Helen Tait  wants to see the Opportunity Party in government — and herself if possible.

The Wānaka resident is the party’s newly-announced candidate for the Waitaki Electorate.

She told the Oamaru Mail her campaign was mainly focused on securing the party vote for Opportunity.

“I am a candidate for Waitaki and I would be amazed, and delighted and enthusiastic if I were to be elected but that’s not really the expectation.

“We’re campaigning for the party vote and we’re on the verge of that required 5%.”

Ms Tait said Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s comments last month  ruling out working with Opportunity was “rather foolish”.

She was drawn to the party due to her frustration with “seemingly endless flip-flopping” between major parties who were elected to govern and “depressed” with each successive government “cancelling what the previous one did”.

Ms Tait said due to the Waitaki electorate’s size and variance in voter base, it was “a microcosm of what everyone in New Zealand is facing”.

“We lament the fact that health seems to be underfunded, that education could be doing more, that more people are wanting housing, there are more people on the benefit and to address those just through increasing taxes is not going to achieve the change that is needed.”

She heralded the party’s policy of “a complete reset of the tax system” which included introducing universal basic income which would be paid for by a land tax.

“If we come in as a small party, a tax change that radical is not going to happen overnight, but what we do think is that we have to radically relook at the tax system.

“At the moment, every wage and salary earner pays a substantial amount of their income in tax but a lot of property owners and big companies and wealthy people, because they can structure their income differently, don’t pay nearly that same level.

“It’s become more and more clear that we have to do something about it.”

Ms Tait previously worked as a community planning consultant.

She is visiting Oamaru on Sunday  morning and hoped to meet voters at the Harbour St Collective Cafe.

nic.duff@oamarumail.co.nz