Simon Bridges' lowest moment of 2018 is both obvious and not worth mentioning by name, he said today while referring obliquely to the Jami-Lee Ross saga that reached a crescendo in October with almost daily headlines.
But the Opposition leader is hopeful that the unpleasant controversy has resulted in a more robust National Party, he also told TVNZ 1's Breakfast while reflecting on the year during his last weekly appearance on the show of 2018.
"I think we can all sort of have a guess what my lowlight is," he told host Hayley Holt. "I'm not going to mention it by name, but expelling a member of Parliament, going through that is tough."
Mr Bridges unwittingly kicked of the controversy in August when he launched an investigation into who leaked his travel expenses to the media ahead of schedule. The documents showed he spend $113,973 of taxpayer money on travel from April to June.
In October, Mr Ross, a longtime National MP, was given metal health medical leave, with Mr Bridges insisting it wasn't about the leaked expense report. Days later, however, he reversed stance - accusing Mr Ross of being the leaker.
Mr Ross denied the accusations, and slowly released a series of secretly recorded conversations with Mr Bridges in an attempt to embarrass the leader and label him "corrupt". National quickly worked to expel Mr Ross from their ranks, but headlines lingered as accusations were levelled against the embattled MP that he had bullied and manipulated four women.
Mr Bridges said today he is proud of the way he and the party responded.
"Sometimes it's kind of not even the issue - it's how you deal with it," he explained. "And I feel we came out stronger.
"We got back on the horse, if you like, on issues that matter to New Zealanders."
Mr Bridges joked that appearing on Breakfast every Monday has been a highlight of the year, before adding seriously: "No look, I think personally, it has been watching my little girl grow up.
"But I think in public it's probably been some of the things we fought for and won - whether it's been the three-strikes law, whether it's been forcing the Government to back down on regional fuel taxes around New Zealand."
Winning Massey University's Quote of the Year competition last week - for a slip of the tongue in which he mistakenly called his Deputy Leader "Paula Benefit" instead of Paula Bennett - neither registered as a highlight or a lowlight, he added.
"I'd just like to thank my family, my friends, my producers," he joked of the designation. "No honestly, if that's the best quote of the year, New Zealand's got problems."
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