Prime Minister Norman Kirk is our New Zealander of the Year for sending a frigate to Mururoa Atoll to protest against French nuclear testing in the Pacific.
The move was out of character with Kirk's normal low-key approach to foreign affairs, said a Herald editorial.
The paper acknowledged that a series of propaganda gestures had been effective in forcing the French to modify their testing programme but it warned there were risks in sending a frigate to the testing area.
As it turned out, New Zealand's stand was an important part of the campaign against the French nuclear programme, first driving the tests underground and then stopping them.
