Opportunity Party's Qiulae Wong meets Luxon and Hipkins on post-election strategy

Post-election meeting

Opportunity Party leader Qiulae Wong met with National leader Christopher Luxon and Labour leader Chris Hipkins to discuss potential collaboration areas without committing to specific policy bottom lines.

Luxon's positive assessment

Luxon described the meeting as 'very positive, very constructive, very good' and noted he does not need Opportunity's support to form a government with National, Act and New Zealand First holding a slim majority.

“very positive, very constructive, very good”

Common ground on policy

Both parties share alignment on KiwiSaver reforms and AI policy, with Luxon noting potential collaboration on infrastructure and environmental issues.

Wong's perspective

Wong stated they discussed 'some areas of common ground' including fisheries and environmental policies without going into specific bottom line commitments.

“some areas of common ground”

Wong's meeting with Hipkins

Wong also met with Labour leader Chris Hipkins for a similar conversation focusing on shared environmental and innovation priorities.

Bottom lines discussion

Wong confirmed they discussed bottom lines broadly but emphasized they are not yet in a kingmaker position to demand specific policy commitments.

Wong's stance on coalition

Wong stated she has no preferences between the parties, saying it is still 'very early days' for coalition negotiations.

“very early days”

Luxon's softened stance

Luxon softened his previous stance on Opportunity, now expressing interest in building relationships with other political leaders rather than ruling out collaboration.

Wong's private sector background

Wong highlighted shared private sector experience with Luxon, including sustainability work at Unilever and Air New Zealand.

Next steps

Wong plans to meet with other party leaders once they return to Parliament to further discuss potential collaboration.