Luxon Dismisses Hager Book as Greens Boycott Taxpayers' Union

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says he does not care about Nicky Hager's new book Dirty Work. He told reporters "I do not care and New Zealanders do not care about this topic".

He was asked about comments in the book where he praised the Taxpayers' Union. He said he did not care about Hager and did not care about the Taxpayers' Union, according to RNZ reporting on 23 September 2026.

Dirty Work says the Taxpayers' Union — a lobby group that campaigns for lower taxes and less government spending — used anti-Māori racism as a political tool. It points especially to the group's Stop Three Waters campaign against Labour's water reforms. The book also says the group helped push the 2023 election campaign to the right.

Luxon said he did not have much to do with the Taxpayers' Union. "They're no fan of the National Party," he said.

Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour also dismissed Hager. He said Hager "does this every three years, and most of New Zealand wonders what the fuss is about".

The Greens have pulled out of all debates hosted by the Taxpayers' Union because of the book.

Dirty Work was published in September 2026. It is Hager's first book in nine years, according to the NZ Herald.

The broader context here is about how election campaigns now work. Third-party groups organise petitions, host debates and run their own advertising. Parties benefit from that work. They also step back from it when it becomes a problem. Who hosts a debate and who is invited changes the choices for other parties, for media partners and for voters watching.

Looking to the next cycle, two questions matter in Wellington. The first is whether other parties follow the Greens and avoid Taxpayers' Union platforms. The second is whether Luxon's line holds. "New Zealanders do not care" works only if questions in the Press Gallery — the reporters based at Parliament — stop. If the questions continue, the repeated denial becomes the story.