Opportunity has had ‘positive, informal’ discussions about appearance in election debates
Tuesday, 14 July 2026
The Opportunity Party is pushing for a place in this year’s leader election debates, saying it has already had “informal, positive” conversations with organisers about its inclusion as the party polls just shy of winning seats in Parliament.
Support has more than doubled for Opportunity in the latest RNZ-Reid Research poll, with the party climbing 2.7 points to 4.7%, leaving it just 0.3 points off the 5% threshold needed to enter Parliament without winning an electorate.
It’s an upward trend for the refreshed party, with the 1News-Verian poll putting the party on 4.6% support last month.
TVNZ's criteria for inclusion in the Multi-Party Debate, the most publicised media debate, is registered parties not represented in Parliament must score at least 3% in at least one 1News/Verian poll in the six months prior to the debate.
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A TVNZ spokesperson said its decision to include leaders in debates is based on representation in Parliament or polling at sufficient levels in 1News/Verian polls during the six months before a General Election.
“We communicate requirements to qualify to parties early in an election year,” the spokesperson said.
“Given we still have several polls in advance of the General Election we will confirm full details of our multi-party debate including attendance closer to the time.”
An Opportunity Party spokesperson said it believed the party’s polling trajectory and its two-tick campaign for leader Qiulae Wong in Mt Albert made a “strong case” for Opportunity to be included in the debates.
It would mark Opportunity’s first ever appearance in a leaders’ debate, a big deal considering the party’s former leader Gareth Morgan took TVNZ to the High Court when it was shut out of the debate in 2017, and lost the case.
The High Court similarly dismissed the New Conservative Party's bid to be included in the TVNZ debate in 2020.
Debates do have the ability to propel parties to victory. In the 2002 election, the TVNZ Leaders Debate can be credited for thrusting United Future into Parliament after “The Worm” - a device which tracked real time reactions of 100 voters - worked strongly in leader Peter Dunne’s favour.
The Multi-Party Debate sees smaller party leaders challenged by Q+A host Jack Tame.
Leaders on the panel in 2023 included ACT Party leader David Seymour, former Green Party leader James Shaw, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi and NZ First leader Winston Peters.
Stuff would not reveal whether it would host a debate this year and whether that debate would include Opportunity, saying it was still working through a number of pre-election events and would release details closer to the time.
RNZ did not respond by deadline.