Qiulae Wong

Qiulae Wong
Wong in 2026
5th Leader of the Opportunity Party
Incumbent
Assumed office
November 2025
DeputyDaniel Eb[1]
Preceded byRaf Manji
Personal details
BornMay 1988 (age 38)[2]
Fiji[3]
CitizenshipNew Zealand
PartyOpportunity Party
EducationUniversity of Auckland
OccupationPolitician, businesswoman
Websitewww.opportunity.org.nz

Qiulae Wong (/ˈkjuː.leɪ/; born 1988), also known by her initial Q, is a New Zealand businesswoman and politician who has been the leader of the Opportunity Party (TOP) since November 2025. She was previously a sustainable business consultant at KPMG.

Early life and career

Qiulae Wong in 2018 from an interview with The Formary while working at Common Objective

Qiulae Wong was born in Fiji[3] in May 1988.[2][4]: cf [5]: para.1  Wong is of Chinese and European descent.[3][6] She grew up in the Auckland suburb of One Tree Hill.[7]

She graduated from the University of Auckland with a double degree in law and politics.[6] She worked with the Ethical Fashion Group, specifically Common Objective, which supported businesses such as Vivienne Westwood and Stella McCartney in their transition toward more sustainable business models.[8] She went on to work as a sustainable business consultant at KPMG.[5]

Leader of the Opportunity Party (2025–present)

Wong addressing media in 2025

TOP, a political party founded by Gareth Morgan in 2016, was without a permanent leader from 2023 to 2025 following the resignation of Raf Manji.[9][10][11] Wong was chosen from several applicants to lead the party as its fifth-ever leader in the 2026 election.[12][10][13] She was chosen despite not having wide name recognition or experience in parliament, which is atypical in New Zealand politics.[14][6] She shortened the party's name to "Opportunity" after becoming leader.[6][15][5]

2026 general election

Wong announced that the party would contest the November 2026 general election[16] with a more centrist platform,[17][18][19] including reducing house prices through a land value tax, and introducing a "Citizen's Voice," consisting of citizens' assemblies for certain major issues.[20] The party began increasing its communications with voters in preparation for the election, with a variety of community and television appearances.[19]

Wong speaking at an event in 2025

Wong has emphasised the need for the party to broaden its appeal to ordinary voters,[5] acknowledging past criticism that the party focused heavily on detailed policy at the expense of connecting with the electorate.[13][21] As part of this repositioning, Wong has described three broad areas of policy focus: combatting "divisive politics", including through the use of citizens' assemblies on complex issues;[5] building New Zealand's "next economy"; and prioritising environmental restoration as a foundation for long-term economic activity.[6]

Under her leadership, TOP's platform focuses on economic growth and includes a major tax proposal.[22][23]: cf  She supports implementing a ratepayer assistance scheme to provide low-interest loans for electric upgrades, arguing that transitioning away from gas is an "equity issue" for lower-income New Zealanders.[24] She has advocated for policies such as a land value tax, a citizens' income for most adults, and a flat income tax to address housing affordability and wealth inequality.[25][20] These proposals are part of Wong's broader pitch that New Zealand needs fundamental changes to its tax system to support families and small businesses.[26][27]

On 13 February 2026, Wong announced that the party would campaign to replace all forms of welfare assistance, including superannuation, with a means-tested income support for citizens. Unlike universal basic income, people earning more than NZ$350,000 a year would not be eligible for it. The citizen's income policy would be funded by a land value tax, and savings from the benefits that would be replaced.[28] On 16 February, Wong confirmed she would contest the Mount Albert electorate.[29][30]

Personal life

During the nine years she spent in London, she met her husband, Grant, who is originally from Palmerston North.[15] The couple married and started a family while living overseas. Wong has two daughters. Wong and her family now reside in Auckland. She had her first daughter, Malia, in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown.[7][31] Wong has said publicly that the birth of her first daughter prompted a desire to reconnect with family and ultimately her relocation back to New Zealand in 2022.[32] She credits her daughters as being her biggest inspirations.[7] After returning to New Zealand in 2022, Wong gave birth to their second daughter, Cleo.[7]

Citations

References

This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.