Sarah Lucas for New Plymouth

14/06/2026

Plenty of Opportunity this weekend to talk innovation with honesty and ambition.

Thanks to supporters for the questions and insights on Friday night at the Project. We will have more of these so keep an eye out if you're Opportunity curious...

Great to talk abundant energy and innovation on Friday night with Mike Casey from Rewiring Aotearoa followed by a Saturday just enjoying our new spot in Bell Block.

Sunday saw me enjoy a quick warm hike. I love our mountain and the connection to nature. Always grounding and magical.

Doorknocking was great...so many down to earth conversations about a better future. Recurring theme, pendulum politics, and the same old playbook is no longer serving our people - AND a heap of people saying they're voting our way!

Proud of the Auckland team who have had a weekend of action for Qiulae Wong as Opportunity works hard to win the Mt Albert seat.

12/06/2026

Yesterday was one of those days that reminds you exactly why you put your hand up for your community.

It started with a meeting with the Chair of Toi Foundation - a conversation about investment, community, and what Taranaki's future could look like. Thanks Chris.

Then I was privileged to be hosted at Kairau Marae by Pukerangiora. It was very grounding being welcomed - it recentred me on what this work is actually for. People, place, and the long view.

The evening brought a room full of Opportunity curious - sharp, engaged, and full of the kind of questions that will sharpen this campaign. That's exactly the crowd I like.

And to top it all off - I got to meet Mike Casey from Rewiring Aotearoa. If you haven't come across his work yet, look it up. The conversation about energy transition and what's possible for communities like ours was genuinely inspiring.

Big days fill my tank. They remind me that the ideas we're campaigning on - fair tax, clean energy, thriving communities - aren't fringe anymore. They're the conversation happening in marae, in boardrooms, and around dinner tables across Taranaki.

12/06/2026

Great to meet Mike Casey from Rewiring Aotearoa tonight and talk aspiration, and practical energy solutions!

Was fun getting to know David McLeod MP better - great minds can make great things happen.

10/06/2026

Why free public transport makes more sense than a fare cap 🚌

Today the talk about town is public transport fare caps.

Sounds good, right?

But a cap is not free.

To make a cap work, you still need all the machinery of a fare system. The card readers. The ticketing software. The back-end systems tracking who's spent what each week and when they hit their threshold. The staff to maintain it, audit it, and handle disputes. Every single passenger still has to be counted, logged, and accounted for.

The Opportunity Party's free public transport policy cuts all of that.

Gone. No fare collection. No ticketing infrastructure. No administrative overhead.

90% of public transport is already funded by taxes and rates, so we're essentially paying for a very expensive counting machine just to collect the last 10%.

The Opportunity Party estimates the net cost of genuinely free public transport at around $150 million per year nationwide - only $85 million more than the proposed capped system.

But the announced $65 million figure almost certainly doesn't capture the full ongoing cost of maintaining a fare-cap compliance system.

The hidden administration costs alone could swallow much of that gap.

To be honest, for most of New Plymouth, this debate is somewhat academic right now.

We have limited bus services compared to more densely populated areas.

Our approach is about building the case for more investment in public transport infrastructure - because when it's free, ridership goes up, the economic argument for more routes strengthens, and communities like ours start getting services we've never had.

We don't need tweaks to an existing system.

It's time to build a better one.

09/06/2026

New Plymouth friends: we have plans! Come along for a casual chat about how our local campaign is going, and — if you're keen to help us build on the amazing momentum we already have, we can talk about that too. I'll be grateful for any support you're able to contribute — and coming generations will be too!

https://www.opportunity.org.nz/np_volunteers

09/06/2026

For the people of Taranaki, LNG is personal.

My candidacy is backed by a party with a comprehensive enery policy.

"The Government doesn't have a plan to pay for its LNG terminal.

Today's backtrack on power levies to pay for the new terminal reinforces just how rushed and ill-considered this project is.

A recent report by Rewiring Aotearoa calls on the Government to stop the LNG plan.

We agree.

Kiwis should expect better.

It's time for a long term strategy for energy built around accelerating electrification and renewable generation.

Our Abundant Energy policy is how we get there." - Opportunity Party.

https://www.opportunity.org.nz/abundant-energy

08/06/2026

"When farming does well, provincial New Zealand does well, local businesses do well, export earnings increase, and jobs are created." - Federated Farmers, June 2026.

I agree. Farming is central to Taranaki's economy, and to our future. Getting the settings right for sustainable and lasting farming legacies, whilst ensuring nature is restored and protected is so important - and something most farmers know alot about. It's really important that the incoming government after November 7th understands this.

I grew up spending weekends on my grandad's farm - with his small dairy herd, sheep stock, hay sheds and farm dogs. Not only was it good for our family economically, it was our way of life. Since then I have seen decades of good farming practice and increasing awareness of healthy land and freshwater.

So I want to see farmers supported, and our nature looked after. It is an and and.

So when Federated Farmers launched their election priorities this week, I took note. Whatever party forms the next government needs to take farmer voices seriously - and that means actually reading what's in front of them, and coming to an informed, evidence-based agreement.

For us, lifting productivity is front and centre - investment in research, harnessing AI, backing small business, and opening doors for emerging sectors. That's how farming legacies get built and sustained. And we want nature restored alongside that - not traded off against it.

Taranaki farming and Taranaki environment. Both thriving. Both handed on to the next generation in better shape than we found them.

That's what we'll be taking to Wellington on November 7th.

06/06/2026

We are indeed ready to make history.....

The Opportunity Party has hit 6% support in the latest Roy Morgan poll. If replicated on election day, this result would secure seven seats in Parliament and introduce a new player to coalition negotiations.

The polling milestone comes as the extra-parliamentary party campaigns heavily on a proposed financial policy it calls a Tax Reset.

The platform includes a $19,400 tax-free Citizen's Income for every adult. The universal payment would be funded by a new land value tax set at 1.75% for urban properties and 0.5% for rural land.

Sarah Lucas is contesting the New Plymouth electorate for the Opportunity Party. The Inglewood small business owner, who runs Be Natural Soap, said the Opportunity team has worked hard over the past nine years and is ready to make history as a new party to enter Parliament above the 5% threshold.

"We have been ping-ponging between the two main parties for decades, and people are tired of the same old playbook," Lucas said. "It's time for something different, and Opportunity can and will deliver that."

She believes voters are frustrated with the established political options.

"New Zealand is languishing economically, and the current government is managing the decline with reactive, uncosted policy," she said. "No other party has put forward costed, workable solutions."

Drawing on her background in local governance, Lucas said the region needs long-term planning and a representative who won't be told what to say by major party whips.

Environmental policies also form a core part of her pitch to the electorate. Lucas noted their Healthy Oceans policy takes a firm stance against seabed mining, while their Abundant Energy approach promises cleaner power and a fair transition for Taranaki workers.

With the general election approaching, minor parties often face the historical challenge of convincing supporters their ballot will not be wasted.

Lucas rejected this idea, pitching Opportunity as a necessary force to secure leverage at the decision-making table.

"National is hamstrung by coalition partners. Labour announces things without saying how they'll pay for them," Lucas said. "We're not trying to win the next three years. We're trying to build the next thirty."

Recent polling data shows the governing coalition of National, ACT and New Zealand First maintaining a strong lead at 51.5%, while the Labour-led opposition currently trails at 41.5%.

04/06/2026

Momentum is building - and here's why.

We have real people standing throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, committed to bringing a fresh voice to Parliament. One based on evidence, bold ideas, and a genuine vision for the future.

A wasted vote is a vote for more of the same. We can't afford that. The challenges ahead demand preparation, courage, and leadership - and The Opportunity Party is ready to deliver.

6% in the Roy Morgan Poll (2nd June) shows this is real. And we're just getting started.

Give us your party vote. Let's make history.

If you are Opportunity curious - our values and policies are at www.opportunity.org.nz

02/06/2026

💙🤍💙

Here comes a new generation of leaders!