Opportunity's election deal breakers surprise with no sign of tax reform

Tax reform has been put on the backburner by the Opportunity Party as it reveals its post-election deal breakers. 

Leader Quilae Wong says the five bottom lines announced today reflect the big economic changes the party feels are needed to take the country forward. 

Handing more power to the Commerce Commission to increase competition in a range of sectors – including supermarkets and banks – a 10-year health plan, reforming lobbying and electoral donation rules, ending bottom trawling and keeping the Climate Commission are the top five deal breakers. 

Missing are the two policy planks most voters associate with the party – a land tax and a Universal Basic Income. 

“We have said since the very beginning of this campaign that we don’t expect tax reform to happen overnight,” Wong told media. 

“These bottom lines represent the things that we think are achievable and realistic in the next three years and that we think that both major parties can agree to.” 

National has taken aim at Opportunity over its proposed land tax, as well as Labour’s “nine new taxes”. 

Wong doesn’t think the political attacks are working. 

“I think that our supporters understand that tax reform is a long-term change and having Opportunity inside Parliament to further those ideas is much better than us being outside and so us being able to commit to things we can achieve in that first term is critically important to that journey.” 

Supermarket reform is a hot button issue this election campaign. 

Asked whose policy she’d prefer – Labour or National’s – Wong wouldn’t take a side, wanting the experts to make the decision. 

“We have said we will obviously defer to the Commerce Commission ultimately for the best decision here. That’s why we’ve said this must be part of the solution, whether we land on vertical or horizontal. Separation I don’t think, is a decision for politicians to have to make.” 

On lobbying, Wong said politics needed to be cleaned up. 

“Our policy states a $30,000 cap which is in line with the Electoral Commission’s recommendations. We are open to negotiation on the clean-up politics approach, but it has to achieve the outcomes that we are seeking to achieve, which is a level playing field.” 

Opportunity Party leader Qiulae Wong announcing the party's bottom lines for entering a coalition or confidence-and-supply agreement. Photo / Dean Purcell 

The Greens climbed three points in the latest 1News/Verian poll released on Monday night, a result that would give the party 19 MPs. 

In response, co-leader Chloe Swarbrick has listed finance, energy, state-owned enterprises and climate change on her ministerial wish list. 

Asked about her wish list for ministerial portfolios, Wong said those won’t be part of her bottom-line approach. 

“Every party has their own approach to electioneering and campaigning, we’re not setting out specific portfolios that we want at this stage,” Wong said. 

But she continues to insist that she won’t be part of a government with Winston Peters as foreign minister. 

“These five bottom lines today are our positive proactive policies that we want to see enacted. That is still a position we maintain, that we will not support a government where Winston Peters is the foreign minister.” 

Peters was quick to rubbish Opportunity’s move. 

On X he wrote: “The Opportunity Party’s ‘bottom lines’ are more like a ‘wrinkly derriere’ ... the inexperience and political naivety of TOP on full show – the sooner they are shutout of getting anywhere near running the country the better.“ 

Wong shook her head at that. 

“I think it’s really sad that is the state of politics that we have politicians putting each other down rather than focusing on how we can move together forward as a country. 

“If he wants to commit to furthering these ideas, and if he thinks that they are things that everybody should be working on, then we really look forward to that commitment and that agreement from New Zealand First.” 

Labour leader Chris Hipkins said Opportunity was “getting a bit ahead of themselves” setting out bottom lines this far out from an election. 

“There’s 39 days to go. there’s a lot of votes to be won and lost in that time. My goal is to win as many of them as I possibly can. Then we can sit down and talk about, you know, those sorts of things.” 

He said there were certainly areas where the parties could work together. 

“It doesn’t mean I agree with absolutely everything that they’re proposing but I think everyone’s getting a bit ahead of themselves here.” 

National leader Christopher Luxon has repeatedly ruled out forming a government with Opportunity. 

“I always expected that that door would reopen if they needed us, and I believe that these five bottom lines, in particular are workable for National or Labour. They should be focused on these things if they want to take New Zealand forward,” Wong said. 

“There is a lot of common ground there around growing our economy, restoring faith in our democracy, and our relationship with nature.” 

Honouring Te Tiriti will be a crucial part of any negotiations, Wong said, although it wasn’t listed in the bottom lines. 

“Anything that other parties put on the table that undermines that, will, will impact our ability to move forward,” Wong insisted. 

“National has said that they would stay in the Paris Agreement and that they wouldn’t abolish the Climate Change Commission. So, if anything, I think we strengthen National’s position on environmental issues and hope they would see that.” 

Wong says the five bottom lines are designed to deliver change that can endure beyond a single term of government. 

“We are here for unity, innovation and nature, not for the next three years but for generations to come,” Wong said. 

Katie Bradford is a Senior Correspondent at the Herald. She has been a broadcast journalist for over 20 years and was based in the press gallery for 10 years. She specialises in politics, business and Auckland issues.