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The Electoral Finance Act, which passed into law in a roar of fury, left without a whimper last night.
The law, which prompted one of the most acrimonious debates in modern politics, was repealed at 7.45pm by 112 vote to nine - supported by all parties except for the Greens.
Only three people silently watched from the public gallery. Bill English and Annette King, leading combatants when the law was making its way through Parliament, were not there.
Instead, it was repealed more swiftly than National had expected - when Justice Minister Simon Power stood to begin the final reading, he said his speech would be brief because progress on the repeal bill had been so swift that his last speech was still on his desk in his office.
The debates were led by those who weren't tainted from those days of heated argument in late 2007, and who will now have to work together on a replacement law.
As well as Mr Power, the speakers included Labour's David Parker who delivered a "mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa" speech on behalf of Labour the week before.
National's Chris Finlayson praised such humility from a Labour MP about such an "odious" law.
Green co-leader Russel Norman said his party did not resile from the principles the Electoral Finance Act was aimed to instill in electoral law.
He also began to lay out his wish list, including shorter election periods and more restrictions on anonymous donations.
United Future leader Peter Dunne said he regretted not withdrawing his support for the bill earlier. The law's complexity meant the Electoral Commission was unwilling to "step into the breach" and give clear guidance.
