TOP puts up 26 candidates to contest election

The Opportunities Party leader Gareth Morgan is one of five candidates who are standing only on the list. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The Opportunities Party will stand 26 candidates at the general election, leader Gareth Morgan announced this morning.

The party released its party list today. Morgan is one of five candidates who are standing only on the list. The rest will run in 21 of the 72 electorates around the country.

The party now has two deputy leaders - Wellington Central candidate and Morgan Foundation economist Geoff Simmons and former Green candidate Teresa Moore, who is standing in East Coast Bays.

Also in the top five are historian and consultant Buddy Mikaere, a list candidate, and real estate agent Olly Wilson, who is standing in Rangitata.

Morgan said the list represented all parts of New Zealand, including age, ethnicity, gender and profession. This showed that TOP had "across the board appeal", he said.

Morgan said he would remain leader if the party made it into Parliament, but did not "want to stay forever".

His main interest was in policy and not the day-to-day politics which MPs were involved in like debates and select committees, he said. His focus in Parliament would be getting TOP's policies implemented.

The party's tax policy was the main priority, he said, saying it was "head and shoulders" above TOP's other ideas.

"That would be the one I'd fight hardest over."

The policy would require all productive assets to be taxed, including housing.

TOP party list
1 Gareth Morgan- list
2 Geoff Simmons - Wellington Central
3 Teresa Moore - East Coast Bays
4 Buddy Mikaere- list
5 Olly Wilson - Rangitata
6 Donna Pokere-Phillips - Hamilton West
7 Douglas Hill - Christchurch Central
8 Piri-Hira Tukapua - Otaki
9 Nicola Glenjarman - Waimakariri
10 MikaHaka - Auckland Central
11 Nicky Snoyink - Selwyn
12 Richard Warwick - Hutt South
13 Ted Faleauto - Manukau East
14 AbeGray - Dunedin North
15 ClintUlyatt - Mt Roskill
16 Dan Thurston - Mt Albert
17 Lesley Immink - East Coast
18 Vanessa Lee - list
19 Paddy Plunket - Rongotai
20 Brittany Owens - Rodney
21 Matt Isbister - North Shore
22 David Hay - list
23 Jenny Condie - list
24 Jessica Hammond Doube - Ohariu
25 Kevin Neill - Waitaki
26 Lindsay Smith - Dunedin South