November 23, 2025 • 24 mins
Qiulae has built her career on pursuing better ways to do business and now brings that drive to politics. Raised in One Tree Hill, Auckland, she studied law and politics before working in human rights and ethical business with Be.Accessible. Her time in London included roles with the Ethical Fashion Forum, co-founding the sustainable tech start-up Common Objective, and leading the Impact team at Hoxby. During these years abroad she met her future husband, Grant, and they later welcomed their daughters Malia and Cleo before returning to New Zealand in 2022.
Back in Auckland, Wong became the first Country Director for the B Corp movement, working with local leaders such as Kiwibank, Sharesies, and Blunt Umbrellas, and later supported major corporations at KPMG New Zealand as they navigated low-carbon transitions. She also held volunteer and governance roles, including co-convenor of Kiwis in Climate and Trustee of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance Aotearoa. Wong is guided by a belief in common ground, shared vision, resilient communities, and business as a force for positive change.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News Talk sed B.
Follow this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio,
Real Conversation, Real Connection, It's Real Life with John Cowen
on News Talk s ed B.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Gooday, welcome to Real Life. I'm John Cowen and my
guest is Qulay Wang, the leader of Opportunity. An Opportunity,
of course, is a rebranding of the Opportunities Party. Welcome
Qulae and congratulations.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Thanks you very much. John, It's great to be here.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
You seem to have hit the ground running with interviews
all over the place, and so thank you for fitting
this one in. How are you finding it? Is it
if you find it fun or hard work? Or what's
your first impression as you as you burst into politics.
Speaker 5 (01:04):
Yeah, it's It's definitely been a wellwind first five days
on the job, that's for sure.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
But it is yeah. I mean it's tiring, but it's energizing.
Speaker 5 (01:14):
And I've always wanted to work in some way to
kind of improve society for more people, and I have
been doing that through the business sector. But this feels
really real and just talking to people about the change
that they want to see gives me a lot of satisfaction.
So I'm very excited for the next twelve months of Kenya.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Of course we're going to be talking about politics. It's
pretty inevitable as the leader of the political party, but
I really hope to learn something about you. And actually
when I interview MPs, one of the things I almost
invariably do when I'm doing my research is to look
at their maiden speech at Parliament, because in their maiden
speech they talk about people they are grateful for and
(01:58):
the influences and their heritage and what they hope to achieve.
And so, with the confident assumption you're going to have
to make a maiden speech in early twenty twenty seven
after the next election, I'm going to help you sort
of write your maiden speech. Okay, so okay, So I
guess the first thing is, after you've thanked your political
(02:18):
party members and things and the people have voted for you,
who are you sort of most grateful for for shaping
who you've become.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
I mean, it has to be my family.
Speaker 5 (02:29):
And I suppose lots of people say that, but we
are a very close family. I'm fortunate that I have
two really strong kind of cultures. I guess on my
mum and my dad's side of My dad is Chinese
and his parents left China to go and start a
new life in Fiji when they were young, so we
(02:52):
also have this, yeah, I guess connection to Fiji through
that my dad was born there and I was actually
born there as well, but that was after my dad
came back to New Zealand for high school and university.
He'd been met my mum and they moved back to
Fiji for a while, so I we sort of have
connection to the Pacific as well, which is very strong.
(03:13):
And my mom's side, she grew up in Totonga. Her
dad was a commercial fisherman, so very much that kind
of key we hard working background sort of where she
comes from. And yeah, they are definitely them and my
grandparents I think set very high expectations for what us
(03:37):
kids should achieve in life and the kinds of people
that we should be, and that has definitely shaped who
I am today.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Okay, And what about the political side of your instincts,
your social justice sides, your emphasis on sustainability. Was that
something that came that shock out of your family culture
or is that something that you've sort of acquired in
your journey.
Speaker 5 (04:01):
Since I think there's definitely been parts in my family.
My grandfather Chinese grandfather became the mayor of Latoka when
they were in Fiji, So I think that there has
always been a sense of service and that there is
a responsibility that if you succeed in life, you have
a responsibility to give back and to look out for
(04:24):
those who are, you know, maybe in more vulnerable, less
fortunate situations. My mum was a lawyer, so I suppose
there was also that kind of sense of justice growing up,
trying to make rules for society that help us all
get along, and then that's something I went into law
in politics at university and decided I didn't really like
(04:46):
the look of a commercial law career path, so ended
up going down this road of purpose, lead business and sustainability.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
Right.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
You were also a DIO girl. You went to dioces.
I sometimes used to go and speak at DIO when
I used to work for an organization, and I always
thought it would have been a lovely school to go to.
I wish I had, but I would have failed the
physical I don't think I would have got in.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
But a school like that.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Has powerful cultural aspects as well, do you think some
of that rubbed off on you?
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 5 (05:22):
And my two nieces have recently started at DIO, and
I'm kind of reliving. I suppose that you know, when
you're at school, you don't really realize it when you're
in it, but looking back, you appreciate so much the
things that you learned.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
And fish doesn't notice the water they're swimming and at
the time does it. But looking back on DIO, I
guess you saw some influences there.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 5 (05:47):
I think I mean speaking of service, that was our
school motto to the armis and you know that we
should serve. And I think it also really encouraged us
to give everything a go and to realize that we
are fortunate and we are in this position where we
have a lot of opportunities and not to waste that
(06:08):
and to go and do stuff that's meaningful where you
can make a difference and have an impact.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Okay, so you moved into law and you did political
studies at university. Did you think then you might have
a political career ahead of the.
Speaker 4 (06:26):
Commercial No.
Speaker 6 (06:28):
I do.
Speaker 5 (06:29):
Remember we had one MP came and spoke to us
in one of our lectures, and I remember thinking it.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Just sounded like an awful job.
Speaker 5 (06:37):
To be honest, in most of my career I have
felt like, you know, you look at it in the
media and it doesn't look particularly fun.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
A lot of the time, it looks very stressful.
Speaker 5 (06:49):
And you know, I'm not a yeah, I mean, I
guess I don't try not to buy into the whole
mud slinging thing, and it's something that I hope that
I don't, you know.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Get dragged into in this role.
Speaker 5 (07:02):
But at the same time, through my career, I constantly
came up against systemic barriers to driving kind of more
change and making for example, making sustainable business the normal.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
You need structural change.
Speaker 5 (07:17):
You can't just rely on a few good people and
a few good businesses to do the right thing. And
so rather than sit on the sidelines and complain and
get frustrated that things aren't moving in the direction I
would like, I thought I should give us a crack.
Speaker 4 (07:31):
Now.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
You said something then that I'd like to pick up
on is you can't rely on businesses to do the
right thing. Now, does that mean they really do need
a knee in the back to actually nudge them? Because
all these organizations you've been involved with over the years,
because you've had fifteen years in business, but a lot
of that has also been involved in these voluntary organizations
(07:52):
that are wanting to do the right thing. And so
I wondered, is there really much incentive in boardrooms? Is
there much heartfelt motivation amongst businesses to actually look out
for society to do the sustainable business, to do the
things that are going to be good for the environment,
or do they actually need compulsion?
Speaker 5 (08:15):
Yeah, I think the default system that we have created
collectively we're all partly responsible, is a culture of delivering
short term returns and so that it requires short term thinking.
You're thinking about the next quarter. You've got shareholders breathing
down your back, and you know what, what's the top revenue?
Speaker 3 (08:37):
What's your profit Marge?
Speaker 5 (08:38):
And those are the things that we focus on, and
so of course it creates that kind of behavior. It's
not to say that you can't do those things and
care about the environment and people, but it requires a
certain kind of leader that holds that really dare to
their heart and you know, and that's what I saw
(09:00):
in the bee Corp world when I was the country
director for Bee Corp certification in New.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
Zealand was It really comes down to leaders.
Speaker 5 (09:09):
And if you have amazing CEOs like the CEO of
Patagonia who has given all his wealth to charity and
designed the business in a way that has a positive purpose,
it's entirely possible to make money and do good stuff
at the same time. But if our rules don't allow
that or sort of encourage that for everyone, of course
people will take shortcuts.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Okay, yeah, some of these. You've had some fascinating roles,
I mean, your current role with a big organization that
helps businesses to do this type of thing, and so
there must be that you know, do they actually sit
in their boardrooms going, yeah, we've made enough money, let's
do the right thing now.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
No, definitely not. It's not I guess as.
Speaker 5 (09:57):
Maybe they used to in the past kind of put
them in those separate buckets. Is sort of like, yeah,
we can make a whole bunch of money over here,
and then we'll have our corporate social responsibility program over
there and give some back. Now it is much more intertwined,
and all all of the leaders that I am engaged
with recognize that sustainability is a value driver for the business,
(10:19):
but at the same time, they have to think about
the investment in those things carefully because they do also
have the pressures of the delivering profit for the next quarter.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
It's still very much upon them.
Speaker 5 (10:32):
So it was really balancing those two things and more
and more, I think it's trending towards seeing sustainability as
a value driver, not just a cost.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
If you've just joined us, my guest tonight is a
Qulae Wong, the new leader of Opportunity, the rebranded Top Party,
the Opportunities Party, and we're talking about the things that
motivate her, the things that have shaped her political and
business ideas, and we'll be talking more about her and
her aspirations after this break.
Speaker 4 (11:02):
This is real life on news Talk ZB.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Intelligent interviews with interesting people. It's real life on news talks.
Speaker 7 (11:09):
It be.
Speaker 6 (11:17):
Just wondering well on a big lashes, a long uncious allus.
Speaker 7 (11:42):
You on the.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
Welcome back to real life.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
I'm John Cown talking to q a One, the new
leader of Opportunity, and we're listening to a very familiar
bit of music. Why why have you chosen this for us?
Speaker 5 (11:58):
Well, So, my dad used to own a restaurant in
Auckland when I was young probably between the ages of
about three and six or seven, and we had there
was a pianist in the restaurant, and I don't know
why it started, but I obviously took a liking to
this song when I was a toddler, and every time
I came into the restaurant he would play it for me, and.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
I think it would make me happy, and so it's sort.
Speaker 5 (12:23):
Of become, I guess my song with my dad over
the years. So, yeah, one that I hold dear.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
What a wonderful, affirming anthem for a young girl.
Speaker 4 (12:34):
You know you're wonderful tonight? Is that lovely?
Speaker 3 (12:37):
It is?
Speaker 2 (12:40):
So obviously you had you already mentioned your own family
and how that shaped you. You're a family person. Now
what family do you have?
Speaker 5 (12:49):
Yeah, So I live with my husband, Grant, in Mount Albert,
and we have two young daughters, Malia and Cleo. So
Malia's five, just started school and Cleo is one and
a half.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
So we're very much in the busy.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
Phase I was going to be, so, you know, not
being busy enough, you decided to lead a political party
as well. Now, this is the thing that politicians have
such hugely busy lives. That's one of the things I
just take my hat off to all politicians is how
seriously they take their role. Does this worry that this
(13:24):
is going to impact your role within your family?
Speaker 3 (13:30):
It does a bit, honestly, and we've talked about it
a lot.
Speaker 5 (13:34):
We've obviously Grant needed to be fully on this journey
if I was going to do it, so we had
some long chats about that. I think, yeah, our routine
is going to look different from what it has previously.
Although we were both in busy jobs, it was always
a bit of a juggle. But yeah, I think, you know,
we're fortunate that my family is here in Auckland, so
(13:55):
we'll be able to lean on grandparents a little bit
for help, right and we're testing out a few different routines.
But yeah, it's going to definitely change.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
When you look at your girls. Does that shape your
desires for New Zealand?
Speaker 3 (14:15):
Totally?
Speaker 5 (14:16):
I think particularly, you know, the thing that we're talking
about a lot at the moment is around housing, and
we've got policy around land value tax and trying to
bring house prices.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Down that way.
Speaker 5 (14:29):
You know, when we bought our house, it was you know,
the averages seven to nine times income and from my
parents it was three times, and then I look at
my kids and it's like, if that's going to be
fifteen or twenty, what is that world even going to
look like for them, Not just in terms of buying
being able to afford a house, but you know, the
flow on impacts of everything else in the economy and
(14:51):
society as a result. So it's definitely at the forefront
of my mind when I'm doing this. It's what gives
me the drive to do it.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
What are the characteristics of an ideal New Zealand society?
Would you like to see your girls enjoying?
Speaker 5 (15:08):
I think one thing that is a real shame that
isn't who we are is this social division that seems
to be really rife at the moment. I think, you know,
we're such a small country with so few people. We're
smaller than the size of Melbourne or Sydney, you know,
as a whole country. I really hope we can get
(15:29):
better and come back to I think we've done it
in the past, banding together and having a shared vision
and working towards that kind of know what we're all
working towards.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Do you see anything that you could do in Parliament
that could help bring that about.
Speaker 5 (15:44):
Yeah, I think that we can model that in the
way that we talk about things that we don't engage in.
Sort of that yeah tip for tach kind of politics.
That's very much what we're trying to be about. So,
you know, it comes down to us as leaders, and
then it also comes down to how we try to
(16:05):
use our power and influence if we're lucky enough to
be in that position, to bring people together and find
common ground. And that's why we have some policies around
citizens assemblies and things as well, because we actually want
to make politics something fun and engaging, not something people
chewed out from.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Okay, it's been very interesting seeing all the media outlets
scrambling to interview you. I mean, you've had an incredible
amount of exposure in your first few days in political life.
Maybe the tide of the old political faces and voices,
and I guess that's what you're hoping the voting public
will be too.
Speaker 5 (16:41):
I think so, and I you know, I understand it
now that I've been in this role for a few days.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
I can see how politicians end up being.
Speaker 5 (16:50):
So risk averse and afraid to say anything because it
is it's scary when you're being you know, interviewed on
live television, you don't want to say the wrong thing
or get yourself into hot order. But at the same
but then by doing that we lose that sense of
authenticity and we're then with lose trust in our leaders.
So I'm very much going to try and hold onto
(17:10):
that and always be honest and upfront and just try
it out to the question as best I can, because
I think that is what Kiwis want to hear and
journalists too.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
Now I take it you're an optimist but also a realist,
and you hope to be in parliament after the next
election with some other opportunity MPs. But even being very optimistic,
the best you could hope for is that you'd be
a minor party, a minor partner in a government coalition.
And so that means that it's unlikely that you'll get
your big vision tax plans across the line. And so
(17:46):
what else will the opportunity party bring to a coalition?
What will be the opportunity flavor that you will stir
into the max?
Speaker 3 (17:56):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (17:56):
Will you what will you boost? And what will you
put the brakes on?
Speaker 3 (18:00):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (18:00):
I think with the tax stuff, there are you know,
we're building into that potential ways we could ease it
in so there could be opportunity to do pilots or
you know, do a sort of a test of some things.
So we're hoping that even if we can't get a
full you know, as you say, it's tricky to get
that across the line as a minor party, but we
might get a few small things. But you know, I
(18:22):
think on the sort of next economy stuff where we're
sort of marrying that business and environment, that's something that
both major parties have tried to toy with, but you know,
we'd like to see them go further on things like
an energy strategy. You know, how do we really lean
into renewable energy and electrification. I think, you know, that's
(18:44):
something that is realistic for us to get on the
table and will make such a meaningful difference to Kiwi's
and I think will help them win brownie points too
as the major party and that coalition right.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
And you're always very wary about saying which major party
you're going to go with. You say that you're happy
to be with right or left as long as you
get the right to define what right and left is.
I guess it's.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
Holding them accountable.
Speaker 5 (19:11):
You know, I think we hold each side accountable in
different ways because of our values and policy set. So
the thing the leavers that will try and pull will
be different, whether it's National or Labor that are the
major party. But I expose the difference we say, as
a negotiating minor party instead of someone like New Zealand first,
who's a bit of a handbreak to the past, we
see ourselves as an accelerator to the future.
Speaker 4 (19:34):
So you're a progressive party.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
I suppose you could could describe it.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
Like that, right, Okay, So just coming back to your
tax policy, which sounds interesting, but I imagine that when
it's all shaken down, you're hoping to probably extract a
similar amount of money from the pockets of taxpayers. But
whose pockets are you going to be extracting more from?
(20:00):
And who are you going to be extracting less from.
Who are going to be the losers and who are
going to be the winners once it's all betted in?
Speaker 5 (20:07):
Yes, So yeah, the tax package has got three parts.
It's the citizen's income, which is a payment made to
almost all kiwis the land value tax, which is a
small annual payment on the value of land and the
flat tax rate, which is used to smooth out and
make sure we still have a progressive tax system where
those that have more pay more. So in terms of
(20:29):
how that impacts different people, if you are look kind
of on the lower end of the income scale and
you don't own any property, that you're going to get
a tax break, and that will be money in your
pocket to help you with the cost of living, because
wages have grown far faster than the cost of goods,
and you know, the last few decades, if you're in
the middle.
Speaker 4 (20:49):
Do you mean the other way around, Sorry, wages.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Have not grown much as the cost of living.
Speaker 4 (20:56):
There you go, I just saved you your election.
Speaker 5 (20:58):
Yes, yes, essentially, bottom line is it's more money. It's
a tax break for those at the lower end of
the income scale. If you're in the middle and you
own your own property, it'll probably be net neutral, so
you will receive citizens income, but you'll also pay a
land value tax. For those who are earning more, if
they only own one property or no property, they could
(21:22):
also be getting a tax break or be net neutral.
But those for those with lots of properties, they will
be paying more. And we see that as an opportunity
to rethink and diversify their investments and can you see
money other things?
Speaker 2 (21:37):
Can you see this working somewhere as can you point
to yesterday, You're doing this here and it's working well.
Speaker 5 (21:43):
Yeah, So there's there are a few places or lots
of places around the world that have a land tax
or similar In Singapore, it's a different you know, it's
a different economy in different place, but the government basically
owns all the land, so everyone essentially.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
Pays a lease or land tax on their property.
Speaker 5 (22:01):
In most states in Australia they have a land value tax,
and you know there's other forms of property tax which
are very common everywhere. You know, in the UK you've
got stamp duty and capital gains and I think we
think in New Zealand the land balby tax makes the
most sense because it's the most efficient and it will
actually create the behaviors we need to break our addiction
(22:23):
to house prices and housing cycles.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
Just to finish off, when the swirl of politics isn't
around your head, what do you lift your head up into.
What do you do to refresh yourself and to keep
yourself going? What are the things that put energy back
into you yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
I like running.
Speaker 5 (22:44):
I'm not sort of a professional runner, but I do
find it a very good way to clear my head
and almost meditate and kind of integrate all the thoughts
of the day when I have time. Similarly, I find
yoga a good practice for doing that as well. And
then otherwise it's you know, my kids keep me very busy,
(23:05):
so spending time with them and wider family as well
as always you know, it's always good fun. And they
also provide a lot of good opportunity for debate. We
don't all agree on everything, so it's always a good
opportunity to test motivating skills too with them.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
That sounds like a wonderful practice for parliament.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
It's been lovely talking to you, Kile, and I wish
you all the best for your political future ahead.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
This has been real life on newstalk seed B. We're
going to go out listening to Oh No What Snoopies Christmas?
Speaker 7 (23:40):
Well, it's really descender, So I had a Christmas take
that and I used to just annoy my mum endlessly
listening to the song over and over on our car
trips over summers.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
So Christmas everyone, thank.
Speaker 4 (23:55):
You very much.
Speaker 8 (23:56):
Let's listen to Snoopies Christmas and or look forward to
being with you next Sunday Night This is Real Life
on Newstalk Seed BPCE.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
For more from Used Talk set B listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio
You're listening to a podcast from News Talk sed B.
Follow this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio,
Real Conversation, Real Connection, It's Real Life with John Cowen
on News Talk s ed B.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Gooday, welcome to Real Life. I'm John Cowen and my
guest is Qulay Wang, the leader of Opportunity. An Opportunity,
of course, is a rebranding of the Opportunities Party. Welcome
Qulae and congratulations.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Thanks you very much. John, It's great to be here.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
You seem to have hit the ground running with interviews
all over the place, and so thank you for fitting
this one in. How are you finding it? Is it
if you find it fun or hard work? Or what's
your first impression as you as you burst into politics.
Speaker 5 (01:04):
Yeah, it's It's definitely been a wellwind first five days
on the job, that's for sure.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
But it is yeah. I mean it's tiring, but it's energizing.
Speaker 5 (01:14):
And I've always wanted to work in some way to
kind of improve society for more people, and I have
been doing that through the business sector. But this feels
really real and just talking to people about the change
that they want to see gives me a lot of satisfaction.
So I'm very excited for the next twelve months of Kenya.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Of course we're going to be talking about politics. It's
pretty inevitable as the leader of the political party, but
I really hope to learn something about you. And actually
when I interview MPs, one of the things I almost
invariably do when I'm doing my research is to look
at their maiden speech at Parliament, because in their maiden
speech they talk about people they are grateful for and
(01:58):
the influences and their heritage and what they hope to achieve.
And so, with the confident assumption you're going to have
to make a maiden speech in early twenty twenty seven
after the next election, I'm going to help you sort
of write your maiden speech. Okay, so okay, So I
guess the first thing is, after you've thanked your political
(02:18):
party members and things and the people have voted for you,
who are you sort of most grateful for for shaping
who you've become.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
I mean, it has to be my family.
Speaker 5 (02:29):
And I suppose lots of people say that, but we
are a very close family. I'm fortunate that I have
two really strong kind of cultures. I guess on my
mum and my dad's side of My dad is Chinese
and his parents left China to go and start a
new life in Fiji when they were young, so we
(02:52):
also have this, yeah, I guess connection to Fiji through
that my dad was born there and I was actually
born there as well, but that was after my dad
came back to New Zealand for high school and university.
He'd been met my mum and they moved back to
Fiji for a while, so I we sort of have
connection to the Pacific as well, which is very strong.
(03:13):
And my mom's side, she grew up in Totonga. Her
dad was a commercial fisherman, so very much that kind
of key we hard working background sort of where she
comes from. And yeah, they are definitely them and my
grandparents I think set very high expectations for what us
(03:37):
kids should achieve in life and the kinds of people
that we should be, and that has definitely shaped who
I am today.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Okay, And what about the political side of your instincts,
your social justice sides, your emphasis on sustainability. Was that
something that came that shock out of your family culture
or is that something that you've sort of acquired in
your journey.
Speaker 5 (04:01):
Since I think there's definitely been parts in my family.
My grandfather Chinese grandfather became the mayor of Latoka when
they were in Fiji, So I think that there has
always been a sense of service and that there is
a responsibility that if you succeed in life, you have
a responsibility to give back and to look out for
(04:24):
those who are, you know, maybe in more vulnerable, less
fortunate situations. My mum was a lawyer, so I suppose
there was also that kind of sense of justice growing up,
trying to make rules for society that help us all
get along, and then that's something I went into law
in politics at university and decided I didn't really like
(04:46):
the look of a commercial law career path, so ended
up going down this road of purpose, lead business and sustainability.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
Right.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
You were also a DIO girl. You went to dioces.
I sometimes used to go and speak at DIO when
I used to work for an organization, and I always
thought it would have been a lovely school to go to.
I wish I had, but I would have failed the
physical I don't think I would have got in.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
But a school like that.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Has powerful cultural aspects as well, do you think some
of that rubbed off on you?
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 5 (05:22):
And my two nieces have recently started at DIO, and
I'm kind of reliving. I suppose that you know, when
you're at school, you don't really realize it when you're
in it, but looking back, you appreciate so much the
things that you learned.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
And fish doesn't notice the water they're swimming and at
the time does it. But looking back on DIO, I
guess you saw some influences there.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 5 (05:47):
I think I mean speaking of service, that was our
school motto to the armis and you know that we
should serve. And I think it also really encouraged us
to give everything a go and to realize that we
are fortunate and we are in this position where we
have a lot of opportunities and not to waste that
(06:08):
and to go and do stuff that's meaningful where you
can make a difference and have an impact.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Okay, so you moved into law and you did political
studies at university. Did you think then you might have
a political career ahead of the.
Speaker 4 (06:26):
Commercial No.
Speaker 6 (06:28):
I do.
Speaker 5 (06:29):
Remember we had one MP came and spoke to us
in one of our lectures, and I remember thinking it.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Just sounded like an awful job.
Speaker 5 (06:37):
To be honest, in most of my career I have
felt like, you know, you look at it in the
media and it doesn't look particularly fun.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
A lot of the time, it looks very stressful.
Speaker 5 (06:49):
And you know, I'm not a yeah, I mean, I
guess I don't try not to buy into the whole
mud slinging thing, and it's something that I hope that
I don't, you know.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Get dragged into in this role.
Speaker 5 (07:02):
But at the same time, through my career, I constantly
came up against systemic barriers to driving kind of more
change and making for example, making sustainable business the normal.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
You need structural change.
Speaker 5 (07:17):
You can't just rely on a few good people and
a few good businesses to do the right thing. And
so rather than sit on the sidelines and complain and
get frustrated that things aren't moving in the direction I
would like, I thought I should give us a crack.
Speaker 4 (07:31):
Now.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
You said something then that I'd like to pick up
on is you can't rely on businesses to do the
right thing. Now, does that mean they really do need
a knee in the back to actually nudge them? Because
all these organizations you've been involved with over the years,
because you've had fifteen years in business, but a lot
of that has also been involved in these voluntary organizations
(07:52):
that are wanting to do the right thing. And so
I wondered, is there really much incentive in boardrooms? Is
there much heartfelt motivation amongst businesses to actually look out
for society to do the sustainable business, to do the
things that are going to be good for the environment,
or do they actually need compulsion?
Speaker 5 (08:15):
Yeah, I think the default system that we have created
collectively we're all partly responsible, is a culture of delivering
short term returns and so that it requires short term thinking.
You're thinking about the next quarter. You've got shareholders breathing
down your back, and you know what, what's the top revenue?
Speaker 3 (08:37):
What's your profit Marge?
Speaker 5 (08:38):
And those are the things that we focus on, and
so of course it creates that kind of behavior. It's
not to say that you can't do those things and
care about the environment and people, but it requires a
certain kind of leader that holds that really dare to
their heart and you know, and that's what I saw
(09:00):
in the bee Corp world when I was the country
director for Bee Corp certification in New.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
Zealand was It really comes down to leaders.
Speaker 5 (09:09):
And if you have amazing CEOs like the CEO of
Patagonia who has given all his wealth to charity and
designed the business in a way that has a positive purpose,
it's entirely possible to make money and do good stuff
at the same time. But if our rules don't allow
that or sort of encourage that for everyone, of course
people will take shortcuts.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Okay, yeah, some of these. You've had some fascinating roles,
I mean, your current role with a big organization that
helps businesses to do this type of thing, and so
there must be that you know, do they actually sit
in their boardrooms going, yeah, we've made enough money, let's
do the right thing now.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
No, definitely not. It's not I guess as.
Speaker 5 (09:57):
Maybe they used to in the past kind of put
them in those separate buckets. Is sort of like, yeah,
we can make a whole bunch of money over here,
and then we'll have our corporate social responsibility program over
there and give some back. Now it is much more intertwined,
and all all of the leaders that I am engaged
with recognize that sustainability is a value driver for the business,
(10:19):
but at the same time, they have to think about
the investment in those things carefully because they do also
have the pressures of the delivering profit for the next quarter.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
It's still very much upon them.
Speaker 5 (10:32):
So it was really balancing those two things and more
and more, I think it's trending towards seeing sustainability as
a value driver, not just a cost.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
If you've just joined us, my guest tonight is a
Qulae Wong, the new leader of Opportunity, the rebranded Top Party,
the Opportunities Party, and we're talking about the things that
motivate her, the things that have shaped her political and
business ideas, and we'll be talking more about her and
her aspirations after this break.
Speaker 4 (11:02):
This is real life on news Talk ZB.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Intelligent interviews with interesting people. It's real life on news talks.
Speaker 7 (11:09):
It be.
Speaker 6 (11:17):
Just wondering well on a big lashes, a long uncious allus.
Speaker 7 (11:42):
You on the.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
Welcome back to real life.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
I'm John Cown talking to q a One, the new
leader of Opportunity, and we're listening to a very familiar
bit of music. Why why have you chosen this for us?
Speaker 5 (11:58):
Well, So, my dad used to own a restaurant in
Auckland when I was young probably between the ages of
about three and six or seven, and we had there
was a pianist in the restaurant, and I don't know
why it started, but I obviously took a liking to
this song when I was a toddler, and every time
I came into the restaurant he would play it for me, and.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
I think it would make me happy, and so it's sort.
Speaker 5 (12:23):
Of become, I guess my song with my dad over
the years. So, yeah, one that I hold dear.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
What a wonderful, affirming anthem for a young girl.
Speaker 4 (12:34):
You know you're wonderful tonight? Is that lovely?
Speaker 3 (12:37):
It is?
Speaker 2 (12:40):
So obviously you had you already mentioned your own family
and how that shaped you. You're a family person. Now
what family do you have?
Speaker 5 (12:49):
Yeah, So I live with my husband, Grant, in Mount Albert,
and we have two young daughters, Malia and Cleo. So
Malia's five, just started school and Cleo is one and
a half.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
So we're very much in the busy.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
Phase I was going to be, so, you know, not
being busy enough, you decided to lead a political party
as well. Now, this is the thing that politicians have
such hugely busy lives. That's one of the things I
just take my hat off to all politicians is how
seriously they take their role. Does this worry that this
(13:24):
is going to impact your role within your family?
Speaker 3 (13:30):
It does a bit, honestly, and we've talked about it
a lot.
Speaker 5 (13:34):
We've obviously Grant needed to be fully on this journey
if I was going to do it, so we had
some long chats about that. I think, yeah, our routine
is going to look different from what it has previously.
Although we were both in busy jobs, it was always
a bit of a juggle. But yeah, I think, you know,
we're fortunate that my family is here in Auckland, so
(13:55):
we'll be able to lean on grandparents a little bit
for help, right and we're testing out a few different routines.
But yeah, it's going to definitely change.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
When you look at your girls. Does that shape your
desires for New Zealand?
Speaker 3 (14:15):
Totally?
Speaker 5 (14:16):
I think particularly, you know, the thing that we're talking
about a lot at the moment is around housing, and
we've got policy around land value tax and trying to
bring house prices.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Down that way.
Speaker 5 (14:29):
You know, when we bought our house, it was you know,
the averages seven to nine times income and from my
parents it was three times, and then I look at
my kids and it's like, if that's going to be
fifteen or twenty, what is that world even going to
look like for them, Not just in terms of buying
being able to afford a house, but you know, the
flow on impacts of everything else in the economy and
(14:51):
society as a result. So it's definitely at the forefront
of my mind when I'm doing this. It's what gives
me the drive to do it.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
What are the characteristics of an ideal New Zealand society?
Would you like to see your girls enjoying?
Speaker 5 (15:08):
I think one thing that is a real shame that
isn't who we are is this social division that seems
to be really rife at the moment. I think, you know,
we're such a small country with so few people. We're
smaller than the size of Melbourne or Sydney, you know,
as a whole country. I really hope we can get
(15:29):
better and come back to I think we've done it
in the past, banding together and having a shared vision
and working towards that kind of know what we're all
working towards.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Do you see anything that you could do in Parliament
that could help bring that about.
Speaker 5 (15:44):
Yeah, I think that we can model that in the
way that we talk about things that we don't engage in.
Sort of that yeah tip for tach kind of politics.
That's very much what we're trying to be about. So,
you know, it comes down to us as leaders, and
then it also comes down to how we try to
(16:05):
use our power and influence if we're lucky enough to
be in that position, to bring people together and find
common ground. And that's why we have some policies around
citizens assemblies and things as well, because we actually want
to make politics something fun and engaging, not something people
chewed out from.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Okay, it's been very interesting seeing all the media outlets
scrambling to interview you. I mean, you've had an incredible
amount of exposure in your first few days in political life.
Maybe the tide of the old political faces and voices,
and I guess that's what you're hoping the voting public
will be too.
Speaker 5 (16:41):
I think so, and I you know, I understand it
now that I've been in this role for a few days.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
I can see how politicians end up being.
Speaker 5 (16:50):
So risk averse and afraid to say anything because it
is it's scary when you're being you know, interviewed on
live television, you don't want to say the wrong thing
or get yourself into hot order. But at the same
but then by doing that we lose that sense of
authenticity and we're then with lose trust in our leaders.
So I'm very much going to try and hold onto
(17:10):
that and always be honest and upfront and just try
it out to the question as best I can, because
I think that is what Kiwis want to hear and
journalists too.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
Now I take it you're an optimist but also a realist,
and you hope to be in parliament after the next
election with some other opportunity MPs. But even being very optimistic,
the best you could hope for is that you'd be
a minor party, a minor partner in a government coalition.
And so that means that it's unlikely that you'll get
your big vision tax plans across the line. And so
(17:46):
what else will the opportunity party bring to a coalition?
What will be the opportunity flavor that you will stir
into the max?
Speaker 3 (17:56):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (17:56):
Will you what will you boost? And what will you
put the brakes on?
Speaker 3 (18:00):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (18:00):
I think with the tax stuff, there are you know,
we're building into that potential ways we could ease it
in so there could be opportunity to do pilots or
you know, do a sort of a test of some things.
So we're hoping that even if we can't get a
full you know, as you say, it's tricky to get
that across the line as a minor party, but we
might get a few small things. But you know, I
(18:22):
think on the sort of next economy stuff where we're
sort of marrying that business and environment, that's something that
both major parties have tried to toy with, but you know,
we'd like to see them go further on things like
an energy strategy. You know, how do we really lean
into renewable energy and electrification. I think, you know, that's
(18:44):
something that is realistic for us to get on the
table and will make such a meaningful difference to Kiwi's
and I think will help them win brownie points too
as the major party and that coalition right.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
And you're always very wary about saying which major party
you're going to go with. You say that you're happy
to be with right or left as long as you
get the right to define what right and left is.
I guess it's.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
Holding them accountable.
Speaker 5 (19:11):
You know, I think we hold each side accountable in
different ways because of our values and policy set. So
the thing the leavers that will try and pull will
be different, whether it's National or Labor that are the
major party. But I expose the difference we say, as
a negotiating minor party instead of someone like New Zealand first,
who's a bit of a handbreak to the past, we
see ourselves as an accelerator to the future.
Speaker 4 (19:34):
So you're a progressive party.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
I suppose you could could describe it.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
Like that, right, Okay, So just coming back to your
tax policy, which sounds interesting, but I imagine that when
it's all shaken down, you're hoping to probably extract a
similar amount of money from the pockets of taxpayers. But
whose pockets are you going to be extracting more from?
(20:00):
And who are you going to be extracting less from.
Who are going to be the losers and who are
going to be the winners once it's all betted in?
Speaker 5 (20:07):
Yes, So yeah, the tax package has got three parts.
It's the citizen's income, which is a payment made to
almost all kiwis the land value tax, which is a
small annual payment on the value of land and the
flat tax rate, which is used to smooth out and
make sure we still have a progressive tax system where
those that have more pay more. So in terms of
(20:29):
how that impacts different people, if you are look kind
of on the lower end of the income scale and
you don't own any property, that you're going to get
a tax break, and that will be money in your
pocket to help you with the cost of living, because
wages have grown far faster than the cost of goods,
and you know, the last few decades, if you're in
the middle.
Speaker 4 (20:49):
Do you mean the other way around, Sorry, wages.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Have not grown much as the cost of living.
Speaker 4 (20:56):
There you go, I just saved you your election.
Speaker 5 (20:58):
Yes, yes, essentially, bottom line is it's more money. It's
a tax break for those at the lower end of
the income scale. If you're in the middle and you
own your own property, it'll probably be net neutral, so
you will receive citizens income, but you'll also pay a
land value tax. For those who are earning more, if
they only own one property or no property, they could
(21:22):
also be getting a tax break or be net neutral.
But those for those with lots of properties, they will
be paying more. And we see that as an opportunity
to rethink and diversify their investments and can you see
money other things?
Speaker 2 (21:37):
Can you see this working somewhere as can you point
to yesterday, You're doing this here and it's working well.
Speaker 5 (21:43):
Yeah, So there's there are a few places or lots
of places around the world that have a land tax
or similar In Singapore, it's a different you know, it's
a different economy in different place, but the government basically
owns all the land, so everyone essentially.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
Pays a lease or land tax on their property.
Speaker 5 (22:01):
In most states in Australia they have a land value tax,
and you know there's other forms of property tax which
are very common everywhere. You know, in the UK you've
got stamp duty and capital gains and I think we
think in New Zealand the land balby tax makes the
most sense because it's the most efficient and it will
actually create the behaviors we need to break our addiction
(22:23):
to house prices and housing cycles.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
Just to finish off, when the swirl of politics isn't
around your head, what do you lift your head up into.
What do you do to refresh yourself and to keep
yourself going? What are the things that put energy back
into you yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
I like running.
Speaker 5 (22:44):
I'm not sort of a professional runner, but I do
find it a very good way to clear my head
and almost meditate and kind of integrate all the thoughts
of the day when I have time. Similarly, I find
yoga a good practice for doing that as well. And
then otherwise it's you know, my kids keep me very busy,
(23:05):
so spending time with them and wider family as well
as always you know, it's always good fun. And they
also provide a lot of good opportunity for debate. We
don't all agree on everything, so it's always a good
opportunity to test motivating skills too with them.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
That sounds like a wonderful practice for parliament.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
It's been lovely talking to you, Kile, and I wish
you all the best for your political future ahead.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
This has been real life on newstalk seed B. We're
going to go out listening to Oh No What Snoopies Christmas?
Speaker 7 (23:40):
Well, it's really descender, So I had a Christmas take
that and I used to just annoy my mum endlessly
listening to the song over and over on our car
trips over summers.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
So Christmas everyone, thank.
Speaker 4 (23:55):
You very much.
Speaker 8 (23:56):
Let's listen to Snoopies Christmas and or look forward to
being with you next Sunday Night This is Real Life
on Newstalk Seed BPCE.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
For more from Used Talk set B listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.