Some observers will be upset about this (cough) appointment.
And they’ll be upset that Stuff owner Sinead Boucher, suspected of being a right wing establishment stooge with respect to local body politics has come out of the closet and effectively declared her political colours. Oh well. Better out of the shadows than in them, I say.

Hooton, of course, was a National Party flack and speechwriter. I first encountered him when I was a political/press gallery reporter for Radio NZ and political columnist for the Federated Farmers’ magazine Straight Furrow. Hooton was Lockwood Smith’s press secretary at the time, and my criticism of Smith in the magazine caused some friction. Even then, his obvious National Party connections, pugnacious nature and ambition were perceptible. Also, he could write. Fair dues.

Later Nicky Hager’s book The Hollow Men published verbatim some of Hooton’s correspondence with others in the Don Brash faction — the explosive book revealed not only a terrible yawning lack of principles, but actual rank dishonesty and contempt for voters at the very highest levels of the National Party. Don Brash, whose family was associated with the Presbyterian Church in New Zealand was revealed as, well, no choir boy. Hooton and former NZ Herald editor Richard Long (cited here on the topic of ‘journalistic balance’) also working PR for National and Brash, came out looking … well, let’s just say very bad.

At the time Hooton was reported saying he’d reacted to reading Hager’s horrifically well-sourced revelations (quoting him) by lying on his couch in the foetal position.

Still, he recovered, and energetically. Hooton has featured here in the ‘pages’ of The Paepae occasionally over the years — usually for his feckless flouting of any semblance of impartiality or balance as a political commentator. Often he was, in effect, allowed to use media ‘commentary’ platforms as a biased political activist or (he hated being accused of this) someone whose conflicts of interest were insufficiently declared. Poke around in the archives by clicking Matthew Hooton, Dirty Politics, Dirty PR tags and you’ll see what I mean. (Yes, he reeks.)

Indeed, Hooton’s demonstrated track record of histrionics and unfairness has seen him repeatedly forced to issue carefully-worded but grovelling apologies after the fact. Most recently (as at this writing, anyway) for a wild but clearly heartfelt extended diatribe on Martyn Bradbury’s web TV show against (guess who?) Don Brash whom he portrayed as a cynical, two-faced, dishonest racist rabble-rouser, bomb-thrower and general scumbag (“a fundamentally bad person”).

There’s quite a good summary of Hooton’s characterisation of Don Brash to be read in paragraph 43 of the court judgment which (sadly) ruled against Hooton’s attempt to get Brash’s defamation case thrown out before trial. See Brash-v-Hooton-2025-NZHC-1530 (archived below). Hilariously, both parties to the dispute possess PhDs, so it reads ‘Dr Brash vs Dr Hooton’ throughout.

Anyway, what do we make of this partisan political operative and [allegedly] venal spin doctor with not a skerrick of journalistic qualification nor experience being made ‘editor’ of The Post newspaper, and The Sunday Times? Hmmm.

A case of ‘Not what you know, but who you know’?
I mean, apparently he was Sinead Boucher’s dream hire:

“I thought, ‘If I could have anybody I wanted for that role, who would I like to see? What kind of person would I like to see leading it?’. Then I wondered if Matthew Hooton would be interested so a mutual friend dropped him a line, asked whether he would be, and he was,” Boucher explains.

Stuff’s Sinead Boucher dreams big!

Hey, not my circus, not my monkeys
I stopped my monthly support for Stuff.co.nz when it became clear the Wellington newsroom’s negative fixation/protracted campaign of personal attacks on mayor Tory Whanau was malicious, misogynistic, probably racist but definitely politically-motivated. Now it seems it probably reflected the owner Boucher’s views and politics? Too bad.

Hooton’s opinion columns (cough) have gotten such a variety of publications into trouble — NZ Herald, NBR, Radio NZ, poor Martyn Bradbury. Threats of lawsuits, actual lawsuits, and apologies litter the landscape.
Perhaps it won’t end in tears. Anyway, I’m sure Hooton can make it work longer than that other dishonest imposter, Dirty PR gang member and avowed “not-a-journalist” Cameron Slater’s editorship of the Truth newspaper. What? Eight months? Surely.


– P

Facts are stated to the best of my knowledge and commentary is my honest opinion. Corrections or clarifications are always welcome by email. Comments are open, but may be moderated.
– Best wishes, Peter Aranyi

Archive copy (PDF) of Brash-v-Hooton-2025-NZHC-1530 here

Archive copy PDF of Stuff announcement of Hooton’s appointment