Investigative journalist awarded the ONZOM in the New Zealand King’s Birthday and Coronation Honours
Nicky Hager has been appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to investigative journalism.
Nicky Hager
In March 2017, the Wellington-based Hager and fellow journalist Jon Stephenson published Hit & Run: The New Zealand SAS in Afghanistan and the meaning of honour.
It investigated a retaliatory military raid on two Afghan villages, Naik and Khak Khuday Dad, in Afghanistan’s Tirgiran Valley in August 2010. The NZSAS soldiers had attacked a village while pursuing Taliban fighters following the death of a New Zealand soldier in a roadside bomb. According to Hager and Stephenson, none of the fighters were found but 15 civilians were wounded and six killed. The authors asserted that the NZSAS actions could be considered war crimes and alleged a cover up by the New Zealand Defence Force.
Nicky Hager has published six books.
