‘Sense of responsibility’: Qiulae Wong on quest to become the first Asian leader of a political party in Parliament

Up close and personal with Opportunity leader Qiulae Wong on the campaign trail discussing immigration, racist rhetoric and the country's diverse future.

The country's minor political parties have appeared to have combined to pilfer votes from main contenders National and Labour in the upcoming November election.

Together, their combined support now tops 40 percent - up from 31 percent, 18 percent and 15 percent in the previous three elections.

New Zealand First, which has not served consecutive terms in Parliament in recent election cycles, appears set to break that pattern and return this time.

Greens are currently polling at a historic high, with ACT and Te Pāti Māori not too far behind in terms of replicating their 2023 results.

Opportunity, formerly The Opportunities Party, has attracted about 2 percent of the vote since its founding in 2016.

However, current polling suggests the party - now led by Chinese New Zealander Qiulae Wong - may clear the 5 percent threshold for the first time in its decade-long history.

If that happens, Wong will have achieved several historic firsts.

In the country's 30-year MMP history, no leader without prior experience as an MP has taken their party into Parliament.

More significantly, no New Zealander of Chinese, Indian or other ethnic descent has led a party represented in Parliament.

Born in Fiji to a Chinese father and Pākehā mother, Wong is conscious of the responsibility that comes with this.

When RNZ joined her on the campaign trail in West Auckland recently, she noted how Asian communities were particularly happy to see her in a leadership position when she interacted with them.

"I am really grateful for [this] privilege," she said.

"I have had some really lovely conversations with people from the Chinese community, and I do feel a sense of responsibility because people obviously have expectations and hope."

Wong moved to New Zealand at 6 months old, grew up in Auckland's One Tree Hill, studied law and politics locally, and spent nearly a decade in London before returning home in 2022.

She is contesting the Mt Albert electorate, but current polling suggests her only realistic path to Parliament is as Opportunity's top-ranked list candidate.

Wong spent most of her career working with sustainable businesses and applied to be the leader of the party when the job was unusually and widely advertised in September last year.

Critics portray her as a leader for hire, treating the role as just another job, and question whether she will stay through 2029 if Opportunity fails to enter Parliament.

It's worth noting that Opportunity has a history of leadership turnover.

Founder Gareth Morgan led it into the 2017 election, followed by Shai Navot in 2020.

Former Christchurch city councillor Raf Manji then led the party in 2023, winning 2.2 percent of the party vote while contesting Ilam.

Wong promised that would not be the case this time.

"Even if we don't get in, I am committed to staying," she said.

"The process [Opportunity] went through to find a leader was a good one," she said.

"To find people that wouldn't normally be in politics because what we need is some fresh thinking.

"So, we can't go looking in the ordinary places to look for politicians."

Jade Reidy, a volunteer for the party in West Auckland, said Wong was sometimes derided for being a party leader who "answered a job ad".

"[But] I do think that the only way an Asian person in this country could [have] become a party leader [was] through merit. Too many closed doors the usual route," Reidy said.

"[Wong] outshone every other contender on that basis. She represents a once-in-a-generation shift in our political landscape."

Wong is more modest.

On what has changed after she became the leader of Opportunity, which is now touching distance of Parliament, she credited the party's past work.

"The time is finally right for Opportunity, and we have been building towards this for 10 years … a lot of hard work has come before me … we have also learnt a lot for our [previous] campaigns … so [this time] our message is resonating with people," she said.

"I am not here to cause division … [or] to take the country back to the 1950s. … I am focusing on the future … on how to bring our country together to move forward."

The future New Zealand that Wong talks about is increasingly diverse and multicultural.

According to Stats NZ, a third of the country's population is likely to claim Asian heritage by 2048, up from 19 percent as per the 2023 Census.

So, what happens when a Chinese-origin MP who has been living in New Zealand since 1994 is told to go back to his country in a parliamentary debate, and how would she react if faced with similar situation?

"It's not acceptable for our political leaders to have that kind of rhetoric … it's not good for New Zealand. It's harmful for migrant communities," Wong said.

"A lot of the time, I don't think those politicians even believe what they're saying. They just say it for effect, which makes it worse because it empowers and allows other people to think it's okay."

Wong praised Green MP Lawrence Xu-Nan, who was told by Foreign Minister Winston Peters "to go back to your own country" during a debate in the House in July.

"He [Xu-Nan] handled himself well," Wong said.

"I have grown up [in New Zealand] with subtle and not-so-subtle racism all my life … [so] I think it's important to stand up for yourself and say something. [But] it's also important to show dignity in those moments as well."

Opportunity leader has elsewhere labelled Peters' remarks on Xu-Nan "clearly racist".

She defends the migrant community, saying they bring "a lot of benefits" to New Zealand.

"I don't think we should rely on immigration to grow our economy and productivity," she said.

"We need to take a more long-term view on immigration, a more proactive stance where we know what our population make-up is going to be by 2040, 2050."

A political newbie who is not a career politician, Wong said she represented a "different kind of politics" and was running a "different kind of campaign".

The party has made a key tactical shift from 2023 by abandoning electorate campaigns to maximise the party vote.

Manji's intensive campaign in Christchurch's Ilam electorate last election drained party resources and signalled that a vote for The Opportunities Party (TOP) could be wasted.

"The real problem I certainly found with United Future [is] that people liked what we were saying, liked what we stood for, but didn't really believe we could win, therefore can't waste the vote on you," former United Future leader Peter Dunne told RNZ in May.

"And I think that's the same dilemma TOP [Opportunity] faces at the moment."

With support for the party crossing the 5 percent threshold around the middle of the year, more voters appear to be gravitating towards it.

The latest Post-Freshwater Strategy poll had Opportunity at just over 5 percent, which would give it about six seats.

A 1News Verian Poll in mid-October had Opportunity at 8 percent, which would give it 10 MPs.

Wong's nationwide party-vote campaign appears to be resonating with voters.

"What's [also] working for us is a campaign of stability and hope," said Tim Dorrian, for Opportunity, who has been associated with the party ever since its formation.

"[Opportunity] represents a new wave of thinking in New Zealand politics … [amid] so much division. I often think if New Zealand politics was a business, it would be the most dysfunctional business you can imagine.

"Our movement has picked up because people feel disenchanted and disenfranchised … by the status quo. … That's why the support for two major parties keep dropping."

Dorrian said the party had deliberately prioritised positive online content to reinforce its message of hope.

"While we won't get the same number of views as negative or attack ads, the way the message lands is much better I believe," he said.

As a long-time volunteer, Dorrian's priority was ending bottom trawling to protect ocean health, which is one of Wong's five post-election bottom lines.

Other issues included lowering prices, cleaning up politics, fixing healthcare and restoring climate credibility.

Reidy liked Opportunity's proposal to create citizen assemblies to consider and advise on major issues, with the same number of participants as MPs.

It would also appoint an independent Parliamentary Commissioner to oversee the assembly processes.

"I have done some work on it [citizen assemblies] for the United Nations. And I feel it's the best tool we have to strengthen our democracy," said Reidy, who has voted for either Labour or the Greens in the past.

Asked why she had decided to switch her allegiances this time around, she said it was important to find a "middle ground in New Zealand politics", where there is multi-party consensus on all reform programmes.

Wong has spent the past year positioning Opportunity in this middle ground, despite Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's repeated refusal to work with her.

"No, I don't believe him," she told RNZ.

"Because he would rather be in government than in opposition, I assume."

Wong said Opportunity would always hold a stronger hand than the Greens in negotiations with Labour.

"Because we are willing to work with both sides - unlike the Greens, who can't work with National - Opportunity will always have more leverage," she said.

Asked whether Opportunity could work with David Seymour's party, Wong said the answer depended on ACT.

"If ACT can agree to strengthen the Commerce Commission, regulate lobbying … ban bottom trawling and retain the Climate Change Commission, then we will be able to work with them," she said.

"It also depends on what ACT puts on the table. Proposals such as freezing the minimum wage would be very difficult for us to support."

She earlier ruled out being part of any government in which New Zealand First leader Winston Peters retained his position as the country's foreign minister.

In her state of the nation speech in February, Wong talked about how visiting China for the first time felt like a "pilgrimage".

"In 2013, I was fortunate to travel to China for the first time with my siblings, our cousins and aunts and uncles," she said.

"It was a pilgrimage of sorts. To visit the villages that my Chinese grandparents left behind in the 40s when they went to build a new life in Fiji.

"It was one of those moments in life, when you suddenly see … the butterfly effect of moments and decisions that lead to your life today."

With the prospect of being able to influence people's lives soon, Wong called traditional campaigning, including door-knocking and walkabouts, a "real privilege".

"It's not something I've done much before," she said.

"But hearing everyday New Zealanders across the country talk about the challenges they face - and feeling that we're in a position to do something about them - is pretty awesome."