Hit & Run, by investigative journalists Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson, claims six Afghan civilians were killed and 15 injured by New Zealand Special Air Service (SAS) soldiers in 2010.. Report-of-the-Government-Inquiry-into-Operation-Burnham-print-version (Sir Terence Arnold KNZM QC, Chair, Sir Geoffrey Palmer KCMG AC QC PC, Member, July 31,2020 [pdf]); + Inquiry-into-events-in-Afghanistan . The SIS unlawfully targeted Nicky Hager on behalf of the NZDF. Nicky Hager welcomes the Op Burnham Inquiry report, the most serious findings against the NZSAS and NZDF in their history - This report was first published on TheDailyBlog.co.nz. When the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) went on the defensive over allegations raised by journalists Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson in their 2017 book Hit & Run, claims that the two journalists had the location of a SAS raid wrong were central. See Stuff Circuit's The Valley, for instance, or my brother Nicky Hager's book . According to Hager, the NZDF used "every trick they . 10:05 am on 15 October 2018. The key information in that release was a result of my Official Information Act request. The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) said for years reports of civilian casualties were baseless but on Friday Defence Force Chief Air Marshal Kevin Short said there had been "organisational and administrative failings". It reveals what they believe to be the truth behind the "tragic and disastrous . "The New Zealand Defence Force looks forward to supporting the Ombudsman in his investigation into any differences in information that was available . . New Zealand Defence Force in training session. Nicky Hager is an author and investigative journalist based in Wellington, New Zealand. Hager alleges NZDF withheld crucial information from the Ombudsman, whose Operation Burnham investigation into New Zealand-backed . He is one of two New Zealand members of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. whose book Hit & Run sparked an inquiry into New Zealand Defence Force actions in Afghanistan, will make two presentations at the second public phase of an inquiry into what . The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) said for years reports of civilian casualties were baseless but on Friday Defence Force Chief Air Marshal Kevin Short said there had been "organisational and . Hager alleges NZDF withheld crucial information from the Ombudsman, whose Operation Burnham investigation into New Zealand-backed . In Mr Hager's 12-page investigation, published in the North & South magazine today . The inquiry was purportedly called to investigate claims raised by journalists Jon Stephenson and Nicky Hager in their 2017 book Hit & Run. It . So not only was the location of the attack in their book wrong, but the two villages they pinpointed "100% certain" as Naik and Khak Khuday Dad in their book instead turn out to be Beidak and Khakandy villages and apparently the . The NZDF initially responded by seeking to tarnish the . New footage shows Operation Burnham was 'not what it was made out to be', says Nicky Hager 28/06/2019. Highly secret documentation which the NZ Defence Force says can't be released publicly in an inquiry into a NZSAS raid is available on a Nato website, says journalist Nicky Hager. . The reports . NICKY HAGER 28 FEBRUARY 2022. Kiwipolitico makes a good observation on Key's involvement in spying on Hager. On Feb. 11, 2021, the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) announced new rules on responding to civilian harm. And hopefully, as these processes are supposed to do, this will help the good people in NZDF to be listened to in future, and make it harder for the less good people to do the same again. (file photo) Photo: NZDF. Nicky Hager's house, which he built entirely with his own hands for less than $10,000 more than 30 years ago, is approximately a three-minute slippery, occasionally near-vertical, walk up a wind . 2010, resulted in civilian casualties, according to the book "Hit & Run" by Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson. * Hager raid creates more headaches for police * Nicky Hager gets payout and costs from Westpac. NZDF helicopters flying above a neighbouring Pacific island nation, are often providing aid, emergency relief, and military training and support. T wo weeks ago . The official response to the book was that it was a "work of fiction". Journalist Nicky Hager has launched a scathing attack on the Defence Force during a presentation to the Operation Burnham Inquiry in Wellington today. Nicky Hager is a national treasure. He has produced seven books since 1996, covering topics such as intelligence networks, environmental issues and politics. . History will judge him well. Ref. New Zealand Defence Force - Media Release - 20 April 2011. Felix Geiringer, a barrister acting for Mr Hager, said that the SIS had used . New Zealand's Defence Minister, Peeni Henare, has not yet responded to RNZ's requests for comment. By Ian Wishart. Documents held by the NZDF will be held here, and the intelligence officers and SAS soldiers you would . The current inquiry into allegations of Australian Special Air Service war crimes in Afghanistan highlights the far from admirable culture in our own defence force, writes Nicky Hager. However, behind closed doors the New Zealand Defence Force concluded that the leaked material on which the book was based was genuine and started investigating connections between Mr Hager and a possible source. Thanks to a report from the Acting Inspector General of Intelligence and Security following a complaint by Nicky Hager, we have come to find out that the SIS illegally spied on Mr. Hager on behalf of the NZDF after publication of Hager's 2011 book, Other People's Wars. . Nicky Hager is an author and investigative journalist based in Wellington, New Zealand. . NZDF STATEMENT ON HAGER/STEPHENSON BOOK. NZDF and SIS were unable to discover any of Mr Hager's sources and eventually gave up. The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) said for years reports of civilian casualties were baseless but on Friday Defence Force Chief Air Marshal Kevin Short said there had been "organisational and . The New Zealand Defence Force has admitted that the photographs of an Afghan village shown in the book Hit and Run - the site where six civilians were killed and 15 civilians seriously injured during an NZSAS raid - are indeed the same place where the SAS conducted a raid that night. Skip to . But the inquiry, which investigated allegations about the Special Air Service (SAS) made by journalists Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson , found that while the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF . Claim from NZDF there were no civilian casualties at odds with Minister's comment in 2014. . Mr Hager says this gives the public a picture of the way NZDF has fought . Journalists Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson successfully called for a public inquiry in the book Hit & Run which alleged the death of civilians after a "revenge" raid by the NZSAS that NZDF then . OPINION. New footage released by the US military shows the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) were . Stephenson have released a book (Hit & Run: The New Zealand SAS in Afghanistan and the meaning of honour). The investigation follows a complaint by journalist Nicky Hager, who alleges the NZDF withheld crucial information from the Ombudsman during an inquiry into civilian deaths in Afghanistan. Hager responds. He has written six best-selling books. The inquiry was purportedly called to investigate claims raised by journalists Jon Stephenson and Nicky Hager in their 2017 book Hit & Run. Felix Geiringer, a barrister acting for Mr Hager, said that the SIS had used . The deaths and injuries that occurred on Operation Burnham were covered up by the military, the book claimed. Opinion. . Thanks to a report from the Acting Inspector General of Intelligence and Security following a complaint by Nicky Hager, we have come to find out that the SIS illegally spied on Mr. Hager on behalf of the NZDF after publication of Hager's 2011 book, Other People's Wars.The NZDF justified its request by arguing that it was investigating potential espionage, although it turns out that it was . The Defence Force says no New Zealand personnel are of interest in a military inquiry that has rocked Australia with its finding that 39 Afghan civilians were killed by Australian troops. NZDF lobbied the Inquiry recently with an "expert opinion" trying to disprove that the funeral video showed the wrapped corpse of a child (9/167). Attorney-General David Parker said yesterday the public needed to have confidence in the New . After 20 largely wasted years in Afghanistan, New Zealand needs to understand its failures so it can endeavour never to make the same mistakes again, writes Nicky Hager. But it's not infallible and even its best troops can make mistakes or get carried away. Nicky Hager is an author of seven books and works as an investigative journalist in Wellington, New Zealand (www.nickyhager.info) It was not NZDF who got the names wrong, it was Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson, investigative journalists. Opinion. "The NZDF has maintained all along that Hager and Stephenson . Nicky Hager welcomes the Op Burnham Inquiry report, the most serious criticism of the NZSAS and NZDF in their history. The investigation was confirmed by Boshier, a government-appointed watchdog, in a letter to journalist Nicky Hager, co-author of the 2017 book Hit & Run which helped spark a Government inquiry . Written By: notices and features - Date published: 5:05 am, March 14th, 2018 - 24 comments "I believe that the impulse to hide the NZDF's mistakes led the Chief of Defence Force knowingly to mislead the media and the public." 12th November, 2021 1958. The mainstream media's self censoring compliance with the NZ military and their outright willingness to don a flak jacket and helmet and play the intrepid journalist shtick is actually part of the problem. . Hit and Run author Nicky Hager has launched a stinging attack on the Defence Force for a "petty . The 13 February 2018 NZDF OIA response admitted that five New Zealand military intelligence reports written after the SAS raid "mention the death of a child" and also . The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) had asked the SIS to assist in an investigation after Hager . The investigation follows a complaint by journalist Nicky Hager. Nicky Hager accuses Defence Force of lying at Operation Burnham inquiry 23/05/2019. When the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) went on the defensive over allegations raised by journalists Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson in their 2017 book Hit & Run, claims that the two journalists had the location of a SAS raid wrong were central. relating to the allegations of civilian casualties during the 2010 SAS raid was released at lunchtime today by author Nicky Hager in a media briefing . The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) had asked the SIS to assist in an investigation after Hager . The SIS unlawfully targeted Nicky Hager on behalf of the NZDF Oct 10, 2019 The Acting Inspector General of Intelligence and Security has upheld a complaint by investigative journalist Nicky Hager against the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service for unlawfully attempting to uncover his journalistic sources.The complaint related to events. NZDF later admitted, however, civilians may have been killed by shots from a US Apache helicopter which fell short and hit a building. The searches proved fruitless. The book details a 2010 raid in Afghanistan, carried out New Zealand SAS troop, with assistance from US air power. 12th November, 2021 The New . Published in Green Left Weekly Hit and Run: The New Zealand SAS in Afghanistan and the Meaning of Honour By Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson Potton and Burton, 2017, 159 pages REVIEW BY ALEX MILLER In this well-written and powerful book, Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson present a barrage of evidence that "New Zealanders and their United States allies were involved in war crimes" in . War is messy and . The four-and-a-half year investigation has recommended the police treat the killings as murder. He has produced six books since 1996, covering topics such as intelligence networks, environmental issues and politics. Nicky Hager's Other People's Wars : . New Secret Power 10-1 . . Operation Burnham was a joint military operation undertaken by the New Zealand Special Air Service and elements of the Afghan Crisis Response Unit and International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan's Tirgiran Valley on 21-22 October 2010. In 2017, investigative journalists Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson published a book entitled Hit and Run: The New Zealand SAS in Afghanistan and the Meaning of Honour, which alleged that NZDF committed war crimes during an attack known . Journalist Nicky Hager sparked the inquiry after pointing to apparent inconsistencies between what the Office of the Ombudsman was told when it reviewed complaints NZDF had not released . Nicky Hager (born 1958) is a New Zealand investigative journalist. The investigation follows a complaint by journalist Nicky Hager. The central premise of Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson's book, Hit and Run, is incorrect, says the Chief of Defence Force, Lieutenant General Tim Keating. Nicky Hager: Defence admits raid was located in same area as described in Hit and Run. The . the capacity of New Zealand Defence Force troops to fit into the military structures of British, Canadian and Australian forces, . Operation Burnham became the subject of the investigative journalists Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson's book Hit & Run: The New Zealand SAS in . And thousands of us do already! UPDATED 9.57AM Nicky Hager says something was seriously wrong with the SAS when they conducted a raid resulting in civilian deaths. The NZDF deservedly enjoys a shining reputation overseas and has a proud fighting record. News broke on Tuesday that the New Zealand Defence Force had released documents that corroborated important parts of Jon Stephenson's and Nicky Hager's book, Hit & Run, and fatally undermined their central, crucial critique of the book. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION. These humanitarian and support operations sometimes also include undeclared intelligence collecting against the Pacific nation hosts. But the worst of it is that they decorated a war criminal: Investigative writer Nicky Hager says sources from the Defence Force have exposed a culture of bullying, sexual violence, drinking and cover . Six years later, to the day of that press release, investigative reporter Nicky Hager and Jon . It reported that in 2004 an SAS medic joined a raid on an Afghan village . Nicky Hager welcomes the Op Burnham Inquiry report, the most serious criticism of the NZSAS and NZDF in their history Author Nicky Hager Posted on 31 July 2020 19 October 2020 Categories Afghanistan , Books , Freedom of information , Major investigations , Military , Politics , War on Terror . The New Zealand Defence Force Chief Lieutenant-General Tim Keating challenged the book's accuracy and denied that NZ forces had operated in the Naik and . Investigative writer Nicky Hager says sources from the Defence Force have exposed a culture of bullying, sexual violence, drinking and cover-ups in the military. The New Zealand Defence Force appears to have destroyed the journalistic reputations of Hit and Run authors Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson at a news conference today, confirming that the fatalities named in the book "never" had anything to do with an NZSAS operation and occurred at villages the SAS had "never" been sent to. NZDF troops never operated in the two villages identified in the book as having been the scene of combat operations and civilian casualties. All the condescending, secretive, bullying types at NZDF, NZSIS, GCSB and all those NZ Police Special Units-charged with defending democracy!-that have been pursuing Nicky for their political masters, should hang their heads and go find a proper . Hager has excellent contacts in the NZDF, as well as strong relationships with investigative journalists abroad and organisations like WikiLeaks. RNZ. NZDF and SIS were unable to discover any of Mr Hager's sources and eventually gave up. The investigation follows a complaint by journalist Nicky Hager, who alleges the NZDF withheld crucial information from the Ombudsman during an inquiry into civilian deaths in Afghanistan. The full Report into a complaint by Nicky Hager against the NZSIS. See NZDF admits Hit & Run had photos of village attacked by SAS. Nicky Hager (born 1958) is a New Zealand investigative journalist. Grace Cocker . New footage shows Operation Burnham was 'not what it was made out to be', says Nicky Hager 28/06/2019. The 10-page article by journalist Nicky Hager was based on accounts by unnamed members and ex-members of the SAS and NZDF. The searches proved fruitless. . In March last year, Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson's book Hit and Run: The New Zealand SAS in Afghanistan and the meaning of honour, published details of a mission called Operation Burnham. (Photo: NZ Ministry of Defence) On Tuesday, Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson released Hit & Run: The New Zealand SAS in Afghanistan and the meaning of honour. For the reasons given I have found that NZSIS unlawfully provided investigative assistance to NZDF in efforts to determine whether a specific NZDF officer had been a source for information published in Mr Hager's book Other People's Wars. New footage released by the US military shows the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) were . He has written six best-selling books. What is especially important to note about this latest revelation (which was only conceded after several OIA requests) is how the military, when interviewed after this, made a point of using . I don't know whether this was part of planned PR of Nicky Hager or not, but Stuff has a National Portrait: Nicky Hager - investigative journalist.. His champions call him a defender of democracy and decency; his critics call him a politically-motivated smear merchant and master of PR, who stages book releases for maximum impact and trashes reputations to make money. NZDF's key evidence in Operation Burnham . Oct 10, 2019 | News & Media. * Hager raid creates more headaches for police * Nicky Hager gets payout and costs from Westpac. NZDF also failed to . An inquiry was launched in 2018 after the publication of the Hit and Run book by Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson, which said the operation resulted in civilian casualties. I don't know whether this was part of planned PR of Nicky Hager or not, but Stuff has a National Portrait: Nicky Hager - investigative journalist.. His champions call him a defender of democracy and decency; his critics call him a politically-motivated smear merchant and master of PR, who stages book releases for maximum impact and trashes reputations to make money. The NZDF initially responded by seeking to tarnish the . Opinion. NZDF taking a "petty" approach to the inquiry into book's allegations, author Nicky Hager says. . Nicky Hager's book, Hit & Run, exposes a potential cover-up of a war crime committed by the armed forces of New Zealand in Afghanistan. Nicky Hager's brilliant 'Other People's Wars' blew the lid right off how much manipulation has really happened. Authors Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson launch their book Hit & Run in Wellington on New Zealand's SAS . Hit and Run co-author Nicky Hager, who has been probing the defence force using the Official Information Act (OIA), says this is an important crack in the NZDF denials. The Acting Inspector General of Intelligence and Security has upheld a complaint by investigative journalist Nicky Hager against the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service for unlawfully attempting to uncover his journalistic sources.The complaint related to events. Nicky Hager has a new piece in North & South today, with new dirt on the defence force, including drunkenness in the field in Afghanistan, and a systematic failure to investigate a sexual assault. Hit and Run co-author Nicky Hager said the inquiry's report should "prompt a lot of soul searching inside the New Zealand Defence Force". Journalists Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson successfully called for a public inquiry in the book Hit & Run which alleged the death of civilians after a "revenge" raid by the NZSAS that NZDF then . The NZDF enlisted the SIS to assist them with its . Highly secret documentation which the NZ Defence Force says can't be released publicly in an inquiry into a NZSAS raid is available on a Nato website, says journalist Nicky Hager. Hit and Run co-author Nicky Hager said the Chief of .