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Are the Oppies unstoppable? episode artwork

Jul 8, 2026 52 min

Are the Oppies unstoppable?

from Gone By Lunchtime Hosted by The Spinoff

The Opportunity Party has shot up to the threshold fun zone, with Qiulae Wong at the helm and running a line as an alternative to NZ First. Will the distaste for the establishment parties and the salvos from across the board mean an unprecedented fully new arrival in parliament soon? Will it be Q, anon? Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire discuss the fourth attempt by Opportunity (nee TOP) to cross the line. Christopher Luxon is about to welcome Narendra Modi in Auckland, to celebrate the signing of the free-trade deal. The Indian prime minister's visit will mark the biggest political leader on our soils for more than a decade and Luxon has seized on the moment to pledge as National leader a catalogue of new bilateral deals. But does the FTA stance of his foreign minister (Winston Peters, curiously, is overseas during Modi's visit) risk pissing in the PM's punch? Headlines around homelessness, rough sleeping and emergency housing have surged into the foreground with revelations around MSD KPIs, move-on orders and the prime minister's admission he didn't know Auckland city has no night shelter. Plus: the New Zealand First redemption train continues, with Michael Laws added to an increasingly bulging carriage of survivors from decades past. Is it like Cocoon? Is it like the Thriller video? Or more like a scene from the Book of Revelations? We answer (or at least address) all these questions and more.

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Are the Oppies unstoppable?

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This episode was published on July 8, 2026.

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