Cullen and Fitzsimons are giants of New Zealand politics

It’s been a tough week in Kiwi politics. To those of us who were around Parliament in the days when Jeanette Fitzsimons led the Green Party, her sudden death this week was the sort of news that stops you in your tracks.

There are times when politicians are genuine in speaking with a united voice, and her death was one of those moments.

The tributes accorded to Fitzsimons from MPs across the political spectrum were not platitudes – she truly was one of the most respected politicians of her time.

Even those who crossed swords with her – and there were many, including some of those who paid tribute – respected the mana she brought to politics and her quiet gravitas in the debating chamber.

No less shocking was the news of Sir Michael Cullen’s illness. Cullen is typically forthright about his prognosis; diagnosed with cancer, he has been told he may have just months to live.

He is about to embark on a course of palliative chemotherapy but says his end is ‘‘inevitable in the not too distant future’’.

It is too soon to be writing about Cullen’s legacy. But few politicians get to leave such a huge mark on the economic landscape. His one regret might be that he left as the global financial crisis hit, but his flagship policies as finance minister, KiwiSaver and Working for Families among them, have endured through changes of Government. That’s the ultimate symbol of political success.

Cullen was one of the last of the generation of pre-social media politicians who believed in the power of debate to win political arguments. He also had a particularly sharp wit that didn’t always endear him to voters (or young reporters like myself at the time).

But love or loathe his politics, Cullen, like Fitzsimons, earned his place as one of the political giants.

Few politicians get to leave such a huge mark on the economic landscape.