A public law professor said the fallout from Nicky Hager's book Dirty Politics will go on long after the General Election is decided next month.
Author Nicky Hager. Photo: RNZ / Diego Opatowski
Dirty Politics was released a week and a half ago. It is largely based on hacked emails which seem to show senior National Party members and staff were involved in feeding damaging information to well known bloggers.
Professor Andrew Geddis from Otago University said one of the main concerns of the book is how a new style of politics is being developed that aims to kill off opponents and their ideas.
He told Radio New Zealand there is a danger that other parties will start to use the same tactics and standards will plummet.
"This is the risk. If the right - who are predominantly using this tactic at the moment, because they have the sites to do it - if they can do it, well then the left will be stupid not to.
"And then you know, you're in a race to the bottom."
Professor Geddis said after the election, the focus needs to shift from nitpicking about who sent what to whom, to creating a cleaner vision of politics in New Zealand that moves away from personal attacks.