KEY POINTS:
10 RISE & FALL OF THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT
Attempts to set up a Christian party in New Zealand have never been successful and this year's attempts were farcical. Gordon Copeland quit United Future and flirted with Destiny New Zealand but was upset when his proposed co-leader, Richard Lewis, answered questions about forming a new party. Copeland then quit as co-leader before the new party was formed. Meanwhile, both would-be parties flirted with former Labour MP Taito Philip Field, who spent more time with lawyers than he did in Parliament, battling corruption charges. Look out for his trial next year.
9 TALE OF MANY COUNTRIES
Helen Clark went to the White House and Foreign Minister Winston Peters got cosy with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, as the two nations finally realised they were the last two countries fighting the nuclear cold war. Unrest in the Pacific and the continuing war of words with Fiji's military junta kept foreign relations in the headlines, as did Peters' intriguing trip to North Korea. Ongoing trade talks with China will be a major story in 2008 and could threaten Labour's relations with its support allies. How Peters treats the deal could be the conundrum of 2008.
8 REJUVENATION EFFORTS
It was one step forward, two steps back for Labour as it tried to rejuvenate its image ahead of next year's election and this year's polls. Some jumped ship, notably Steve Maharey, others were eased aside (Jill Pettis), and some resisted the push (George Hawkins and David Benson-Pope). The problem for Clark was every time she turned around, one of her ministers was in trouble: Damien O'Connor, Benson-Pope and Trevor Mallard all had bad years. The image of Mallard standing in the dock facing a private prosecution for his fracas with Tau Henare will haunt him for the rest of his life.
7 FUMBLED WAR AGAINST TERRORISM
Police use of terrorism laws to arrest a motley bunch of separatists, activists and protesters made world headlines. The debate about the line between protest and terror ran for weeks, as everyone wondered whether police had acted in the nick of time to halt sinister plotting or overreacted to some big-noting would-be Che Guevaras. The Solicitor-General's ruling that the terrorism laws were a mess and could not be applied left most people in the dark and the so-called terror trials next year could make things even murkier.
6 PUBLIC SERVICE POLITICISED
The Environment Ministry hit the headlines when then minister David Benson-Pope raised questions about the hiring of Madeleine Setchell as communications manager. She was the partner of National's chief press secretary Kevin Taylor and was promptly sacked. Labour's ability to fuel the fires of negative stories continued with its poor handling of allegations about the politicisation of a highly stressed ministry. In the end, the story claimed the heads of Benson-Pope and ministry boss Hugh Logan, as well as damaging the credibility of State Service Commissioner Mark Prebble, who seemed to contract amnesia when dealing with the case.
5 IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN
The Greens were forced out into the cold as both Labour and National stole their environmental garb. Talk of carbon credits and emissions does not generate much excitement but the move to a bipartisan approach on climate change was a major political shift. Whether that position can sustain the pressure of election year is yet to be seen, but how the policy affects the economy in years to come will make it one of the longest-running stories of 2007.
4 THE RISE OF NATIONAL
National's rise in the polls midway through the year remained strong into the summer recess. No matter what Labour or National did, those polled kept calling for a change in government. Whether National can maintain that momentum or Labour can do anything to change voters' state of mind will probably be the crucial political story of 2008. The minor parties will also be worried if they continue to be squeezed below the 5 per cent threshold in a bitter two-party race.
3 IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID
The resilient state of the economy, unemployment staggeringly low, interest rates causing pain, monetary policy seemingly ineffective and the dollar being too high for many, were never far from the front pages. The political problem for Finance Minister Michael Cullen is that it has been so long since an even mild recession, that most people have forgotten the pain it can cause. The economy and the debate over tax cuts will be a dominant feature of the political landscape in 2008, with Cullen trying to shrug off his scrooge label.
2 LABOUR TAKES A SMACKING
The sleeper story of 2006 woke up with a vengeance in 2007 when Green MP Sue Bradford's bill removing the defence of reasonable force when assaulting a child re-emerged on the parliamentary agenda. The debate morphed into a many-headed row over child discipline and abuse, as well as the role of the state in family life. Labour forced its MPs to vote en masse for the bill and the point of principle caused much pain for the party. Many National MPs were horrified when their leader, John Key, did a last-minute deal with Clark to back the bill if it was watered down. Many in National felt it would have been better to keep kicking when Labour was down but most of those now link the move to National's rise and Labour's fall.
1 ELECTORAL LAW
After brooding about the 2005 election for a year, Labour and its allies thrust the Electoral Finance Bill on the opposition. Labour's attempt to stamp out big-spending election campaigns came back to bite it as, once again, the debate morphed into a freedom of speech issue. It did not help that the bill was terribly written, confusing, contradictory and plain draconian in places. Labour is hoping that once voters realise it does not affect 99 per cent of people, the fuss will die; how many voters want to spend money persuading others how to vote? However, Labour's failure to get wider support and undergo a much-needed overhaul of the dated Electoral Act on a bipartisan basis may come back to haunt it in 2008.
- NZPA
