New Zealand's newcomer Qiulae Wong could hold balance of power after tight election
The 38-year-old leader of the Opportunity Party may become a kingmaker in New Zealand's parliament as initial results leave the contest between Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's coalition and Labour without a clear winner.
Qiulae Wong, who has led the Opportunity Party for less than a year, could become pivotal in forming New Zealand's next government after preliminary results showed no party securing a decisive majority. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's centre-right coalition currently holds a two-seat lead, but the margin could shrink once special votes – which historically favour left-leaning parties – are counted in the final tally due on November 27.
Both Luxon's National Party and Labour, headed by Chris Hipkins, are expected to seek a coalition arrangement, and each would need the support of Wong's centrist Opportunity Party, which appears set to win seven seats with a 5.96% vote share. Wong, a former sustainable-business consultant who took over the decade-old party in November 2025, oversaw a rapid rebrand and surge in popularity.
"It might seem like we've just arrived, that this is an overnight success, but to many in this room, this result has been a long time coming," Wong said to supporters in Auckland.
Opportunity's platform centres on tax reform, proposing a NZ$19,400 annual universal basic income funded by a 1.75% land tax and a simplification of the income-tax system. Wong explained the policy as a shift toward taxing wealth rather than labour.
"There's also been a shift globally around seeing the need to tax work less and tax wealth more or tax assets more. And so that's what this tax reset package is designed to do: take some of the burden off income tax and place that onto property," she told Reuters in August.
Both National and Labour have ruled out adopting these proposals, and Luxon has repeatedly stated he would not enter a coalition with Opportunity. Wong indicated she would negotiate with whichever party secures the most seats, keeping options such as coalition, confidence-and-supply or cross-bench support open.
"There are different forms of us working with other parties, whether that's coalition, confidence and supply, being on the crossbenches, and all of those options are on the table for us right now," she told TVNZ.
The final composition of the 131-member parliament will be confirmed after the official count on November 27.