The Opportunity Party leader Qiulae Wong says New Zealanders are looking for something different.

The leader of the Opportunity Party (TOP), Qiulae Wong, says many New Zealanders are seeking a fresh approach to politics after years of governments failing to address the country’s biggest challenges.

Wong said New Zealand has seen successive governments, whether led by Labour or National, struggle to deliver meaningful progress on major issues.

“They have seen successive governments, whether they have been Labour-led or National-led, fail to deliver on issues like climate change, competition, the cost of living, and the economy. These are problems that have persisted over decades, and we have been unable to break through and come up with real solutions. I think people are looking for a party that is bringing fresh thinking and fresh ideas.”

Wong said TOP is also focused on finding common ground rather than contributing to political division.

“We are also a party looking for common ground across the political spectrum rather than playing into this tribalism and ‘us versus them’ rhetoric. We want to bring people closer together, and I think New Zealanders are keen to see more of that in their politics.”

Speaking to Radio Tarana host Sanjesh Narain about her background, Wong said she was born in Fiji and has paternal family connections to a business family from Lautoka.

“I was born there but grew up in Auckland from the age of six months. I went to university here and then spent my career working in the private sector and business.”

When asked which voters are being drawn to TOP, Wong said the party’s support is largely coming from younger New Zealanders.

“I think the bulk of people coming to our party are around my age—people who have grown up with an awareness of issues like climate change and have seen successive governments fail to tackle these big issues.”

Wong added that the Opportunity Party is open to working with any political party to achieve its policy goals.