Author of ‘Dirty Politics’ Nicky Hager addresses a full-to-overflowing Mt Eden War Memorial Hall 27/8/14.
(click to enlarge) Pic: Peter Aranyi
Nicky Hager was in Auckland last night, at a public meeting called to give people the opportunity to hear from — and question — the author of Dirty Poltiics, a book the author said is about ethics.
Quite a good turnout (about 350-400) but I was surprised at the absence of MPs (did anyone notice a single MP?) in contrast to the anti-GCSB Bill public meeting last year.
I understand video coverage of the meeting was live-streamed, so eventually there’ll be an archived video of it online. Let me know if you spot it and I’ll link to it here. (UPDATE: see below) I took some notes which I’ll add to this post later.
Sir Ted Thomas was excellent and spoke very warmly about Nicky Hager, then offered his analysis (as a retired judge) of the ‘public interest’ justifications for the invasions of privacy which reporting the content gained from the leaked emails, messages etc entailed.
Nicky Hager explained the considerations he took to remove private, non-relevent items from the material, and how he weighed those issues. He described leaking as a ‘safety valve’.
Hager’s talk was earnest and very reasonable in tone, i.e. not rabble-rousing. Just as he does in his book, he encouraged his audience to participate in politics — which he said is NOT the same as dirty politics
Participate in politics. Otherwise we leave the field to the nastiest and most unscrupulous.
Politics is the sum of the actions of everyone involved.
Help build up the news media. Those of you who are bloggers, don’t imitate the attack blogs.
Understand the politics we’re fighting and participate — participation is the antidote.
More to come.
UPDATE: Here you go … via Vincent Eastwood
Here’s a shorter (15 min) clip of Nicky Hager’s speech …
[…] Nicky Hager’s public meeting in Auckland last night – The Paepae […]
I listened to the long version of Mr Hager’s speech, and I expected to disagree with every second of it, but I actually found it to be eminently sensible, reasonable and balanced on this occasion.
I suppose that his subject matter (essentially that personal meanness in politics is unnecessary and unwanted) is difficult to dispute. Of course, politics has at times been dirty since the birth of democracy in Athens, but perhaps social media is making politics even dirtier? I don’t know, but anyway dirty politics is not good. It would be better if the debates were about public policy rather than personal issues.
In the end, I could only take issue with one thing he said, and this did not concern the substance of his speech at all.
Mr Hager refers constantly to National as being “right wing”.
In my mind, this has been a centre-left government, although I suppose Mr Key tries to occupy the centre ground.
Perhaps National is “right wing” compared to Labour, and obviously everyone is right-wing compared to Mr Hager, but I don’t think that describing National as “right wing” is a correct characterisation.
Rgds,
*p*
Hi poormastery,
Yes, I know what you mean about the ‘right wing’ label thing. If you recall, Mr Key (and before him Mr Brash) put a lot of effort into reducing the ‘perceived difference’ between National and Helen Clark’s Labour.
In Hager’s book ‘The Hollow Men’ he details the ‘inoculation’ programme overseen by Brash’s spin doctors including Richard Long to conceal the real policy differences (nuclear ban gone by lunchtime etc) while simultaneously sending dog-whistle signals to NZ’s pale version of a redneck rural rump.
Mr Key took even more steps to camouflage National as ‘Labour Lite’.
But look at some indicative policies: asset sales, tax cuts, ACC down-sizing, charter schools, labour ‘reform’ … and there’s enough polarisation to set them apart from ‘left’ policies even without the proposed Capital Gains Tax and rises to the minimum wage and scotching of the 90 days fire-at-will rules.
As for Nicky Hager, yes, I am enormously impressed with him. What a gutsy and self-effacing man he is. Also, it must be said, an elegant writer.
As you say: “eminently sensible, reasonable and balanced”.
Welcome back to NZ. Are you up my way by any chance? If so, drinks?
– P
Hi Peter,
Actually, I think that the substance of John Key’s government is almost identical in policy terms to Helen Clark’s government before it, notwithstanding the tiny asset sales or miniscule tax cuts.
This determined centre occupation by Mr Key is probably forcing Labour to the left, hence the CGT proposals et al.
By the way, I found this article interesting:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/10450654/Why-did-Rogernomics-work-in-Poland
It suggests that supporting the export sector, better trained staff and longer term investment were Polish policies that NZ could adopt to improve the economy.
I’m unfortunately not in you neck of the woods in this trip, but I will be in December / January. I will drop you a note nearer the time I’m in Auckland. Hope all is well with you.
Rgds,
*p*
I think we’ve agreed before that imported political labels can be dumb. See: http://www.thepaepae.com/left-and-right-useful-when-doing-the-hokey-cokey-but-passed-its-use-by-date-for-politics/23183/
Sweet of you to minimise the tax cuts & asset sales. Mr Key’s dismissal of the $10m referendum on asset sales which overwhelmingly rejected his government’s policy was, I think, not his finest hour.
I like to think (but it may be romantic of me) that Helen Clark wouldn’t be quite such the eager puppy Mr Key has been with respect to the USA on intelligence/surveillance matters & the secret negotiations around the proposed TPP free trade deal. Maybe she would have been.
There’s little doubt the ‘posture’ towards trade unions and corporates (like SkyCity) is a distinction … But less so than the rhetoric from some implies.
Overall, I think Hager’s use of ‘right wing’ is more to do with identification than policy.
-P