Book raises serious questions for Key – Hager
Thousands of leaked emails have revealed the extent of the relationship between Right-wing blogger Cameron Slater and prominent National Party figures.
The latest Nicky Hager book, Dirty Politics, was released late yesterday having earlier been shrouded in secrecy, apparently to stop some of the people named in his book taking out an injunction to stop its publication.
Hager, whose book The Hollow Men exposed the inner workings of the National Party, said the book raised serious questions for Prime Minister John Key.
Key said through a spokeswoman last night the book was a ‘‘cynically timed attack’’ from ‘‘a well known left wing conspiracy theorist. ‘‘It makes all sorts of unfounded allegations and voters will see it for what it is.’’
A spokeswoman for Key said last night he would not be commenting till he read the book.
Hager said the emails were passed to him after Slater’s website was crashed in January following comments about a West Coast man who died in a car crash.
He said they showed long-term advisers in Key’s office were engaged in activity including ‘‘going inside the Labour Party’s computers’’, organising dirty tricks and feeding material to Slater and another Right-wing blogger, David Farrar, to use in personal attacks.
‘‘You will not believe what you read and how bloody awful it is.’’
However, most of the the emails seem to relate to exchanges between Slater and other bloggers and National Party activists, including Simon Lusk. The book includes claims that Slater’s blog is partly funded by big business, including tobacco industry.
One of the most explosive claims in the book refers to former ACT leader Rodney Hide being blackmailed into stepping down from the ACT leadership over sending ‘‘inappropriate text messages to a young woman’’. But there is no evidence linking the prime minister’s office or senior ministers to the action against Hide. It was mostly discussed between Slater and Lusk.
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