That was the year that was . . . painful
Many of us might reflect on our year, thinking it was pretty rough. But rest assured, there was probably someone who had it worse. Liam Hyslop looks at those who have had a pretty bad year.
DAVID CUNLIFFE
Cunliffe had a year in charge of the Labour Party to try to revitalise fortunes seen to be stalling under David Shearer.
But his promise of positive change resulted in Labour’s worst election result since the 1920s.
He resigned as leader, said he would stand for re-election but then backed down on that claim and said he would never again seek the Labour leadership.
It ended his lifelong dream of leading New Zealand.
Was your year so bad that you had your lifelong dream shattered?
JUDITH COLLINS
Well, Collins might say she had a worse year than Cunliffe.
At the start of 2014 she was Minister of Justice and ACC.
In March, it emerged she had misled the prime minister and the public about her engagements during an official visit to China, dubbed the Oravida Scandal. The prime minister publicly stated she was on a ‘‘final warning’’.
By August, she had resigned her ministerial portfolios after the release of one of blogger Cameron Slater’s emails which said she was gunning for former Serious Fraud Office boss Adam Feeley.
She was also a major player in Nicky Hager’s book Dirty Politics.
Stripped of power and reputation tarred – not a great year at all.
AUCKLAND FIRST-HOME BUYERS
Trying to buy your first home in Auckland? Chances are it was pretty tricky and the longer you waited, the more it cost you.
The city of sails’ house prices hit their highest median of $670,000 in December; up 8.1 per cent on the same time in 2013.
The Reserve Bank also introduced new rules, meaning buyers needed at least a 20 per cent deposit to get a mortgage.
Unfortunately next year will not be much better, with Westpac predicting Auckland house prices would increase by another seven per cent.
KIWI DRUG SMUGGLERS
For years we thought carrying drugs overseas was an Australian problem, Schapelle Corby was their poster girl.
But when Leeza Ormsby was arrested on February 12 entering a Bali villa which contained large quantities of MDMA and hashish, it was game on.
In her bag was a half-smoked hashish joint which seemed to link her to the drugs and a possible death sentence. Some clever legal manoeuvring saw her back in Auckland by the end of the year, after she served a 10-month sentence.
Since November, two Kiwis have been arrested for drug smuggling and face the death penalty in two Asian countries. Antony de Malmanche, 52, was arrested in Bali allegedly trying to bring 1.709 kilograms of methamphetamines into Indonesia. He claimed to be the victim of an internet dating scam.
Then New Zealand-born builder Peter Gardner was arrested in China, allegedly trying to smuggle in 30kg of methamphetamine. His Australian partner, Kalynda Davis, 22, was also arrested but then released, claiming no knowledge of the drugs.
TEMUERA MORRISON
What do actors do when they cannot get any parts? They sing, apparently.
In 2013, the documentary The Life and Times of Temuera Morrison, told of his struggle to regain the fame and fortune of his early career.
It did not help him secure any new roles this year but he did produce an album in which he covers his favourite songs from his youth.
He also fronted the musical variety show Happy Hour.
Neither was overly successful.
SILVER FERNS
When the netballers almost lost to Malawi in their first game at the Commonwealth Games, it was a sign of things to come.
A humiliating 18-point loss in the final to Australia was followed by a loss to England at home and then three more whippings from the Diamonds in the Constellation Cup.
They managed to get within four points of their bitter rivals in the final game of the cup but for a team used to regularly beating Australia, that could hardly be described as a moral victory.
They will need rapid improvement if they are to be competitive at the World Cup in Sydney in August 2015.
PHIL RUDD
The craggy Australian AC/DC drummer has called Tauranga home for quite some time now but he might be considering an exit after police alleged he was involved in dirty deeds.
On November 6, police searched Rudd’s home, where they allegedly discovered 0.71 grams of methamphetamine and 130g of cannabis.
A short time after, he was in the Tauranga District Court facing charges of threatening to kill, possession of methamphetamine, and possession of cannabis.
A charge of attempting to procure murder was withdrawn.
A change of scenery in 2015 might help him forget about a tough year. The people of Tauranga might be thankful if he did.
KIM DOTCOM
At the end of November, the internet mogul announced he was ‘‘officially broke right now’’.
He said the United States Government’s bid to extradite him had ‘‘drained my resources and dehydrated me’’ and that he had no lawyers and was defenceless.
Perhaps he should not have donated $3.5 million to the Internet Party in a failed bid for power.
The failure of the party made it an all-round bad year for Dotcom, who will be hoping for better things in 2015.
Top of his New Year resolutions list would have to be avoiding extradition to the US.