Former Health Minister Chris Hipkins hopes history is kind to his predecessor David Clark, who resigned from the role in shame in early July.
Dr Clark faced intense media scrutiny after twice breaking COVID-19 lockdown rules - firstly when he drove 20km to take his family to the beach during the first weekend of the alert level 4 restrictions, then again with a mountain bike ride at a trail more than 2km from his house.
The bike ride was the first breach reported on, the beach trip only emerging after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern asked for a complete picture of his movements. She declined to sack him at the time, saying the country could not "afford massive disruption in the health sector" at the time, when dozens of new cases were being reported every day.
His treatment of Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield was arguably the last straw. In late June Dr Clark publicly blamed the wildly popular civil servant for mistakes in quarantine testing, Newshub's camera infamously catching Dr Bloomfield's dejected reaction as it happened.
Then-National leader Todd Muller called Dr Clark the "very definition of a 'non-essential worker", political commentator Chris Trotter called his behaviour "shameful", and just a week later Dr Clark was gone.
Responding to Friday's release of a report into the Government's handling of the border and testing systems - containing both praise and criticism - Hipkins spoke fondly of his "good friend".
"I admire what he did. I think when he resigned, he acknowledged that his presence in the role had become a bit of a distraction. I hope history will treat him more kindly than recent history has.
"Our health response in those early phases of COVID-19 was incredibly strong, and while we're always looking for how we can improve it, we shouldn't underestimate what was achieved."
Hipkins temporarily took over from Dr Clark until the election before handing the portfolio to Andrew Little, but remains responsible for the COVID-19 response.
The report, compiled after the August outbreak - which happened on Hipkins' watch - found numerous problems with the state of New Zealand's efforts to keep the virus out.
Dr Clark didn't front the daily press conferences during the initial outbreak, and was criticised by some at the time for keeping a low-profile. He had opted to stay in his 'bubble' in Dunedin, working from home like most other Cabinet ministers.
The response to COVID-19 was successful, the last patient of the initial outbreak being discharged from hospital in late May, and New Zealand returning to alert level 1 on June 9. The forward-thinking decision to stay in full lockdown long enough to eliminate the virus completely has since been praised by the World Health Organization and others.
Asked by media if New Zealand got lucky, Hipkins said no.
"I don't accept that. I think it shows New Zealand was incredibly well-led through the initial parts of the COVID-19 response, and our response has continued to strengthen as we've gone along."
As for Dr Bloomfield, Hipkins said he deserved a holiday.
"I have found that he has always been very open to criticism and feedback, and where problems have been identified... he's been very willing to take those and deal with those. I think he has been very accessible to the public and to the media, and he has been a real asset to our COVID-19 response."
In addition to Dr Clark and Dr Bloomfield, Hipkins said New Zealanders too could pat themselves on the back.
"The best leadership in the world wouldn't' have been able to achieve the results that we have achieved without New Zealanders being willing to play their part. I think everybody can claim a degree of ownership of the success that we've had as a country. "
As for the report, Hipkins said many of its recommendations were now in place or being implemented.
"This is a system - the Ministry of Health - that has been subject to more scrutiny and more pressure than any other Government department over the course of the last year. It's highlighted where the've done well, and it's highlighted where they needed to do better... they have been very responsive to the findings of these reviews."
While Dr Clark was bumped down the Labour rankings from ninth to 16th, voters didn't punish him at all - he defeated Dunedin opponent Michael Woodhouse for the fourth time in a row at the general election in October, significantly increasing his margin of victory.
