SYDNEY: New Zealand’s Opportunity Party is emerging as a potential kingmaker ahead of the November 7 election, with the party proposing a universal basic income funded by a new land tax and positioning itself to potentially determine which major party forms the next government.
Recent opinion polls have placed Opportunity above the 5% threshold required to enter parliament. Current projections indicate that both the ruling centre-right National Party and opposition centre-left Labour Party could require Opportunity lawmakers to form a coalition.
Party leader Qiulae Wong, a 38-year-old former sustainable business consultant who entered politics only last November, has overseen a sharp rise in the party’s support.
What is Opportunity proposing?
Opportunity is campaigning for an annual NZ$19,400 universal basic income for most New Zealand residents, funded through a proposed 1.75% annual tax on land.
The party also wants to simplify New Zealand’s income-tax system and shift part of the tax burden away from earnings and towards property and other assets.
Wong said the policy is intended to address New Zealand’s housing affordability problem. She argued that home affordability has deteriorated significantly over a generation, with house prices now equivalent to about seven times household income compared with roughly three times when her parents bought their first home.
Opportunity estimates that its land-tax proposal could reduce house prices by 10% to 15%, while claiming that around 90% of New Zealanders would be financially better off or no worse off under the package.
Could Opportunity determine New Zealand’s next government?
The party faces significant obstacles to implementing its central tax proposals. Both National leader Christopher Luxon and Labour leader Chris Hipkins have ruled out adopting Opportunity’s proposed tax policy.
Wong nevertheless said the party would seek influence over economic policy if it holds the balance of power. Opportunity is considering seeking responsibility for a finance- or revenue-related portfolio in a coalition government to advance its tax reforms.
The party is also proposing measures that could have broader coalition support, including greater competition in the supermarket and banking sectors and tighter restrictions on political lobbying. It wants to cap individual political donations at NZ$30,000.
With the election approaching, Opportunity’s ability to cross the parliamentary threshold could give it significant negotiating leverage, particularly if neither National nor Labour can secure enough seats to govern independently.
Wong acknowledged that securing major tax reform would be difficult for a new parliamentary party but said Opportunity would continue putting the proposals on the negotiating table. The November election will determine whether the party’s rapid rise translates into the parliamentary influence it is seeking.