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.