Opportunity Party names its bottom lines for post-election talks

The Opportunity Party has set its bottom lines for talks after the election.

Leader Qiulae Wong confirmed them on 28 September. The party is polling at 6 percent in the 1News-Verian poll released on Monday, down two points, according to RNZ. On those numbers, both the left bloc and the right bloc would need its seven seats to form a government.

Wong said she is open to a coalition or a confidence-and-supply deal. A coalition usually means ministerial posts and a seat around the Cabinet table, where ministers must publicly back Cabinet decisions. Confidence and supply means backing a government on key votes in exchange for policy gains, while staying outside Cabinet. The difference affects who gets portfolios, who must vote together, and how much discipline MPs owe the deal.

The bottom lines focus on health, supermarkets and political lobbying. Wong said they are minimum requirements. She said they are designed to deliver change beyond one three-year term.

She said the party "is here for unity, innovation and nature, not for the next three years but for generations to come."

On lobbying, its Healthy People policy calls for a public lobbying register and cooling-off periods before ministers move into industry jobs, according to the party's policy page. Its Clean-up Politics policy says it will "shift lobbying into daylight and get big money out of politics", according to the party.

On health and education, the party says it will seek 10-year plans agreed across parties if elected, according to its policy material. The idea is to make policy last through changes of government, rather than fit into one Budget.

Wong signalled this earlier. In June, she said the party would set out bottom lines covering policies and values. In August, she said voters were starting to see the party as a "stable and safe coalition partner".

The party has risen over winter. It was at 3.3 percent in a 1News report dated 31 May 2026. RNZ reported it at 5.3 percent on 24 August. The latest 1News-Verian result has it at 6 percent, despite the two-point fall.

The broader context here is bargaining power. Seven seats that either side needs turns bottom lines from a wish list into a price for support. Stating them in public ties the leader to them before talks start and gives voters a way to judge any deal.

Looking at what this means for negotiations, the structure matters as well as the policies. A coalition brings ministers and a place in Cabinet, but also the rule that ministers support all Cabinet decisions in public. Confidence and supply brings policy wins and more distance, which helps a small party keep its own identity after campaigning on unity and long-term thinking. Keeping both options open leaves Wong with two routes to influence.

For other parties and officials, the lobbying and 10-year plan ideas are about process. A register and stand-down times change who can seek access and when. Cross-party 10-year plans for health and education would limit what future ministers can change on their own. Small parties often like that type of reform because it lasts beyond the term when it is agreed.