Luxon says he will call Qiulae Wong shortly after election

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says he will call Qiulae Wong shortly, after her Opportunity Party won seats in Parliament at the 2026 election.

Luxon told RNZ's Morning Report that one of the big lessons from the campaign was the need for more cross-party collaboration. He said he intends to talk to Wong, build a relationship with her and try to find common ground. On current numbers, he said, the right bloc of parties did not need the Opportunity Party, but he would speak with her regardless.

The Opportunity Party won 6 percent of the vote and is provisionally set to win seven seats. According to RNZ, it is the first party to enter New Zealand's Parliament from outside under MMP, the mixed-member proportional system that elects most MPs from party lists, with the rest chosen in electorate contests.

National won the most seats, even though its party vote fell to 29 percent. Luxon said it was non-negotiable that a National MP would be finance minister, although Nicola Willis is out of Parliament.

Wong told Morning Report she had received congratulatory calls from Labour leader Chris Hipkins and Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. She said she was open to speaking first with the largest party about working with other parties. If Luxon did not call first, she said she would contact him directly in the next few days or the next week or so.

Wong said her party's urgent priorities were the cost of living and regulating lobbying. She said sitting on the crossbenches, outside both the government and opposition benches, was an option if the major parties refused to meet her party's bottom lines.

On election night, 2.8 million ballots were counted. The election was held on Saturday 7 November, and the results for seats remain provisional.