slave states from the condemnation they deserved. It was critical of Lincoln's emancipation proclamation for stopping short of a full repudiation of slavery throughout the US. And it chastised the president for being so willing to negotiate with the south, with slavery one of the issues still on the table." C. P. Scott made the newspaper nationally recognised. He was editor for 57 years from 1872, and became its owner when he bought
18875-449: The stand as an expert witness and alleged that publications linked to Jordan Williams on Cameron Slater's blog attacked Craig and followed a similar pattern that had been documented in his book. After testifying for fifteen minutes, Hager was not cross-examined by Williams' lawyers and was allowed to leave by the judge. In March 2017, Hager and fellow journalist Jon Stephenson published Hit & Run: The New Zealand SAS in Afghanistan and
19026-507: The surname redacted) and Carrick Graham. Other emails, released to Fairfax Media by Rawshark, appear to suggest that 'Mark' is former Hanover Finance director Mark Hotchin . Hotchin secretly paid Slater and another right wing blogger, Cathy Odgers , to write attack posts undermining Feely, the SFO and the Financial Markets Authority while they were investigating the collapse of Hanover Finance in 2011. Slater wrote
19177-456: The then industry regulator, the ITC, punished Carlton with a record £2 million fine for multiple breaches of the UK's broadcasting codes. The scandal led to an impassioned debate about the accuracy of documentary production. Later in June 1998, The Guardian revealed further fabrications in another Carlton documentary from the same director. The paper supported NATO 's military intervention in
19328-441: The time you read this, every device used in this operation will have been destroyed and disposed of along with all the decryption keys." The New Zealand Herald commentator John Armstrong wrote: "Hager's allegations are many and varied. They are extremely serious." Armstrong points to the allegation of the involvement of National Party personnel in hacking into the Labour Party database as the most serious, and draws parallels with
19479-455: The time, for those women who "transgressed the gender expectations of Edwardian society ". Scott commissioned J. M. Synge and his friend Jack Yeats to produce articles and drawings documenting the social conditions of the west of Ireland; these pieces were published in 1911 in the collection Travels in Wicklow, West Kerry and Connemara . Scott's friendship with Chaim Weizmann played
19630-527: The time." Hager alleges that material from the website breach was selectively released by Slater, starting from 12 June. In response to being accused of illegally accessing the Labour website, Slater published a blog post titled "My confession: How I accessed the Labour Party web site". In the post, he shows how he claims to have accessed information on four Labour party websites, and denies allegations of "hacking". Using easily accessible links, he could view all
19781-553: The title editor-at-large. In October 2009, the company abandoned the Guardian America homepage, instead directing users to a US news index page on the main Guardian website. The following month, the company laid off six American employees, including a reporter, a multimedia producer and four web editors. The move came as Guardian News and Media opted to reconsider its US strategy amid a huge effort to cut costs across
19932-477: The tribunal and its findings, arguing that "Widgery's report is not one-sided". In response to the introduction of internment without trial in Northern Ireland, The Guardian argued that "Internment without trial is hateful, repressive and undemocratic. In the existing Irish situation, most regrettably, it is also inevitable... To remove the ringleaders, in the hope that the atmosphere might calm down,
20083-489: The workings of the agency in minute detail: the intelligence targets, equipment, operating procedures, security systems and training, as well as the staff and layout of the intelligence agency's facilities. The book makes special mention of GCSB's facilities at Waihopai and Tangimoana . It revealed aspects of New Zealand's participation in the UKUSA Agreement facilitating intelligence gathering and sharing between
20234-474: The worst portion of the mill-owners". The Manchester Guardian was generally hostile to labour's claims. Of the 1832 Ten Hours Bill, the paper doubted whether in view of the foreign competition "the passing of a law positively enacting a gradual destruction of the cotton manufacture in this kingdom would be a much less rational procedure." The Manchester Guardian dismissed strikes as the work of outside agitators, stating that "if an accommodation can be effected,
20385-636: Was able to confirm the use of Mr Bryant's ministerial computer and subsequently revealed that hundreds of messages were sent from ministerial or government computers to the comments section of Slater's blog. The messages are linked to email addresses on government servers and IP addresses from which they were posted. Dirty Politics also refers to hacked emails which suggest Slater allowed his website to be used for commercial "hit" jobs supplied by PR consultant, Carrick Graham, whose clients include tobacco and alcohol companies. For instance, Slater has frequently used his WhaleOil blog to attack Professor Doug Sellman,
20536-423: Was akin to entering someone's private property and taking their private papers. He wrote: "There is no doubt at all that (Slater) has a serious argument that the unknown hacker has committed a wrong or tort against him, to which the common law will grant such remedies as can be practicably imposed." On 4 September, the original @WhaleDump account was suspended by Twitter. Soon afterwards, the hacker Rawshark reopened
20687-494: Was appointed as a member of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security 's Reference Group , an advisory group of journalists, lawyers, academics, and advocates that would scrutinise the legality of the actions of New Zealand's intelligence agencies, the NZSIS and GCSB. Hager's appointment was criticised by the National Party's GCSB and NZSIS spokesperson Gerry Brownlee , who pointed to his previous criticism of
20838-637: Was appointed as the newspaper's first news editor there, becoming the first woman to hold such a position on a British national newspaper. During the early period of the Troubles , The Guardian supported British state intervention to quell disturbances between Irish Catholics and Ulster loyalists in Northern Ireland . After the Battle of the Bogside between Catholic residents of Derry and
20989-502: Was converted into a limited company in 2008, with a constitution written so as to maintain for The Guardian the same protections as were built into the structure of the Scott Trust by its creators. Profits are reinvested in its journalism rather than distributed to owners or shareholders . It is considered a newspaper of record in the UK. The editor-in-chief Katharine Viner succeeded Alan Rusbridger in 2015. Since 2018,
21140-428: Was damaging the National Party in any way. A week later right wing blogger, Cathy Odgers, apparently sent the damning email to John Key's office in which Slater said Collins was 'gunning' for Adam Feely. Fairfax Media journalist Matt Nippert, who was investigating the hacked emails, believes that Odgers thought Nippert was about to exposé the connection between Slater, Collins and Feely. He says Odgers panicked and "alerted
21291-604: Was for speaking at conferences not for writing blog articles. However, in 2012, the National Government appointed Rich to the board of the Health Promotional Agency, which runs campaigns to promote healthier lifestyles. In this capacity, Katherine Rich's primary role is to promote public health, suggesting her involvement with the Food and Grocery Council means she has a conflict of interest. Once
21442-548: Was founded in Manchester in 1821 by cotton merchant John Edward Taylor with backing from the Little Circle , a group of non-conformist businessmen. They launched the paper, on 5 May 1821 (by chance the very day of Napoleon's death) after the police closure of the more radical Manchester Observer , a paper that had championed the cause of the Peterloo Massacre protesters. Taylor had been hostile to
21593-463: Was friends with the prisoner's ex-wife, who wanted the man moved further away from their daughter who had been visiting him in prison. The more serious allegations in Dirty Politics are described below. Radio New Zealand political editor Brent Edwards says that while the book is not always definitive, it includes enough evidence to suggest National has orchestrated a campaign of political vilification using bloggers, Cameron Slater in particular, to do
21744-436: Was illegal under New Zealand law . The book traces the stages of industry lobbying and government decision making leading up to a decision to regard the incident as insignificant and keep it secret from the public. The book was released in July 2002, just as a snap election was called, and helped make genetically modified organisms a major election issue. At a media conference of government officials convened immediately after
21895-444: Was in the public interest. He was careful to avoid releasing sensitive material about Slater and others mentioned in the hacked emails which did not involve a significant public interest. The production, printing, and distribution of the book was done in secret by Craig Potton Publishing . Co-owner of the publishing company, Robbie Burton, said: "It was one of the great and surreal and scary moments of my publishing career." Burton said
22046-479: Was one of the earliest to write about the secretive ECHELON worldwide electronic spy network. As a result of his book, in 2001 he testified before the European Parliament on his research into the network. The book contained two forewords, one written by former New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange and one by Jeffrey T. Richelson , a leading author on U.S. intelligence agencies and the author of
22197-480: Was provided to him in March 2014 as soon as he could. Rather than being timed for maximum political damage, Hager says "it was actually just the practicalities of how fast I could get it out." Mr Key went on to say the book "makes all sorts of unfounded allegations and voters will see it for what it is." He also accused Nicky Hager of joining "a whole lot of dots that can't be connected." Key said: "[Hager] didn't do what
22348-736: Was recognised internationally, with investigative journalist Seymour Hersh stating in a review, "Nicky Hager has more knowledge and understanding of the American intelligence world in Afghanistan – both its good and its very bad points – than any reporter I know." Other People’s Wars was also adapted into a play by Dean Parker in 2012. In late November 2022, the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) apologised to Hager and paid NZ$ 66,400 in compensation and legal fees after it illegally accessed his phone records in 2012. The spy agency believed that
22499-402: Was resigned out of a job rather than facing up to the issues ... I think there's a connection between being caught out so comprehensively and his sudden departure. Nicky Hager Nicolas Alfred Hager ONZM (born 1958) is a New Zealand investigative journalist . He has produced seven books since 1996, covering topics such as intelligence networks, environmental issues and politics. He
22650-562: Was responsible for leaking details of Mr English's accommodation payments to Labour in 2009. Slater then published a series of blog attacks on Pleasants – who subsequently received a torrent of abuse including death threats. Pleasants denies ever leaking any information about English. Nick Bryant, Gerry Brownlee 's press secretary is identified in Dirty Politics as the user of the pseudonym "Former Hack" to post anonymous comments on Whaleoil encouraging Cameron Slater's campaign against Pleasants. On 23 August, The New Zealand Herald reported it
22801-593: Was the editor of The Guardian at the time, but he went on to argue that the paper had no choice because it "believed in the rule of law". In a 2019 article discussing Julian Assange and the protection of sources by journalists, John Pilger criticised the editor of The Guardian for betraying Tisdall by choosing not to go to prison "on a fundamental principle of protecting a source". In 1994, KGB defector Oleg Gordievsky identified Guardian literary editor Richard Gott as "an agent of influence". While Gott denied that he received cash, he admitted he had had lunch at
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