The Opportunities Party

The Opportunities Party (usually referred to as TOP) is a centrist political party based in New Zealand. It was founded in 2016 by economist and philanthropist Gareth Morgan. The party is based upon an idea of "evidence-based" policy with 17 policies made up of four selected pillars of "Environment Front and Centre", "The Cost of Housing Must Come Down", "Universal Basic Income (UBI)" and "The Opportunity to Thrive".[3]

The Opportunities Party
AbbreviationTOP
LeaderGeoff Simmons
Deputy leaderShai Navot
FounderGareth Morgan
Founded4 November 2016
IdeologyRadical centrism[1]
Environmentalism[1]
Political positionRadical centre[2]
Slogan"Vote Different"
House of Representatives
0 / 120
Website
www.top.org.nz

During the 2017 general election, TOP gained 2.4% of the vote and won no seats in the New Zealand House of Representatives.[4]

The party is led by Geoff Simmons, who has announced that the party intends to contest the 2020 general election, running several candidates across the country, with the party utilizing similar but 'updated' "evidence-based policy".[5]

Policies and principles

TOP lists its policies on the party website. In summary, these include:

  • Deem a minimum rate of return for all assets (including housing, land and business assets) and charge a tax on it. At the same time, reduce income tax rates so that the total tax take remains unchanged.[6] The changes will be done gradually to ensure house prices remain stable while incomes grow. The party considers the existing tax regime to favour owners of capital and to over-tax wage earners, to favour home-owners and to disadvantage those who rent their home, and to encourage investment in real estate rather than productive businesses.[7]
  • Introduce a better urban development strategy with a new 'Urban Development Act' to replace the RMA. This would increase the supply of new housing in the marketplace, provide new forms of social housing and set out a 30-year plan to create "healthy, resilient cities". Additionally, this would include the creation of regional urban design panels responsible for reviewing major developments and a further redirection of revenue to local government to maintain public assets and infrastructure.[8]
  • Eliminating fossil-fuel use in New Zealand by 2050.[9]
  • Implementing a 'universal basic income' of $200 per week for all young adults 18-23,[10] families with children under 3 and for all over 65s. This would be funded by means-testing current superannuation.[11]
  • Legalising cannabis for purchase and use at age 20. Ensuring sales through Cannabis Licensing Trusts and taxes from sales will go into education on the risks of cannabis harm. The policy aims at minimising total harm and advocates decriminalisation and legalisation.[12]
  • Ceasing intensification of land use until impacts on rivers and lakes is offset. Adopting a policy that polluters pay.[13]
  • Tightening immigration laws and shifting the focus to attracting highly skilled migrants. Criteria for immigrants will involve demonstrating they can help improve the living standards of all New Zealanders. Limiting net immigration to 1% population growth per annum, and making access to permanent residency harder and longer.[14]
  • Providing free full-time early-childhood education. Reducing testing in schools so teachers spend less time marking tests and more time teaching.[15]
  • Establishing a written constitution and an upper house of parliament.[16]
  • Reduce the prison population by 40%. To achieve this, among other strategies, the Party would repeal the Bail Amendment Act of 2013 which has led to a dramatic increase in the number of people being held in prison on remand.[17]

History

Foundation

The Opportunities Party was founded by economist and philanthropist Gareth Morgan in November 2016. Gareth Morgan launched the party on 4 November outside Parliament House in Wellington. On 10 January 2017 the party announced that it had 2,000 members and was applying for registration. It also announced that it was considering standing electorate candidates.[18][19] The Electoral Commission posted notice of the registration application on 21 January.[20]

The party announced that then party chief of staff Geoff Simmons would contest the Mount Albert by-election on 25 February 2017.[21] During the by-election the party was criticised by David Seymour for offering free rides for Mount Albert voters, which he asserted breached the Electoral Act.[22] However, the Electoral Commission cleared TOP of any wrongdoing.[23] At the final count, Simmons received 623 votes, with 4.56% of the total vote, placing him third.[24]

2017 general election

The party was registered by the electoral commission on 6 March 2017.[25] On 24 May 2017, Gareth Morgan announced the party's first four electoral and list candidates for the general election on 23 September 2017. They were Geoff Simmons who would be the deputy leader of the party and would be standing in Wellington Central, Lesley Immink standing in East Coast, Jessica Hammond Doube standing in Ōhāriu and Jenny Condie as a list candidate and TOP's tax spokesperson.[26] TOP announced three more candidates on 1 June 2017 – Nicky Snoyink standing in Selwyn, Olly Wilson standing in Rangitata, and Kevin Neill standing in Waitaki.[27] In mid-June 2017, it was announced that artist Mika Haka would stand in Auckland Central.[28][29] On 28 August 2017, it was announced that former Green Party candidate Teresa Moore (standing in East Coast Bays) would join Geoff Simmons as co-deputy leader.[30][31] In total, the party ran 21 electoral candidates and 26 party list candidates.[32]

Leader Gareth Morgan faced controversy during the campaign for referring to Labour leader Jacinda Ardern as "lipstick on a pig", suggesting that the new leader had style but not substance.[33]

During the 2017 general election, TOP gained 2.4% of the vote and won no seats in the New Zealand House of Representatives.[4] Party leader Gareth Morgan vowed to continue fighting for a "fairer New Zealand" and maintained that TOP was not a failure since it was the fifth most popular party based on the provisional results.[34]

Post election developments

In December 2017, three months after the election, Morgan resigned as leader and the party's deputy leader Geoff Simmons and two candidates also stepped down from their roles. Morgan said the party would contest the 2020 election but he would not lead it.[35]

In the week that followed the resignations, candidates Jessica Hammond Doube and Jenny Condie announced the launching of a splinter group from TOP with the placeholder name "Next Big Thing". Both candidates attributed their low list rankings to their having raised questions over Morgan's controversial remarks during the election campaign.[36]

On 9 July 2018, Morgan announced that the Board of The Opportunities Party had decided to cancel the party's registration since the party lacked the time and resources to contest the 2020 general election. In late July, Morgan and the party's board announced that he would reconsider his decision to cancel the party's registration after receiving expressions of interest from people sympathetic to the party's goals. Morgan also indicated in a Facebook post that he was willing to fund candidates and leaders sympathetic to the goals of The Opportunities Party.

In August 2018, The Opportunities Party appointed a new board and Geoff Simmons was appointed interim leader. The new team embarked on a "Listening Tour" across the country to gauge supporter reaction and future interest.[37]

In December 2018, an internal leadership election was run by blockchain election company Horizon State. The candidates for leader were Geoff Simmons, Donna Pokere-Phillips, Amy Stevens, Anthony Singh, and Jessica Hammond-Doube. An election was also held for the member-representative to the Board. On 8 December 2018, the board announced that Geoff Simmons had been elected[38] and that Donna Pokere-Phillips had won the race for Member Representative.[39]

2020 general election

After gathering enough support to restart the party and continuing to register with the Electorate Commission, a rebrand and relaunch were held in October 2019. In the brand launch speech, leader Geoff Simmons called for a universal basic income and advances in environment and housing, and to "break the Labour / National duopoly".[40]

TOP has announced that it intends to have candidates contest electorates across the country, such as North Shore, Te Atatū, Epsom, Mt Albert, Central Auckland, Hamilton, Ilam, Nelson, Dunedin and Ōhāriu.[41] The Ōhāriu electorate is a particular focus: TOP's Ōhāriu candidate Jessica Hammond said that TOP intend to pour resources into that campaign, as it is the only seat that the party could win.[42]

The party received a broadcasting allocation of $145,101 for the 2020 election.[43]

The first logo for the Opportunities Party, a variant on Wā kāinga.
The second logo for the Opportunities Party, used during the 2017 election, with the full name underneath.

The party has used three different logos since its creation.

The party initially used a variant of the Wā kāinga / Home flag as its logo. In a November 2016 blog post, Gareth Morgan noted it had won the Morgan Foundation's flag competition in 2016 and that it symbolised "the transition we currently have underway in Aotearoa".[44] The creators of the Red Peak flag criticised the party for using a logo similar to their flag without discussing it with them.[45] The party attempted to register this as their logo in January 2017 at the same time as the party;[20] the party was registered in March 2017 but the logo was not.

The party then changed to a logo consisting of the letters, T, O, and P in black, red, and dark blue respectively. The party applied to register this with the Electoral Commission in April 2017[46] and it was approved in May 2017.[47]

In October 2019, the party updated its website, including a new logo. This logo shows a T, O, P, and full stop; the T and P are in black and the O and full stop are the same colour, though that colour varies from use to use. The logo can appear with a slogan "Vote Different", in a typewriter font.[48] This new logo was registered in February 2020.[49]

Electoral results

General elections
Election Candidates nominated Seats won Votes Vote share % Government
Electorate List
2017 21 26
0 / 120
 63,261 2.4% Not In Parliament

Office-holders

Leader
Name Portrait Assumed Office Left Office Notes
1 Gareth Morgan 4 November 2016 14 December 2017 party founder
2 Geoff Simmons 18 August 2018 Present

Deputy leader
Office Holder Assumed Office Left Office Notes
1 Geoff Simmons 24 May 2017 14 December 2017
2 Teresa Moore 28 August 2017 9 July 2018 Appointed co-deputy leader along with Simmons
3 Shai Navot 30 April 2020 Present Announced on Twitter[50]

References
  1. "Vision". TOP. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  2. Mt Albert by-election to test how palatable The Opportunities Party's 'radical centrism' will be in the general election; Geoff Simmons explains why 'it's time for something fresh'. Interest.co.nz. Author - Jenée Tibshraeny. Published 10 February 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  3. "TOP Policy". Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  4. "2017 General Election - Official Result". New Zealand Electoral Commission. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  5. "TOP Announces First Candidates for 2020 Election". 24 February 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  6. Cantin, John; Elwela, Darshana (15 December 2016). "The Opportunities Party asset tax policy released" (PDF). TaxMail. KPMG. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  7. "TOP1 - Tax reform". TOP. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  8. "Building Aotearoa New Zealand". Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  9. "TOP6 - Climate Change Action". TOP. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  10. https://www.top.org.nz/youthunconditionalbasicincome
  11. "TOP7 - Thriving Families and UBI". TOP. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  12. "The Real Deal Cannabis Reform". TOP. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  13. "TOP3 - Our Environment". TOP. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  14. "TOP2 - Smarter Immigration". TOP. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  15. "TOP5 - Education Reform". TOP. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  16. "TOP4 - Democracy Reset". TOP. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  17. Positive justice
  18. "The Opportunities Party to Register". The Opportunities Party. 10 January 2017. Archived from the original on 6 April 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  19. Sachdeva, Sam (10 January 2017). "Gareth Morgan registers political party to prepare for potential early election". Stuff. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  20. "Registration of The Opportunities Party (TOP) and Logo". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  21. Sachdeva, Sam (1 February 2017). "Gareth Morgan's party to take on Jacinda Ardern in Mt Albert by-election". Stuff. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  22. "ACT Party says TOP's offer of free bus rides to voters breaks the law". Stuff. 17 February 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  23. "The Opportunities Party cleared of 'treating' after giving free rides to voters". Stuff. 21 February 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  24. "Mt Albert - Official Result". www.electionresults.govt.nz. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  25. http://www.elections.org.nz/news-media/registration-opportunities-party-top
  26. "Gareth Morgan Announces The Opportunities Party (TOP) First Set of Candidates". TOP. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  27. "Gareth Morgan Announces The Opportunities Party (TOP) Second Set of Candidates". TOP. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  28. Jones, Nicholas (15 June 2017). "Mika to stand in Auckland Central for Gareth Morgan's new party". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  29. "Mika Haka". TOP. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  30. "Teresa Moore". TOP. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  31. "Gareth Morgan adds new deputy co-leader of TOP, releases party list". Stuff. 28 August 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  32. "Party and candidate lists for 2017 Election". New Zealand Electoral Commission. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  33. "Storm erupts over Gareth Morgan's 'lipstick on a pig' tweet". NZ Herald. 20 August 2017. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  34. Swinnen, Lucy (24 September 2017). "Party 'for a fairer New Zealand' falls flat, as Gareth Morgan's TOP falls far short of 5 per cent". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  35. "TOP loses leader Gareth Morgan and three other candidates in matter of hours". Stuff.co.nz. 14 December 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  36. Cooke, Henry (19 December 2017). "Ex-TOP candidates start new political action group". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  37. November 21, The Opportunities Party 0sc on; 2018. "The Listening Tour: Workshop Results". TOP. Retrieved 10 January 2019.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  38. "Parliamentary Leader Results" (PDF). d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  39. "Member Representative Results" (PDF). d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  40. "TOP Brand Launch". 8 October 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  41. "TOP Candidates". 20 March 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  42. Manch, Thomas (13 June 2020). "The battle for Ōhāriu: TOP is back, and it's hoping to spoil a fight between Labour and National". Stuff. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  43. "2020 Broadcasting Allocation Decision Released". Electoral Commission. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  44. Morgan, Gareth (6 November 2016). "Why I chose this for The Opportunities Party logo and what it means". TOP. Archived from the original on 13 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  45. Sachdeva, Sam (4 November 2016). "Explainer: Why is Gareth Morgan entering politics, and what are his chances?". Stuff. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  46. "Application to register political party logo". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  47. "Registration of party logo for The Opportunities Party (TOP)". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  48. "TOP". TOP. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  49. "Register of political parties". elections.nz. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  50. Opportunities Party (30 April 2020). ""Congratulations to Shai Navot..."". Twitter @top_nz. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
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