As the election nears and the latest political poll puts Opportunity Party on a trajectory of six seats in Parliament, interest.co.nz looks at the top 10 candidates on the party's list for November 7.
#1 Qiulae Wong
Also known as 'Q', Wong is the Opportunity Party's leader running in Mount Albert, who was working at KPMG on sustainability and climate consulting before landing the role. While the role was advertised on Seek, Wong applied after seeing it on a party newsletter, saying she was frustrated at the change in direction the Government had taken around climate legislation and what that meant for the business community.
Wong said her upbringing being surrounded by "lots of different people from different walks of life" had "shaped my view that different perspectives are really valuable, and that coming at a particular problem from one perspective all the time is not a useful approach."
"And I’ve seen that in my business career as well. That the more diversity that you have of people within an organisation, the better decisions you make.”
As for her personal voting habits, she said she has voted across the political spectrum.
#2 Daniel Eb
Opportunity deputy Daniel Eb (who until recently was the party's communication lead, before party GM Iain Lees-Galloway took over), is running in Kaipara ki Mahurangi. He founded the company 'Open Farms' - a project to open up farms so the urban public could experience farm life and where their food came from, a writer's collective called 'Eating the Elephant' and a rural innovation communication agency.
#3 Jessica Hammond
Running for Wellington North, Hammond ran for the then-Opportunities Party in the last three election, joining the party under founder Gareth Morgan. Hammond is a public servant, working on areas such as transport infrastructure and disability legislation.
#4 Kayla Kingdon-Bebb
Kayla Kingdon-Bebb, the CEO of World Wide Fund for Nature New Zealand (WWF-New Zealand), is running in Wellington Bays.
Kingdon-Bebb has stepped back from direct political and media engagement at WWF, taking unpaid leave from August for the campaign. She also worked at the Ministry for the Environment and as Director of Policy for the Department of Conservation.
#5 Eden Skipper
Eden Skippier, running for Christchurch Central, is a research assistant at the University of Canterbury on Māori business and the political economy. Skipper previously worked at the Ministry for Primary Industries.
#6 Jodie Kuntzsch
Jodie Kuntzsch, who is running in Nelson, works in the seafood and aquaculture sector. Kuntzsch has experience in consulting in the seafood industry, creating 'blue economy' organisation Moananui.
#7 Sarah Lucas
Standing in New Plymouth, Sarah Lucas is a consultant and small business owner of 'Be Natural Soap', with local government experience.
#8 David Bainbridge-Zafar
Gore District Council's general manager of operations David Bainbridge-Zafar is running in Dunedin. He chairs the Dunedin Fringe Arts Trust, and previously worked at the Dunedin City Council and Health NZ.
#9 Holly Knill
Holly Knill, running in North Shore, is a business consultant and was previously chief consumer officer at 2degrees.
#10 Pāpā Wharewera
Kaperiere 'Pāpā' Wharewera is the Opportunity candidate standing in Waiariki. He has experience in local government and small business.
The party's full list of candidates is here.
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