New Zealand Listener

Room at the Top

The Opportunities Party (Top) is surging in the polls! Relatively speaking. Founded in late 2016 by the economist Gareth Morgan, Top failed to reach MMP’s 5% threshold in 2017, winning just 2.4% of the party vote. It failed again in 2020 (1.5%) under the leadership of Geoff Simmons, Morgan’s former chief of staff, and again last year (2.2%) led by former Christchurch city councillor Raf Manji.

But in the publicly available polls released since the last election, an average of 2.81% of voters would give their party vote to Top. Which is impressive for a party that has no seats in Parliament, no presence in the media, no leader, no deputy leader and no money.

They’re working on all

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from New Zealand Listener

New Zealand Listener2 min read
Seeing Red In Church Road
Lying at the foot of the Taradale hills in Hawke’s Bay, Church Road has since 1990 crafted a host of classy, often great-value, wines. Money helps – the winery is owned by Paris-based Pernod Ricard, one of the world’s largest wine and spirits produce
New Zealand Listener2 min read
Still Screaming
DARK MATTER by Pearl Jam In rock culture where bands – through business frustrations, “musical differences”, fragile egos or competing personalities –implode or explode with predictable frequency, some remain resistant to the chaos. You have to admi
New Zealand Listener1 min read
Tuesday May 7
Don’t call it a comeback: LL Cool J, whose long run playing Sam Hanna on NCIS: Los Angeles ended last year, has – after a sneaky cameo last season – joined the cast as a recurring character in NCIS: Hawai‘i’s third season. Meanwhile, having seen off

Related Books & Audiobooks