Join local Southland candidate Bianca Beebe and Opportunity Party Deputy Leader Dan Eb to drink some pints and talk some politics. 

New Zealand is at a crossroads, facing some incredibly important decisions that will shape the future of our country. Opportunity Party is asking for your party vote to send us to Parliament, but we don't think any one person (or Party) in Wellington should be making all the decisions. At both the local and national level, democracy needs to mean something more than voting every 3 years. Opportunity Party is proposing we reform our democracy by reforming rules around corporate lobbying and campaign donations, and introducing citizens' assemblies. 

A citizens' assembly is essentially a process in which a representative sample of the community is empowered to make a decision about important issues. Rather than the divisiveness and expense that tends to accompany an election or referendum, a citizens' assembly allows for more nuance and finding common ground on a particular issue. Rural folks in particular have frequently expressed that central government doesn't understand their needs; we think citizens' assemblies would be a great way for local knowledge to be valued, and for decision-making to be more democratic.