Mike Hosking: Election debate my highlight of the year - even though I signed petition demanding I be removed

So, one more time for the year. Highlights? Well for the political junkie, election years of course are the best years. And my highlight, among many, was that first leaders' debate. It is the reason I did one more year of Seven Sharp.

There is nothing like the pressure of the live leaders' debate on TV. Careers and governments are on the line, and this year was made spectacularly interesting by the fact that Andrew Little had walked and Jacinda had entered. Little deserves some sort of award for realism and balls, in a game where vanity and delusion often overrule what's right.

Little put his party first, and look at how it paid off. It was massively risky of course. Leadership changes close to a vote almost never work. But what made this different is the leader who needed to go didn't fight. There was no spill, therefore no blood, therefore a clean start for the newbie.

By the time the leaders' debate came round, polling showed Ardern was making a major difference and the entire race had been tipped on its head.

Expectation had also been raised by a petition of 76,000 people who had decided I shouldn't be moderating the thing. I am eternally grateful to those people. It was a faux poll of course: it was online, open to sabotage and rort. In fact I signed it; I sign all petitions against me.

So if they ever thought I was going anywhere, they were deluded. But what they did do is give the debate the most extraordinary coverage, and as a result 1.3 million people ended up watching the thing.

And that was the thrill.

The biggest TV event of the year. Proof that politics still counts and is still relevant and we are still interested. Plenty argue in TV land that politics is ratings death. They could not have been more wrong.

The 1.3 million was a number from another time. A time of two channels, no Netflix, no streaming, no downloading. When families gathered round the telly for an event. A big number these days normally is half that. Most shows are lucky to get a couple of hundred thousand.

The last debate, by the way, got very similar numbers. But the beauty of the TV debate is you are exposed. Three people, hot lights, massive audience ... so, so much on the line. And because they only come around every three years, there is a high wire element to it. Anything can happen. Both operators did a good job.

Much comment was made that they both looked like good people, which they are. With mutual respect, which they did have.

We all know the result of the vote of course.

The implications are just beginning to unfold, which makes the next two and a-bit years fascinating. The reason I remained so gripped by the game is despite the noise and drama and hype, it does actually count.

What they do affects us all, whether we follow it or not. So given it does, I like to know what's happening to us — and why.