Sir Tim Shadbolt has died after a long illness.  

Now, I used to hate Tim Shadbolt, and I'll tell you why. When I went to uni in 1981, I ended up running Radio B. Now, fair to say, my coursework suffered. I was busy working, I was having far too good a time, so, you know, pfft, coursework.  

So I crammed for the exams, really crammed for the exams. And I'd pass those exams. I'd get marks in the 70s.  

And then I'd be told, you've failed the paper. And I go, why have I failed the paper? And they said, because you've failed your coursework. I went, what? Yeah, you've got to pass your coursework and you've got to pass the exam. You've got to pass both now. I went, I passed the exam. How is this fair? I asked my tutor. Blame Tim Shadbolt, he said.  

Turns out that Tim, as a student radical, had argued that exams were unfair, and he was such a good arguer that he won the argument so suddenly you had to be judged on both. So to get a paper, you had to pass both your coursework and your exams. Thanks, Tim! Thanks a lot for nothing. If it wasn't for you, I might have been a lawyer instead of being a broadcaster.  

But hey, that was Tim. He made things change.  

In 1983, after doing his student stuff, doing his Jumping Sundays, which by the way, as a kid I used to go to, and after writing his memoir, 'Bullshit & Jellybeans’, which is just the best read. Anyway, in 1983, he forgoes fighting against the establishment and became part of the establishment, and he became mayor of Waitemata City.  

Now Bob Harvey, who ended up running Waitakere, will say that Tim started the move for Waitakere to become an eco-city, preserving its natural heritage. I remember Tim fighting for a decent indoor stadium in Te Atatu. This is all decades before Auckland got Spark Arena.  

Then, of course, he moved to Invercargill because, of course, I don't know, I don't care where, as long as I'm there. He was a tireless cheerleader for the region. True, he stayed too long. True, he made mistakes. But that should not detract from all he did from Southland. He was amazing.  

And I've met Tim many times after he screwed up my career, and I can tell you he was brilliant company. He could instantly skewer any political pretence. He delivered laconic, slow zingers in that voice, and you held on to every word, and then you'd wait for the kicker, and then it'd come in, and then he'd smile, his immense toothy grin, and we'd all laugh along. He was magnetic.  

Tim Shadbolt, Sir Tim Shadbolt, was a great New Zealander. He was energetic, dogmatic, and funny, and he had a love for New Zealanders and his cities, and we are the poorer.