Why Opportunity won't pick a side

By Qiulae Wong

I enjoyed reading Heather Du Plessis-Allan’s recent column and definitely appreciated her ‘Q’-Bond reference! 

But we need to address her assertion that Opportunity must join the tribal warfare of Wellington, and pick a side of politics, to survive. 

I disagree.

That view traps us in an outdated left and right boxing match that is failing New Zealand.

For twenty years, the left and right have played political musical chairs while NZ has declined. 

The growing support for The Opportunity Party comes from people who are ready for a new economic and social era to begin. They are exhausted with a broken status quo and are ready to try a new way forward. 

The Mayor of Auckland recently summed up this mood perfectly: “We just elect governments of Labour or National who are managing the decline. I’m sick of the decline.” 

He is absolutely right. 

In her piece, Heather paints our recently announced Tax Reset policy as classic left wing ‘socialist’ redistribution. 

It’s a telling example of how ideology and tribal allegiance becomes a filter through which we see the world around us. 

The reality is that our tax system drives all the wrong behaviours. It’s easier to get ahead by owning property and waiting for a doubling in value than working hard or running a business that provides jobs for others. Meanwhile, those unable to afford entry into the property game lose out on the security and stability a home provides. 

The ultimate proof of this failure is that young, productive New Zealanders are now voting with their feet. They are leaving for Australia and beyond in record numbers because our current economic settings offer them no future. We are hollowing out our own families and country to protect a housing bubble. 

Our proposed Land Value Tax and Citizen’s Income rebalances these structural issues. 

The broad-based Land Value Tax drives investment in businesses that produce actual goods, services and high paying careers - delivering real, tangible economic growth. It also enables the Citizen’s Income, which ensures more financial security for every Kiwi and a significant income tax cut for the vast majority of working New Zealanders. 

I’d argue that the Tax Reset does more for conservative goals - like raising strong families, ensuring fairness and driving market efficiency - than anything the parties of the right are proposing. 

But that’s the problem with partisanship. It means that workable, costed reforms like the Tax Reset get dismissed out of hand because they fail the ideology-at-a-glance test. 

We’re not here to play that game. 

We will not slap a ‘left’ or ‘right’ label on our policies or party, just to make life easier for the media. 

Our pitch this election is simple. If you want New Zealand to move forward, then it’s time to leave the left and right behind.