Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: You can't read Nicky Hager's new book without being struck by bias

I can't decide whether Nicky Hager is naïve or sheltered. Surely it must have been obvious to him while writing this book that the very thing he's accusing Jordan Williams and the Taxpayers' Union of doing is exactly what he is doing himself: acting as a proxy to help political parties.

The entire book is built around his allegation that the Taxpayers' Union is a proxy organisation working to help political parties on the right. Yet that is precisely what he appears to be doing for political parties on the left.

He didn't release this book outside an election campaign because he wanted to remain neutral or help parties on the right, did he? He released it to help parties on the left.

You cannot read this book without being struck by his bias. He makes excuses for Tamatha Paul, the Green MP, saying people don't want to see more beat police because it makes them feel unsafe. Remember when she made those comments?

Hager argues there was nothing wrong with saying that. According to him, she was simply discussing a real problem. Apparently, it's not strange at all to make those comments about the police.

He also suggests it was understandable for Maiki Sherman to call Lloyd Burr the F-word homophobic slur because Lloyd, as I mentioned earlier, had admitted he was lusting after her boyfriend.

Hager says Sherman lost her job for objecting to someone making those comments about her partner. He also writes that she was suspended for pushing too hard to get an interview from someone else.

No, mate, that is not what happened.

She lost her job, first, for breaking Parliamentary rules by knocking on an MP's door for minutes on end in an area where she was not permitted to solicit interviews. Second, she lost her job for calling a gay man a word so offensive that I am not allowed to say it on air.

If that isn't giving some people a free pass because of personal bias, or because it fits the goodie-versus-baddie narrative in his head, then I don't know what is.

My favourite line comes in the second-to-last paragraph of the book. He says the Taxpayers' Union used its influence to move National to the hard right.

Is National on the hard right now?

Really?

This is the party that literally received praise from Marama Davidson of the Greens for threatening to break up a supermarket chain. It is not on the hard right by any stretch of the imagination. At least, I don't think so.

Anyway, maybe he's not naïve. Maybe he's not sheltered. Maybe Nicky Hager is just seeing ghosts.

Heather du Plessis-Allan is a journalist and radio broadcaster who hosts Newstalk ZB's weekday Drive-Time Show – where this article was sourced.