About Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury
Born 1974. Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury is a New Zealand journalist and columnist.
Martyn 'Bomber' Bradbury (born 1974) is a New Zealand media commentator, former radio and TV host, and former executive producer of Alt TV. He was given the nickname 'Bomber' by a former Craccum editor, reputedly to describe his bombastic personality. He has been described by the New Zealand Listener as the "most opinionated man in New Zealand". He has defended his decision to block a number of women on social media and referred to reasons for disputes with five women who previously contributed to "The Daily Blog".
Print media Bradbury was the elected editor of the Auckland University Students' Association's (AUSA) Craccum magazine for the 1997 year, and elected co-editor with Stuart Gardiner for the 1995 year. Before that he was the poetry editor. According to Bradbury, he picked up the nickname Bomber from one of the editors of Craccum.
Bradbury is a former editor (2004–05) of New Zealand music magazine Rip It Up. Until late 2011, he was a guest on various panel discussions on "Afternoons with Jim Mora' on Radio New Zealand (RNZ).
Radio New Zealand saga After a regular guest spot on RNZ's show The Panel, the network withdrew an invitation for Bradbury to return as a panellist. While Bradbury claimed he had been "banned" for criticising the New Zealand Prime Minister, John Key, RNZ said he had not been banned, and that he had been removed as a panellist after breaching their editorial policy.
Bradbury was also a producer and host on the defunct TV channel Alt TV.
In late April 2025, Bradbury confirmed that he had suspended The Working Group current affairs podcast following a dispute with its co-owner Damien Grant over Bradbury's criticism of Israel's conduct during the Gaza war and the New Zealand Initiative's relationship with the Atlas Network.
On 19 April 2025, The Working Group was replaced with a new online weekly current affairs podcast series called The Bradbury Group. It is sponsored by Waatea News and is available on Rova, YouTube, Sky TV and Facebook. Notable guests have included Labour leader Chris Hipkins, Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere, The New Zealand Herald columnist Matthew Hooton and New Zealand Council of Trade Unions economist Craig Renney.
Legal dispute with Ani O'Brien In early August 2026, Bradbury was facing court action at the Auckland District Court for publishing four contentious blog posts. He said that he was facing a $5,000 fine or six months' imprisonment if he did not take down these posts. Bradbury refused to take down the posts on freedom of speech grounds and said he was prepared to go to prison.
On 13 August, New Zealand Free Speech Union board member and political commentator Ani O'Brien waived her right to name suppression and identified herself as the complainant who had pursued legal action against Bradbury for alleged "abusive" online posts. In an interim court order, Judge Kate Devonport had ruled that Netsafe had found that Bradbury's posts breached the Harmful Digital Communications Act's principals against indecency and harassment. While Bradbury has argued that he was the victim of a "censorship attempt," he removed the offending lists to comply with the interim court order. O'Brien confirmed that the Free Speech Union was not involved in her court proceedings against Bradbury. A further court hearing was scheduled for December 2026. He was influential in promoting public opposition to expansion of GCSB spying powers.
Colin Craig defamation trial
On 23 September 2016, Bradbury testified as a defence witness in Jordan Williams' defamation trial against Colin Craig, the former leader of the Conservative Party. Williams, the co-founder of the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union had filed a defamation suit against Craig after the latter had produced a pamphlet entitled "Dirty Politics and Hidden Agenda" attacking Williams, the right-wing blogger Cameron Slater, and a dissident Party member John Stringer. In his testimony, Bradbury alleged that Williams had embarked on a political hit job against Craig and defended Craig's pamphlet. Bradbury described the trial as "an angry fight between two people who don't like each other much." Bradbury was also questioned by Williams' lawyer Peter McKnight for making alleged defamatory comments against Williams in The Daily Blog.
Dirty Politics saga
Following the 2014 Dirty Politics scandal, the New Zealand Police searched Bradbury's bank records without a warrant in 2016 as part of their search for the hacker "Rawshark." In August 2019, Bradbury objected to Police using secret evidence to justify their search of his bank records. In early November 2019, Police apologised and reached a settlement with Bradbury for illegally searching his bank records during their search for "Rawshark."
Views and positions South Canterbury Finance bubble Bradbury was highly critical of the late finance company owner Alan Hubbard, whose company was placed under statutory management by the-then Justice Minister Simon Power.
Conversion therapy ban legislation
In response to the Government's proposed conversion practices legislation in 2021 which seeks to ban gay conversion therapy, Bradbury criticised bill's five year prison term as form of "government overreach" which distracted from the Government's failure to address what he regarded as their failed mental health, poverty and housing policies.
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Important facts
People in Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury's
Frequently asked questions
Who is Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury?
New Zealand writer
When was Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury born?
Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury was born in 1974.
What is Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury's occupation?
Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury is a journalist and columnist.
What nationality is Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury?
Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury is New Zealand.
Sources & further reading
· Wikipedia: Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury
· DBpedia: Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury. https://biography.guide/martyn-bomber-bradbury/
MLA: "Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/martyn-bomber-bradbury/.
Chicago: "Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/martyn-bomber-bradbury/.
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