The Hollow Men (book)

Infobox Book
name = The Hollow Men: A Study in the Politics of Deception
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Nicky Hager
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country =
language = English
series =
subject =
genre = Politics
publisher = Craig Potton Publishing
pub_date = 2006
english_pub_date =
media_type =
pages = 351pp (paperback)
isbn = ISBN 1-877333-62-X
oclc =
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"The Hollow Men" is a 2006 book written by Nicky Hager that has been adapted into a stage play and filmed as a documentary.

The book is based on a wide range of internal party documents including emails which Hagar stated were leaked to him by six National Party insiders.

The documents and emails were written by the party leader, Don Brash, and a wide range of people associated with him. The book was initially prevented from being published when Brash obtained an injunction preventing anyone from publishing material from emails that he had written. At the time Brash was unaware that Hager had completed the book and was about to launch it. [ " [http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3868206a6160,00.html Hager revealed as author of Brash emails book] ." Sunday Star-Times. 21 November 2006 ] Brash claims that the emails were stolen. [cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10412115|title=Hager Book: Brash assisted to power by business lobby|publisher=New Zealand Herald|accessdate=2008-09-17]

However, on 23 November 2006, Brash announced his resignation from the leadership of the National Party. The following day he had the injunction lifted, allowing the book to be released. Political scientist Raymond Miller wrote that "Had he not resigned, he would not have survived the fallout from this book's release." [Raymond Miller, "Brash would not have survived Hager's revelations", "Sunday Star-Times", 26 November 2006.]

The book describes Brash's rise to power in the New Zealand National Party as being assisted by an "informal network of people from the right of New Zealand politics", including a number of ACT members, and alleges the funding of the National Party in the 2005 election was mainly from prominent New Zealand Businessmen through blind trusts. It also documents that senior National Party figures, including Brash, knew of the Exclusive Brethren's pamphlet campaigns in May 2005, although Brash denied any knowledge of this until August. [ [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10412115 Hager Book: What's in the leaked Brash emails] ] [ [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10412282 Hager Book: Brash knew of Brethren campaign] ] The book showed that even Brash's August 2005 admissions were inaccurate, making his resignation inevitable. [ [http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0611/S00418.htm#3 The Smoking Gun] ", "Scoop", 24 November 2006. (This page has a copy of a May 2005 email from Ron Hickmott, who co-ordinated the Exclusive Brethren campaign, addressed to Brash and John Key).]

The heart of the book is its descriptions of the National Party strategy discussions and the techniques the party advisers used to try to win the 2005 national elections. The thinking behind major speeches, media management, election advertising and election messages is shown in the participants' own words. Many of the party's previously anonymous major donors are identified and relations with them are documented.

Brash responded to the book saying is was a "shoddy work of fiction" and a "tissue of lies". In particular, he denied receiving a crucial e-mail on May 25, 2005 that spelt out Exclusive Brethren election plans and their co-operation with the National Party. He said: "I have no record of receiving that email. It is either total fiction or it was sent to one of the three other email addresses which I don't personally receive." [ "Brash: book tissue of lies", Vernon Small, "Dominion Post", 27 November 2006. ] Brash stated that as he wasn't aware of the email he had not "knowingly mislead" the public on the matter. [ Alastair Thompson, " [http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0611/S00430.htm Brash Responds – I Didn't Read The Email Either!] ", "Scoop", 27 November 2006. ] However, Hager's book also detailed that, on the same day as the Exclusive Brethren's letter was sent, Brash had sent another email in which he discussed the possibility of other groups funding "parallel campaigns" that would benefit the National Party. Brash wrote: "I guess the stuff which the Brethren is doing is one example". [ Nicky Hager, "The Hollow Men", Craig Potton Publishing, 2006, p. 26. This email is cited in Alastair Thompson, " [http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0611/S00430.htm Brash Responds – I Didn't Read The Email Either!] ", "Scoop", 27 November 2006. ]

Brash wrote a response to the book in December 2006 that claimed to show "dozens of factual errors, some of no great significance but others of much greater importance". In particular, Brash identified "the allegation that taxpayers' money was used to pay for a pamphlet promoting a fair tax regime for the racing industry; it was not." It was, Brash wrote, an example of an error caused by "having access to only part of an internal discussion." [ Don Brash, " [http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0612/S00108.htm Nicky Hager's book] ", "Scoop", 6 December 2006. ] In response Hager wrote that "out of a 350 page book, with nearly 1000 detailed references, Don Brash has found two minor inaccuracies. I am happy to take his word about both of them. But neither detracts from the book." [ Nicky Hager, " [http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0612/S00123.htm Reply to Don Brash] ", "Scoop", 7 December 2006. ] Brash's insistence that the pamphlet had not been paid for with taxpayers funds ignored that it had been prepared by Parliamentary staff, which is also a breach of the parliamentary rules.

Adaptations

Infobox Film
name = The Hollow Men


image_size = 250px
caption = John Key and Don Brash.
director = Alister Barry
producer =
writer = Nicky Hager
narrator = Nick Blake
starring =
music = David Long
cinematography =
editing = Abi King-Jones
distributor = Community Media Trust
released = July 2008
runtime =
country = New Zealand
language = English
budget =
gross =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website = http://www.thehollowmen.co.nz
amg_id =
imdb_id =

In 2007 it was adapted into a stage play by Dean Parker that was directed by Jonathon Hendry. [cite news
last = Centrepoint Theatre
first =
coauthors =
title = The Hollow Men
work =
pages =
publisher =
date = 2007-09-14
url = http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0709/S00199.htm
accessdate = 2007-09-23 ] It has also been filmed by Alister Barry as a feature length documentary that was shown to a sell-out audience at the Wellington Film Festival on 20 July 2008. [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = The Hollow Men: The inside story of a National Party election campaign
work =
publisher =
date =
url = http://www.thehollowmen.co.nz/
format = html
doi =
accessdate = 2008-07-05 ]

References

External links

* [http://www.thehollowmen.co.nz/ "The Hollow Men: The inside story of a National Party election campaign"] - film release information