We depend on nature, but we’re stuck in old economic models that ignore the health of the land and ocean we call home. In the next economy, nature and business aren’t separate, but one and the same. We believe that people can wear suits AND fight hard for the natural world at the same time. To build the next economy where purpose-led, low-emissions businesses grow wealth by restoring nature, Opportunity will:

• Invest in new, nature-positive sectors like continuous cover native forestry and a nature market, where actions to improve biodiversity are rewarded.
• Support landowners to transition to high-value, low impact land uses through spatial planning and innovative technology.
• Listen to business and community leaders pathfinding nature-positive business frameworks, like Rewiring Aotearoa.
• Design a circular plastics economy aligned to the objectives of the New Plastics Economy Roadmap developed by the New Zealand plastics industry.

Detailed policy released in 2026.

Our ocean is central to the Kiwi identity and our economy. But it’s under threat. It’s time to take warming, acidification, sealife loss, pollution and sediment issues seriously – so that we can enjoy and earn a living from the sea for generations to come. To regenerate our marine ecosystems and protect every New Zealander’s right to a healthy, thriving ocean, Opportunity will:

• Support opportunities in the blue economy, like sustainable aquaculture and offshore renewable energy.
• Reform the fishing rights quota system to both restore fish stocks and give fair allocations to all.
• Ban or restrict the most damaging commercial practices, like bottom-trawling.
• Build public awareness of the importance of our oceans and back those communities working to restore our marine areas – like theLegaSea plan for abundant oceans.

Detailed policy released in 2026.

Climate change is real, is caused by human activity and is already here. The decisions we make today will shape how we, our children and grandchildren adapt – or not – to a warming world. Preparing for climate change means doing our part to prevent further heating - using our international relationships to push for greater global effort, and adapting to climate disruption. To stay secure and to realise once-in-a-generation opportunities as the climate changes, we need the courage to transform our economy, communities and environment. To step up to this great challenge, Opportunity will:

• Strengthen the Emissions Trading Scheme by adding a mechanism for agricultural emissions, excluding new exotic forestry and ensuring the Climate Change Commission sets budgets.
• Support farmers to reduce emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change.
• Support local government in implementing nature-based solutions for flood resilience and heat stress.
• Promote energy efficiency, transport mode-shift, electrification and renewable energy generation.
• Improve air quality by setting the right economic incentives.
• Support programmes that reward carbon sequestration via soil, wetlands and other biodiversity-rich projects, instead of pine trees.

Detailed policy released in 2026.

In some areas, Nature needs us to take a strong stand to protect what’s left. When half of our rivers are unswimmable and our unique biodiversity is at risk: it’s time to act. To prioritise the health of critical natural systems facing severe environmental challenges, Opportunity will:

• Increase conservation and biosecurity funding.
• Improve water quality through strong regulation and independent oversight.
• Work with farmers to reduce pesticide and artificial fertiliser use.

Detailed policy released in 2026.

Next-generation innovation needs to sit on the right tax foundations. A Land Value Tax fixes the broken economic settings that have led to sky-high housing prices. By taxing land, we’ll redirect money away from non-productive housing and into the hands of our entrepreneurs, gumboot innovators, small businesses and culture-builders. That’s where real economic growth will come from. A Land Value Tax will:

• Bring down house prices by taxing land speculation and banking.
• Encourage high-density housing – increasing housing supply in our cities and lowering rents in the medium-long term.
• Incentivise investment in productive sectors of the economy and our communities, where it can generate real economic growth.

Detailed policy released in 2026.

Homegrown success stories like Xero and Rocket Lab show that Kiwi creativity can change the world. To get the settings right for other high value businesses to start and scale, we need an innovation ecosystem that aligns capital with smart people, cutting-edge science and the means to go to global markets. To invest in the fundamentals that high value businesses need, Opportunity will:

• Incentivise capital to shift into business investment instead of property, using a Land Value Tax and by making retirement saving compulsory.
• Raise our national spending on research & development to at least 2% of GDP by boosting tax credits and boosting/locking-in stable funding for core scientific research.
• Lure back our best and brightest with student loan interest forgiveness.
• End our reliance on low-skill migration while loosening up the rules for high wage and in-demand workers.
• Lock in long-term funding for core scientific research.

Detailed policy released in 2026.

To build modern companies with high-paying jobs, we need a regulation framework that moves with the times and supports the right kind of economic growth. The days of pumping-up Gross Domestic Product with old tricks like direct sector subsidies, expanding extractive industries or boosting low-skill immigration need to end. To make a generational leap in productivity growth and new business development, Opportunity will:

• End wasteful direct subsidies to sectors like film, racing, gaming and tourism.
• Continue to open New Zealand airspace for aerospace innovation.
• Legalise and regulate production and sale of recreational cannabis.
• Support the Gene Editing Bill to pass and encourage businesses to innovate safely with this new technology.
• Build a gold-standard regulatory environment for AI development.

Detailed policy released in 2026.

There’s a reason our pipes are leaking and our buses are late. You get what you pay for. We have chronically underinvested in infrastructure for decades and now have a $1 trillion spending shortfall over the next 30 years, according to the Infrastructure Commission. It’s time to get to work. To build a New Zealand we’re proud to pass onto the next generation and to generate tens of thousands more well-paid jobs. Opportunity will raise public investment significantly, including making additional funding available to local government.

Detailed policy released in 2026.

Our infrastructure problems aren’t just about not spending enough. Despite spending more per capita on infrastructure than any other OECD country, we’re in the bottom 10% for return on that investment. The root causes are not funding levels but systemic dysfunction: infrastructure decisions swinging wildly between electoral cycles based on pork-barrel politics, poor asset management wasting resources, procurement processes lacking standardisation, a construction workforce facing critical shortages and a creaking regulatory system delaying essential projects. This creates uncertainty that prevents private investment, drives up costs through boom-bust cycles and leaves communities with inadequate transport, water, housing, and digital infrastructure. All of this constrains productivity growth and affordability for ordinary New Zealanders.

In the next economy, we’ll break the wasteful cycle of cancelled projects and can-kicking with an intergenerational infrastructure plan to build to re-build the basics we know we need – reliable inter-island ferries, long deferred maintenance, safe drinking water and more.

As the only party that can work with both the left and right blocs, Opportunity is well placed to convene a long-term infrastructure strategy and protect it through changes in Government. Working across multiple parties will mean compromise, but the key elements Opportunity will seek consensus on are:

• A 30-year framework developed apolitically by the experts at the Infrastructure Commission.
• Completing replacement of the Resource Management Act to speed up and simplify project approvals.
• User-pays and value capture where appropriate.
• Taking the politics out of maintenance by requiring infrastructure owners to meet asset management standards and plan maintenance and renewal as part of an integrated national pipeline.

Detailed policy released in 2026.

Detailed policy released in 2026.

The central policy Opportunity will take to the 2026 election is a package of tax reforms to end the cost-of-living crisis and lower house prices.

New Zealand’s tax system hasn’t changed for decades. It’s time for a reset that lifts the tax burden off working people and ends our addiction to high house prices. The full policy will be released in the first half of 2026, but the three key reforms in the package include:

• Ending the cost-of-living crisis with a Citizen’s Income. A Citizen’s Income backs every Kiwi so they can afford the basics to live well and contribute. Most adults will receive a regular payment roughly in line with the current Jobseeker benefit. No paperwork, no bureaucrats – just a financially secure base to build a life on. The Citizen’s income is paid for by introducing a Land Value Tax and eliminates the ‘welfare trap’ where people on a benefit pay an effective marginal tax rate of up to 90% for taking on work.

• Bringing house prices down with a Land Value Tax. A land value tax (LVT) makes housing affordable again by shifting the tax load off working people and onto land. The tax applies to land only (not any buildings on that land). This encourages high-density housing and discourages urban sprawl, land-banking or large rental property portfolios, which helps force down house prices. An LVT will retool our economy for innovation and production, instead of rent-seeking and paper profits. This will help drive real economic growth, by redirecting investment away from housing and towards business. For ‘land rich, cash poor’ Kiwis like farmers and retirees, exceptions and deferrals will apply.

• Simplifying the system with a Flat Tax. A flat income tax means there is one tax rate for almost everyone, as well as companies and trusts. This makes tax administration simpler and minimises opportunities to avoid tax. Combined with the Citizen’s Income, almost all lower and middle income Kiwis will be better off under Opportunity’s flat tax system. It’s simple, transparent and stops ‘bracket creep’ (where inflation unfairly increases your tax bill over time). Combined with the Land Value Tax, a Flat Tax incentivises New Zealanders to invest in business and in hiring others, instead of passively investing in land.

Detailed policy released in 2026.

At Opportunity, we’re not afraid of debt.

Politicians always use a household’s spending and borrowing as an analogy for government spending and borrowing. And they’re right. Households borrow money all the time for both good and bad reasons.

Good borrowing is generally to invest in things that will pay off in the long-run. For many New Zealanders that means a mortgage to buy or improve housing. But student loans are also an investment we make in our own futures, and the entrepreneurs among us might borrow to start a business. With government debt forecast to peak at just 46% of GDP in 2028, there’s a lot more borrowing we can be doing to build the assets that will help us provide for our own and our children’s future prosperity.

For households, there are also unsustainable ways to take on debt; borrowing to pay for groceries or regular bills isn’t going to work for any length of time. In the same way, the Government needs to live within its means and ensure its regular spending is covered by the tax it collects; at least on average across the ups and downs of the economic cycle. That’s not where we are now and at Opportunity we support reigning in the structural deficit. There are two ways to do this: cut government spending or raise more taxes. Our platform involves a bit of both.

The most important thing when it comes to talking about money with the people you care about - whether your family or your fellow citizens - is being open and honest. That’s why all of our policies will be fully costed and explained in plain English, rather than Government-speak.

Detailed policy released in 2026.

People are losing trust in politics. Too many of New Zealanders feel that politics is now something done to them - not with them. To break this cycle of broken politics, let’s do democracy differently and hear the Citizens' Voice.

With Citizens' Assemblies backed by an independent Parliamentary Commissioner, everyday people can lead where the politicians have failed.

Because when ordinary people have enough information, time to discuss, and are treated with respect, we consistently find common ground on hard issues. It's just what we do. If politicians haven’t got the courage to stop kicking the can on tough issues like climate change, superannuation or infrastructure – then it’s time to put people back at the heart of our big decisions.

Read more about this 2026 election policy in our policy paper.

Democracy works when everyone – rich or poor – gets represented equally. But when some New Zealanders are able to hire lobbyists, make large donations or wine-and-dine politicians, the system starts to slide into corruption and eventually breaks. With trust in our leaders hitting all-time lows, we need to take real action to build transparency, honesty and accessibility back into politics. To protect our democratic process, Opportunity will:

• Limit political donations, build systems for full donation transparency and enforce prosecution for illegal political donations.
• Regulate professional lobbyists and introduce a register of beneficial interests.
• Create an independent Anti-Corruption Commission with the teeth to enforce the rules.

Detailed policy released in 2026.

It matters who gets into Parliament and how. Our current election processes haven’t changed in decades and need a refresh so that everyone’s voice gets heard at the ballot box. With trust in our leaders collapsing, it’s time to build parliamentary systems that help leaders to think long-term, develop great policy and live up to their responsibilities to citizens. To strengthen our democracy and help end the divisive gridlock and short-term politics of today, Opportunity will:

• Hear the Citizen’s Voice on electoral system reform - like changes to the party vote threshold, Parliamentary terms and alternatives to MMP like Single Transferable Voting.
• Limit the use of urgency to pass laws and strengthen Parliament’s Select Committees, potentially by increasing their sitting days.
• Strengthen the Official Information Act.

Detailed policy released in 2026.

Opportunity takes the responsibility of the Crown as a Treaty partner seriously. That means taking protection of taonga and redress of historical wrongs seriously. To live up to this responsibility, Opportunity will:

• Repeal the Treaty Principles Bill and Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Amendment Bill if these are passed.
• Include Aotearoa history, including Te Tiriti, at all levels of the education system.
• Support growth in the numbers of qualified te reo teachers, to ensure a place for te reo education at school.
• Support devolution of services - backed by real resources and autonomy - in key areas where outcomes are unequal, especially health and justice.
• Support the equitable conclusion of remaining Treaty settlement processes.

Detailed policy released in 2026.

Day-to-day life shouldn’t be this expensive. To make everyday items – groceries, school uniforms and the power bill – more affordable, we’ll introduce a Citizen’s Income so that every Kiwi has the basics to live well, contribute and follow their ambitions. A Citizen’s income is a regular payment to almost all adults, roughly in line with the current Jobseeker benefit. No paperwork, no bureaucrats - just a financially secure base to build a life on. A Citizen’s Income will:

• Provide every Kiwi with the financial security to contribute – be it studying, starting a business, caring for a child or stepping up in their community.
• Eliminate the ‘welfare trap’, where people on a benefit pay an effective marginal tax rate of up to 90% for taking on work.
• Create a highly progressive income tax system that increases cash-in-the-hand for most New Zealanders, when combined with the flat tax.

Detailed policy released in 2026.

It’s time to rein in the monopoly sectors that aren’t competing to bring prices down - like our supermarkets, banks, building materials and power companies. It’s not right that these businesses make record profits while ordinary Kiwis cut household budgets and our economy stalls. To save the average Kiwi household more than $40 a week (projected) and boost competition and growth in the wider economy, Opportunity will:

• Bring power prices down by reforming the electricity sector.
• Bring other prices down by breaking up or regulating the cozy mock-competition among the big banks, building material suppliers and supermarkets.
• Strengthen the Commerce Act and boost funding to the Commerce Commission.

Detailed policy released in 2026.

The best time to start saving was yesterday. The second-best time is today. Kiwis have really gotten behind Kiwisaver, but most of us need to save more to guarantee a comfortable retirement. There are also many New Zealanders whose employment circumstances mean they’re being left behind.

A fully compulsory scheme, with substantially higher employer and employee contributions, will complement the Citizen’s Income to make sure we can all grow old with dignity. When well designed, stronger Kiwisaver balances can also be a powerful investment tool for building future infrastructure.

Detailed policy released in 2026.

A home is security and stability – the place we build good, productive lives from. But our housing market is broken, with home ownership now out of reach for generations of Kiwis. It’s time to make houses homes again, not just investment vehicles.

Three decades of pro-housing tax and banking policies have made home ownership the smart place to invest for the future. But those same settings have made houses in New Zealand ‘severely unaffordable’ - on average a home costs 7.3 times the median wage. A house is considered ‘affordable’ at 3 times the median wage.

When other parties talk about ‘housing affordability’, they’re usually talking about tweaks that might slow house prices a bit (like building more houses faster). But really, they’re hoping like heck that wages creep up faster than house prices over time. But even in the best-case scenario, it would take decades for the wage-house price gap to close again - prices have just gone that high, that fast.

So here’s the straight-up truth. If we want affordable housing for New Zealanders, prices have to drop. Shout out to National MP Chris Bishop - one of the few politicians with the courage to call it like it is.

We understand that this will be a hard policy to accept for those Kiwis who own homes - particularly those who bought between 2020 and 2023, when prices went particularly crazy. Houses have a way of making us feel safe and secure and no-one wants to see their home price drop.

We know this policy will cost us votes. But ensuring that every Kiwi can feel that same sense of safety and security with a fair housing market is the right thing to do. So we’ll keep standing by it.

Opportunity will introduce a Land Value Tax to bring house prices down and redirect investment away from weatherboards, and into work and innovation. A Land Value Tax will:

• Apply to land only (not any buildings on that land) - encouraging high-density housing and discouraging land-banking or large rental property portfolios to help force down house prices.
• Include exceptions and deferrals for ‘land rich, cash poor’ Kiwis like farmers and retirees.
• Retool our economy for innovation and production, instead of rent-seeking and paper profits – driving real economic growth by redirecting investment away from housing and towards business.

Detailed policy released in 2026.

Using smart planning and housing investment policies, we can build some of the way to a better housing market. We are estimated to be short at least 80,000 houses nationwide, so to launch a modern house building boom and future-proof New Zealand’s housing stock for economic and climate challenges of the future, Opportunity will:

• Streamline the building of tiny homes, sleepouts and extensions - without compromising on quality or safety - by publishing design guides and pattern books.
• Further simplify zoning, with a smaller, nationally consistent set of zones that protect productive farmland, civic spaces and heritage buildings - while allowing housing to be built where needed at the appropriate densities.
• Zone for mixed-use and allow construction of extensions for work or community spaces and shops.
• Support offsite builders who take on apprentices.
• Back reputable developments with affordable housing, by underwriting to take the ‘bust’ out of the ‘boom-bust’ cycle.
• Incentivise quality with low-cost loans and refunding of GST collected during construction for high environmental standard builds.
• Support long-term social housing construction by both Community Housing Providers and Kainga Ora and let each play to their strengths.

Detailed policy released in 2026.

The evidence is overwhelming that the early years of our lives are critical for development. To thrive in a more complex world, Kiwi kids need to experience a wide range of environments supported with secure relationships to the adults in their lives. Early Childhood Education (ECE) managed within a community setting and built alongside parents are critical spaces for teaching and learning. To level the playing field between community run ECE centres and ever-larger and increasingly profitable corporate centres, Opportunity will:

• Limit the size of ECE centres and introduce more stringent requirements for physical space and educator-to-child ratios.
• Provide additional support to parent-led ECE initiatives like Playcentre and Kōhanga Reo, as well as community-owned ECE centres.
• Require pay parity with primary and secondary teachers for ECE teachers.
• Get schools ready for children, rather than get children ‘ready’ for school.

Detailed policy released in 2026.

The world our children will grow up in will be challenging and complex. Education needs to change with the times to ensure our young people are ready. To build more adaptability into the education system, Opportunity will:

• Teach civics from Year 6.
• Improve specialist support and teaching assistance for high-needs children.
• Pay qualified teachers well, including for additional duties, and invest in their professional development with accredited programmes and quality mentoring.
• Integrate early childhood education with the early years of primary school.
• Encourage schools to reduce screen time in classrooms and use screen-based learning as a tool for specific objectives, in line with recent guidance from The Education Hub.
• Support lifelong and flexible learning, including funding for community night schools.

Detailed policy released in 2026.

It costs all of us more than $150,000 a year to house a prisoner. For context - we spend about $9,000 educating a child for a year.

In a justice system that’s ‘smart on crime’, we’ll invest in solutions that are proven to actually reduce crime rates, not just punish people. That means evolving our eye-wateringly expensive prison system towards solutions that rehabilitate offenders and reduce their likelihood of reoffending. It also means investing earlier in people - preventing the traumatic experiences in childhood that we know increase the likelihood of later offending. To get smart on crime, Opportunity will:

• Increase funding for the courts and probation services to get remand prisoner numbers down.
• De-criminalise drug possession (but not supply) and shift to a health-led response to drug issues.
• Expand programmes that help prisoners process the harm of family violence in their past.
• Raise the age of youth court jurisdiction to 25, in line with developmental science.
• Expand drug and mental health Court pilots programmes.

Detailed policy released in 2026.

Our healthcare system is about more than just hospitals. Every $1 spent on primary care (like GPs, practice nurses and midwives) can save upwards of $13 in wider health system costs. It’s the same story for prevention and public health initiatives - stopping people from getting sick or hurt today saves us money tomorrow. The challenge is that realising those savings takes sustained effort and a long-term perspective.

To make sure we look after those who need it, and keep a focus on nurturing our long-term health (saving billions in the process), Opportunity will:

• Develop a process for cross-party planning on a ten year timeframe for the health system.
• Launch ‘spend-to-save’ primary and prevention initiatives, including digital health and AI tools.
• Fund core health services properly, including ambulances, GPs and health infrastructure.
• Increase pay and improve conditions for health sector workers and increase training placements and quality to ensure we have the workforce we need.
• Reinstate smokefree 2050 legislation.

Detailed policy released in 2026.