Who were the winners and losers of 2017?

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1/12 Jacinda Ardern, PM (Photo / NZ Herald)
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2/12 Black Ferns. Photo / File
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3/12 (Photo / Greg Bowker)
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4/12 TAIKA WAITITI: Combining a successful comic book series with a director known for his offbeat humour and small indie films could have been a gamble but with Taika Waititi at the helm it was a recipe for success. Thor: Ragnarok has already made more than $US800 million at the box office. One big fan was Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy who says she'd love Waititi to direct a Star Wars film.
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5/12 (Photo / File)
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6/12 #METOO: Kiwi actress Anna Pacquin was among the first to join the #metoo campaign that encouraged women on social media to share their experiences of sexual harassment and abuse. Sparked by allegations against Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein it's led to the naming and shaming of many alleged offenders.
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7/12 METIRIA TUREI: She could have been a cabinet minister had it not been for the confession that cost her her career. Turei was booted from parliament at the election after weeks earlier confessing at a policy launch that she'd committed benefit fraud as a solo mum in the 1990s. It was hoped the bombshell would help the Green party find support for its plan to lift families out of poverty but instead backfired spectacularly and saw the party slide so far down in the polls they risked extinction.
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$(Photo \ Supplied)$

8/12 (Photo \ Supplied)
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9/12 MAORI PARTY: There were more than a few tears shed when Maori Party duo Te Ururoa Flavell and Marama Fox were ousted from parliament at the election, not least from Flavell himself. His loss in the Waiariki electorate and a low party vote meant time to say goodbye.
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10/12 DUAL CITIZENS: New Zealand farewelled a few citizens this year. Dual Kiwi-Australians Barnaby Joyce and Scott Ludlam were forced to renounce the citizenship they apparently didn't even know they had after being caught up in Australia's dual citizenship saga. All around it's been a tough year for Trans-Tasman relations with tension still there over Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's continued push for Australia to accept New Zealand's offer to take 150 refugees from Manus Island and Nauru.
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11/12 FUJI XEROX NEW ZEALAND: The company lost around $230m over investigations found "inappropriate accounting" practices, it lost all its government contracts and a number of staff were fired as a result. And now parent company Fuji Xerox is suing the former senior executives of its New Zealand subsidiary over the accounting scandal. It's been a rough year.
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12/12 NIGEL MURRAY: It might be easier to list who isn't investigating allegations against Dr Murray for wrongful expenditure of taxpayers' money given the Serious Fraud Office, State Services Commission and Audit NZ are involved. Murray quit the DHB in October, partway through an independent inquiry, into claims he spent more than the agreed $25,000 allocated for relocation costs to move to the DHB on top of other unauthorised spending
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Every year has its highs and lows, its winners and losers. Here's a brief look back at those who have triumphed during 2017, from Jacinda Ardern to Anna Pacquin and the Me Too campaigners, and those who have been less fortunate, from Metiria Turei to Nigel Murray.

- NZ Newswire