Matthew Hooton, former National and ACT advisor, appointed editor of Wellington newspaper The Post

Matthew Hooton.

Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly

Former adviser to National and ACT Matthew Hooton - who has not worked as a journalist - has been appointed editor of Wellington newspaper The Post.

The newspaper's politics, business and economics editor Luke Malpass will also move into a supporting role as associate editor.

The move was revealed by the publication and co-owned national news website Stuff on Monday morning.

Hooton was a press secretary in the Bolger government and a strategist for National under Don Brash - returning briefly when Todd Muller took over from Simon Bridges but resigning after Judith Collins became leader - has also advised for the ACT Party and Auckland mayor Wayne Brown.

As well as being a Wellington corporate and political lobbyist, he has been a notable political commentator including writing a blog and more recently a regular column for the NZ Herald, and despite his clear political alignment to the right of politics has been a frequent critic of National's current leader, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.

Hooton told Stuff reporter Lloyd Burr he was planning to put his connections to use.

"I'd hope that the powerful institutions of New Zealand - whether that's the government, the opposition, union bosses, business leaders, sports administrators, or arts administrators - are a little unsettled by the appointment," he told Stuff.

"Knowing how institutions like that tend to work, I think that's of enormous value to The Post and its team. Without betraying any long-term commercial secrets, I hope to add some value by saying, 'On this story, why not go a little more in this direction', because I suspect that's where the real story will be hiding."

Stuff owner Sinead Boucher told Burr that Hooton was approached just a month ago with the help of a mutual friend, and played down the potential that his connections could raise conflict of interest concerns, saying the "proof will be in the pudding".

"He really understands what the role of an editor is, as very different from the role of being a columnist. We have a really strong code of ethics and conduct that's core to everything we do and Matthew absolutely understands that and is committed to it," she said.

Hooton himself said he did not have plans for radical changes, saying it was not a "turnaround or fix it job" but an "acceleration job" and while the paper would not take a position on some things "we'll have broader, more rigorous, and challenging content".

Boucher rejected RNZ's requests for comment, with Stuff saying the organisation would "wait for Matthew to get into the chair before scheduling interviews".

Surprising but may be 'a bit of new life' - commentator

Media commentator and former editor of the NZ Herald Gavin Ellis told RNZ he was surprised by the appointment, but "he may be what The Post and what New Zealand journalism needs - a bit of new life, a bit of different thinking brought into it".

"If you lined up the people who could be considered as potential candidates for the role, if it was advertised, I wouldn't have seen Matthew's name on it, but having said that he's a man whose intellect I have great respect for."

However, Hooton would need to exercise "enormous care" due to his previous connections.

"His columns have been over quite a period of time moving away from the National Party, and have indeed been quite critical of this government - but that said, he has the stamp of the right on him and he is going to have to work hard to ensure that that does not translate into a paper that reflects only one side of the spectrum.

"I do hope that he understands the difference between reportage and commentary. I think that it would be a sad day if The Post became a paper full of commentary at the expense of news."

"I think that he has the ability to keep himself in check. There may be lapses, and he's going to have to wear those and be very careful that he doesn't make very many of them - but it's something that we shouldn't look on negatively. I think it's an opportunity to bring something different to journalism in this country."

He said Hooton's lack of journalistic experience would mean facing a "very steep learning curve in the production side", which would be important for major stories like the Christchurch mosque attacks.

"Ensuring there are the resources, ensuring that people meet their deadlines, and knowing the way the system operates is essential to making fast decisions. So he's going to have to learn that very quickly.

"He's not just working in print, he's also working in a digital environment and because of Stuff's contract with Three he's also working in a video environment, so he's at the top of that tree. There are other people who will advise him, but at the end of the day, there will be decisions he has to make that will depend on his knowledge of how things actually work."

Ellis said Hooton was far from the first political operative to be editor of a New Zealand newspaper, pointing to Sir Leslie Munro - who had been a founding member of National - editing The New Zealand Herald from 1942 to 1951 before becoming a UN diplomat then an MP under National's Keith Holyoake from 1963 to 1972.

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