We haven't been short of issues to comment on in 2015. From political gaffes, and sporting achievements, to serious reflections on issues that were not at the forefront our own social commentary.

They may be issues you tend not to consider on a daily basis, they may even be issues that may make you feel uncomfortable, but our writers have tackled those issues head on.

Whether you agree with their views or not, it's definitely food for thought. These are our top opinion pieces of the year as voted by the visits you've made to read them. 

1. Alex Braae - Muliaina arrest exposes disturbing attitudes

"Our attitudes as a society towards those who make complaints of sexual assault need to change, and urgently. We must recognise that like any other complaint to the police, the vast - overwhelmingly vast - number of sexual assault complaints are made for a good reason."

2. Nigel Yalden - Joe Launchbury was not the Man of the Match

 

"The man of the match is not and should not be a popularity contest. It should recognise the player who had the most influence and/or impact on the outcome of the game by playing at a higher level than the other 29 men on the field for the same period he is."

3. Frances Cook: Sexual assault more important than point-scoring

"This isn't a distraction issue or an opportunity to score political points for many people. It's a serious, lived reality, and it's difficult to get support."

4. Nigel Yalden -  Cane's worth there for all to see

"No-one sensed that Sam Cane was going to be an All Black captain. All we did was watch him as he proved himself worthy and deserving of the honour."

5. Barry Soper - This political theatre wasn't funny

"Key's outburst in the bear pit that Labour, who's accused him of sucking up to his buddy, support child molesters, rapists and murderers was deliberate. He knows there's little sympathy for people who break the law, and rightly so, but there should be some sympathy for those who've done their time for relatively minor offences and have gone on to live a relatively decent life before they got the knock on the door."

6. Brian Ashby - All Blacks announcement over the top

"Sunday night's team announcement at the Beehive was completely over the top. Let's get a grip. We love the All Blacks. I love the All Blacks and spend way more time than is healthy studying all things rugby. But a national announcement from the home of our government? If we had been declaring war on Australia, then yes, it would have been appropriate. But naming a sports team?"

7. Barry Soper - Max's lifestyle a liability for Key

 

"It's not an image that should be flaunted when the number of homeless here is growing and when the economy's beginning to waiver, and it's not the image that Key's so carefully cultivated."

8. Brian Ashby - Of course Ko is a Kiwi

 

"Good old xenophobic New Zealand. If you look or sound a little different, "you're not really one of us" seems to be the view of some talkbackers and social media hackers. So while many of us sports fans were celebrating the magnificence of Lydia Ko's achievement at the Evian Championship, others felt compelled to mention that she wasn't really a Kiwi having come here from Korea."

9. Rachel Smalley - Male dominated media a problem

"To be a well-rounded society we need a well-rounded media. Right now, prime time is dominated by straight, wealthy, white men. That is not the New Zealand we live in today."

10. James Robins - The graves of others: ANZAC and the Armenian Genocide

"The Gallipoli campaign and the Genocides of the Armenians, Assyrians, and Hellenes - are inexorably tied, bound together in history. Yet the latter simply does not exist in New Zealand’s narrative of World War One. The evidence is rarely aired, and this country still has not formally recognised that what took place was, in fact, a genocide.

On this dual centenary, perhaps it is time some questions were asked about why one lives on without interference, while the other is forgotten. What happened to the responsibility to remember tragedies of this scale? And how has Turkey used ANZAC commemorations to buy the silence of this country?"