OPINION

Well, that’s the year pretty much done, and I’m pretty much done with it too. It’s been pretty tough and also pretty exhilarating.

On the political front the year began with the tyrant discovering enough self-awareness to realise she was no longer the country’s saviour, rather the population had turned against her and her nastiness.

Many of us fought her draconian ‘kindness’ as hard and as loudly as we could. My infamous article “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly” was reposted for the final time and those articles have now been viewed almost a million times. People still talk to me about that article.

The day she quit I was rung by a well-known blogster/pollster to thank me for all that I did to rid this country of her evil presence. I was flattered; I still think I could have done more.

The National Party continues their jihad against me to this day. Readers will have noticed that they aren’t my favourite party. Then again why would you expect anything different from me after how they have treated me over the years?

With the exception of a single MP, all of the National Party politicians have refused invitations to appear on my radio show, including the MP who has for the last few elections had my father run his election campaigns. What is hilarious is the lies they tell each other justifying why they won’t come on my show.

Too bad: I don’t need them, and there are plenty of other politicians who will willingly avail themselves of the utility of speaking to a growing and loyal audience in an uninterrupted, convivial and non-combative manner. It’s their loss, not mine. I certainly won’t be inviting one MP on the show ever again after he stood me up, then lied about it to my father and then made promises to call and talk, but never has. What goes around, comes around. I’m not hostile to them, I’m only echoing the way they treat me.

But that sounds bitter: I’m not. I’ve remade myself this year and, boy, has it been tough. One thing that has been an immense blessing this year is re-focussing my life around my faith and using my platforms, both here at the BFD and on RCR to share my faith and be open about it. I will hide it no more.

Everything I have done this year has been with God at the centre of everything. Because without him in my life it is nothing. He has given me everything I have: my abilities, my resilience, my moral code, everything…and for that, I am so very grateful.

Reality Check Radio has been a huge change too…putting together my show each week has been a struggle at times, but I’ve always delivered. There is something very strange, though, when you see your own face on a billboard outside your apartment, and I’ve even been caught taking public transport!

I have always wanted to have a radio show, and it was the three ladies at Reality Check Radio, Claire, Alia and Libby, who are the ones with the courage to take a gamble on me, and for that I am incredibly thankful.

I love doing the show, and the piles of feedback that I get about the show really warm my heart. Here is a full playlist of every interview and show…that’ll keep you busy.

Of course, Reality Check Radio had a huge impact on the election. We covered hundreds of candidates: far more than any other media outlet. Most were in the long form, with rather more than the usual 15 minutes of fame candidates usually get. We covered hundreds of policies and I believe that we moved the dial in New Zealand media, and politics.

I’m really proud of my involvement with RCR and really proud of what we achieved in just nine months.

The election was a delight. I got the result that I wanted but also predicted. I said that I wanted a less powerful National Party and two coalition partners in ACT and NZ First. I was ridiculed, attacked and abused for daring to speak against the National Party. But it turns out that my 40-plus years of being involved in politics, and the last 20 doing this professionally, counts for a lot more than several months of blinkered and arrogant commenting on the biggest political site in New Zealand.

This forum rocks. We created this for you and you have responded. We are bigger, much bigger now than Whaleoil ever was. We are sharper and more focussed and we buried the excesses of the past. And you all stayed. I’d like to think that is because we get most things right, and that we’ve created an amazing community here. I’m just sorry that I’ve been too busy to tour around all the various groups we have around the country. I’d like to change that next year now there isn’t an election to fight.

But we need to get the BFD on a more stable footing. We have a great membership base but it could be greater. For those who have donated over the years, we thank you immensely. Those of you who are members are the lifeblood of this site. Thank you all so very much.

But there is more to do. We really need those of you who are lurkers and non-members to step up and become members. The more of you that do that, the more we can grow, offer better services and information and move into new areas of coverage.

It isn’t cheap to run this site. Plenty of people think that anyone can set up a website and write and beat us. They’ve all failed, even those with large pockets. But I’d really like to slay some more dragons and we can only do that with your support.

So, if you aren’t a member, then please consider giving us a Christmas present of your new membership.

I have special thanks to give to the team in the back room: from proofreaders to contributors, our awesome moderators and everyone else who volunteers their time and energy for the mission. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

We are going to take a bit of a break over Christmas and New Year. We need to recharge our batteries. We will still have content for you over our break, so don’t go away.

For those feeling so inclined, there is a donation provision at the bottom of this article. We’d appreciate building our war chest for the coming year. We have built something special here, it would be rather nice to keep on doing what we do best.

But for now, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

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As much at home writing editorials as being the subject of them, Cam has won awards, including the Canon Media Award for his work on the Len Brown/Bevan Chuang story. When he’s not creating the news,...