In the first instalment of our biweekly catchup with the Opportunity Party, Producer Theo spoke to leader Qiulae Wong on her party, and the issues of crime and justice.

Producer Jude spoke to the University of Auckland's associate professor of Law, Carrie Leonette, about the National Party’s promise to change consent laws.  

Then Theo spoke to Dr Ritesh Shah on the recent changes to our refugee system to include 

Opportunity was founded back in 2016 by the economist Gareth Morgan as ‘The Opportunities Party’ or ‘TOP’. Since then, it’s undergone several leadership changes, with the current leader, Qiulae Wong, taking over towards the end of last year.

Under Wong’s leadership, the party has shifted to a singular ‘Opportunity’ Party and put forward ambitious policy proposals to meet challenges they say incumbent political parties have left unsolved. Opportunity has taken a centrist approach to possible governing arrangements, refusing to rule out working with either of the two major political parties of National and Labour.

So, for the first instalment of our biweekly catch up with the Opportunity Party, Producer Theo began by asking the Leader of the Opportunity Party, Qiulae Wong, to describe the party’s values and philosophy heading into this election.

They then discussed what Opportunity’s approach to crime and justice would be. With the ACT Party recently promising to expand the three strikes legislation to include burglaries, Producer Theo asked what Opportunity’s stance would be on three strikes legislation.

Meaning that consent will have to be given either through words or actions. Changing the definition to a confirmed ‘yes’ rather than the absence of a ‘no’. 

The principle of modernising consent laws received cross-party support, however, some experts say that the legal drafting aspect will be a bit challenging.

Furthermore, Labour Party’s Camilla Bellich has a member's bill about changing the definition of consent ready and drafted, which the National Party declined to back.

Many have questioned National’s reluctance to pass this bill and get it into parliament right now.

To learn more about the drafting challenges of an affirmative consent law, the legal consequences on victims and why the government has yet to pass the proposal. Producer Jude spoke to the University of Auckland Associate Professor of Law, Carrie Leonetti.

However, more recently, the government announced that it would be making permanent a Community Organised Refugee Sponsorship  Programme that had been on an extensive trial period for the last few years. But rather than being made complementary to our existing refugee quota, it would be nested in the 1500 refugees New Zealand takes each year.

To learn more about the implications of this policy, I spoke to the acting director of the Centre for Asia Pacific Refugee Studies, Dr Ritesh Shah.

The Centre for Asia Pacific Refugee Studies have further policy briefs and responses to recent changes that you can find on their website, just here.

Amid internal racing politics and with only a few races allocated by New Zealand racing to the jockey club for the 2025/2026 race season, the 15th July meeting was seen by many as not only the last race of the season but potentially the last race at Avondale. 

Many are concerned that if racing ends, the racecourse will be sold off to developers and Avondale will lose 35 hectares of community greenspace. The Avondale Racecourse Alliance is one group which seeks to see the land retained for the community and has produced a People's Plan outlining their proposals. 

I decided to spend a day at the races, and spoke to various local residents and racing enthusiasts to understand how people felt about this historic moment. I also spoke to local historian Lisa Truttman, the Avondale Racecourse Alliance President Jaclyn Bonnici and Avondale Jockey Club President Andrew Skinner, to try understand how significant this moment is for Avondale, what the future might look like for the racecourse. 

If you, or anyone you know, have any stories or connections to this place, feel free to contact historian Lisa Truttman, who is currently working on a book on the history of the Avondale Racecourse, at historian@avondale.org.nz. 

For Dear Science this week, we chat with our experts, Professor Sebastian Leuzinger and Associate Professor Armagan Sabetian, about the statistical probabilities surrounding world cups and inhabitable planets

For our weekly catchup with the National Party, Host Alex spoke with MP Ryan Hamilton about the Police Association’s concerns with Move-on orders, and the government requiring Local Government to plan for climate adaptation.

Producer Thomas spoke with Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of Auckland, Dr Basil Sharp, about NZ First's Oil and Gas Exploration policy and it's shortcomings.

And Producer Liam went to the Avondale Racecourse for the final race of the season, which many think might be the last race ever, and interviewed a range of people including a local historian, the president of the Avondale Racecourse Alliance and the President of the Avondale Jockey Club, to determine how people were feeling about this race, how significant the racecourse is to locals and racing enthusiasts and what the future might hold for it. 

In his announcement, Peters focused on the potential of New Zealand’s offshore oil and gas basins, claiming there was a 90 per cent chance of a major commercial discovery, and that New Zealand potentially held Norway-scale energy prospects.

Concerns have been raised about the policy, with environmental agencies such as Greenpeace criticising its potential climate impact, and other critics calling the investment a gamble based on New Zealand’s recent unsuccessful attempts at oil and gas exploration.

To discuss New Zealand First’s new policy, producer Thomas spoke to University of Auckland Professor Dr Basil Sharp.

The study is the first of its scale to investigate the health impacts of nitrate on health, involving the birth records of over 735,000 babies born between 2008 and 2021. 

It comes after the Ministry of Health launched a review into the health effects of nitrate in drinking water earlier this year, with groups such as Greenpeace long-arguing for a reduction in the maximum acceptable value of nitrate in drinking water for Aotearoa New Zealand.

So, to learn more about what the study found, Producer Theo spoke to its lead author, the University of Canterbury’s Associate Professor Tim Chambers.

To discuss the specific impacts that the policy would have on Aotearoa’s young people, the impacts of homelessness more broadly, and how we can better manage the issue, News Director Castor spoke to Children’s Commissioner Claire Achmad.

For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party, News Director Castor spoke to MP Simon Court about newly announced ACT candidate Paul Henry, default union membership, and scrutiny over the ban on puberty blockers.

They also spoke to Children’s Commissioner Claire Achmad about problems with the proposed move-on orders bill and particularly how it can impact young people in Aotearoa. 

Wednesday Wire producer Theo spoke to University of Canterbury Associate Professor Tim Chambers about the impacts of nitrate levels on pre-term births. 

And Monday Wire producer spoke with Dr Terryann Clark, the Cure Kids Professorial Chair in Child and Adolescent Mental Health at the University of Auckland, about banning social media for under 16-year-olds in Aotearoa.