“We are the next generation of leaders” says Qiulae Wong
The Opportunity Party will campaign to stop division, build the next economy and restore nature this election.
In her first State of the Nation speech as Opportunity leader, Qiulae Wong said her party would be an MMP kingmaker that is an “accelerator for progress – instead of a handbrake on change”.
Speaking to sustainability and business leaders at an event in Auckland, Wong shared her vision for New Zealand in 2050 and announced the party’s Healthy Oceans and Abundant Energy policies.
The event followed a controversial boycott of the annual National Party Blue-Greens forum by a group of conservation NGOs – all of whom attended the Opportunity event instead.
Throughout the speech, Wong positioned Opportunity as a unifying force in a political system that is “not fit for purpose” – calling out New Zealand First’s “politics of fear and division” as being harmful to New Zealand’s future.
Wong spoke to the need for New Zealand’s leaders “to stop pretending that getting ‘back on track’ is a viable strategy. The old track is gone… our only option is to build the next one” she said.
“The New Zealand deal – ‘do the mahi – get the treats’ – is broken” said Wong – before laying out how a clean energy revolution and a tax reset(based on a Land Value Tax and Citizen’s Income payment to most adults) could stop New Zealand’s “downward spiral”.
Throughout the speech, Wong asked New Zealanders what kind of country the next generation deserves to inherit – sharing her vision for high-density green cities, a 100-year infrastructure plan and a more unified society.
Wong also announced that Opportunity would ban bottom trawling as part of its Healthy Oceans policy – “because ripping up our seabeds to sell a few more boxes of fish fingers, is not in the interests of New Zealanders” she said.
The Healthy Oceans policy is a “generational investment that puts biodiversity at the heart of marine policy”. The policy will overhaul fisheries management, expand marine and coastal protection, invest in the blue economy and govern New Zealand’s seas for long-term sustainability.
The party’s Abundant Energy policy was also launched on Saturday – which Wong described as “a circuit breaker for an energy system that has been underfunded for decades”. The policy aims to deliver clean, affordable energy through large scale investment in renewable generation, market reform and community & household level electrification.
The Teal Roundtable and State of the Nation event was attended by conservation and sustainability leaders from the Environmental Defence Society, World Wildlife Fund, Greenpeace, Forest & Bird, Legasea, Ma Tatou, Pure Advantage, the Sustainable Business Network and the Aotearoa Circle, among others.
Saturday’s address follows a busy month for the party – including a major donation, positive momentum in the polls and increased media coverage.
“It’s a long road to November 7. But make no mistake. We are on a roll and we’re not stopping until we send a new generation of leaders to Wellington” says Wong.
