A week is a long time in politics, at least according to the oldest cliche in the book.

And it’s a cliche for a reason. In the high-energy, fast-paced, ego-driven world of Parliament – things change very quickly.

If a week is a long time, a year is a political eternity.

And although there will be hundreds of important moments in 2023, there are five which stand out as the top moments of the year.

5. Winston's back, baby! (NZ First breaches 5% threshold)

Peters likes to play the underdog. He likes to remind people that everyone counted him out, but once again here he is. He usually directs his scorn to the media – only, you’ll struggle to actually find anyone who was ruling the political veteran out ahead of October 14.

In fact, two of the only people publicly making that call were Chris Luxon and David Seymour – ironically, now Peters' Cabinet colleagues.

But his return from the political wilderness is significant, even if it was widely predicted. The chaotic energy he brings to Parliament is unparalleled and his presence in the House and in Cabinet this year will be felt for years to come.

That’s why the moment he first broke the five percent threshold in public polling kicks off this list.

4. Michael Wood’s share saga (Hipkins’ dramatic Question Time confession)

Michael Wood’s fall from grace was one of the most dramatic seen in New Zealand’s political landscape in quite some time – even if he was only the runner-up in the award for most disgraced Ministers of the year (more on that soon).

The sorry saga produced the most dramatic moment in the House of the year, when Chris Hipkins was forced to reveal that Wood had been asked to sell his shares not once, not twice, not three times, but 12 times.

What made the scandal so much worse was the fact that Wood was seen as one of the most competent Ministers in Hipkins’ Cabinet. He was so well respected that following Jacinda Ardern’s resignation, he was touted as a potential successor.

His demotion, then resignation, was just one of several ministerial muck-ups this year – and although not the worst one, it highlighted just how quickly things had gone from bad to worse for the soon-to-be defeated Labour Party.

3. Kiri Allen arrested

On July 24, Ardern’s then-chief Press Secretary Andrew Campbell wrote the press release which will likely be remembered as the final nail in Labour’s coffin.

Justice Minister Kiri Allan had been charged with careless use of a motor vehicle and refusing to accompany a police officer following a car crash.

She’d resigned as a Minister the night before, and a few weeks after the incident she resigned as an MP. It’s hard to find a starker example of Ministerial disgrace. Allan’s arrest was the dramatic climax to the rolling maul of Ministerial scandals.

It’s hard to understate how much damage the arrest of a sitting Minister can do to a Government. The fact Allen was the Justice Minister exacerbated that catastrophic damage and the fallout was clearly felt on election night.

2. National wins the election

After both Allen’s arrest, and Wood’s resignation as a Cabinet Minister – this result was inevitable. As National hit the campaign trail, the question wasn’t if the party would win the election – but how it would form a Government.

Luxon’s weeks of refusing to rule Winston out, then begrudgingly saying he would “pick up the phone” if he had to, only worked to cement Peters’ place in Parliament – and therefore in Luxon’s coalition.

On election night itself, National’s result was better than expected. There was a palpable sense of genuine shock at the party’s election night party, as safe Labour seats such as Mt Roskill, New Lynn and Banks Peninsula turned blue.

The result showed how clearly Kiwis voted for change, and just how much the Labour Party had fallen out of favour with the New Zealand public.

1. Jacinda Ardern resigns

As Kiwis were brushing off the New Year’s hangovers and applying aloe vera to their fresh sunburns, Jacinda Ardern shocked the world.

In a conference center in Napier, during the traditionally mellow Labour Party caucus retreat, she uttered the words which set the stage for the year: She “no longer had enough left in the tank.”

The political shockwaves were instant and felt across the country; arguably most strongly across town at National’s caucus retreat, also happening in Napier that same day.

As she bowed out, she created a significant hole within her party which now was on the hunt for a new leader, and a new direction. It got both some weeks later in Chris Hipkins, who led Labour to one of the worst defeats in Labour’s history.

How bad would the defeat have been if Ardern had stayed? Would it have been a defeat at all? New Zealand will never know.

But by exiting stage left so dramatically in an election year, setting the scene for an extraordinary year of ups, downs and everything between, Jacinda Ardern’s shock resignation easily takes the award for top political moment of 2023.