The Opportunities Party (TOP) will contest the Hamilton West by-election, selecting Naomi Pocock, a former candidate for another Hamilton electorate, to stand in the December contest.
TOP's previous Hamilton West candidate, Hayden Cargo - who has since moved to Auckland to be Party Secretary - only secured 2.6 percent of the vote at the 2020 election, making it an uphill battle for the party.
But Pocock sees the December 10 by-election as an opportunity to send a message that "the status quo must go".
"It's an incredible privilege to be able to stand up and make the case to voters who want to change the status quo," she said.
"I believe The Opportunities Party has the policies, values and the vision to bring about positive change for the people of Hamilton and I'm excited to have the opportunity to potentially represent them in Wellington."
Pocock came fourth for TOP in the Hamilton East electorate at the 2020 election with 2.2 percent of the vote, behind Labour's Jamie Strange (47.7 percent), National's David Bennett (40 percent) and the Greens' Rimu Bhooi (4.3 percent).
She completed a doctorate of philosophy at the University of Waikato and has previously worked at Ernst & Young and Hewlett Packard, and run her own business in Ireland. She is currently a project manager at Āmiomio Aotearoa based at Waikato University.
The by-election has been forced by the resignation of MP Dr Gaurav Sharma. Dr Sharma was expelled from the Labour Party caucus in August after making unfounded allegations of widespread bullying, accusing the Prime Minister of a cover-up and secretly recording colleagues.
He claimed last week that Labour was going to use waka-jumping legislation to kick him out of Parliament ahead of next year's election. If an MP leaves Parliament within six months of the election, politicians can choose not to hold a by-election.
Dr Sharma was concerned this would leave his Hamilton West constituents without an MP for months and decided to force the by-election in which he will stand.
Labour, however, has disputed Dr Sharma's claim, with leader Jacinda Ardern saying there was no plan to kick Dr Sharma out and a by-election was a "complete waste of taxpayer money".
Neither Labour nor National has yet announced their candidates for the contest. Tim Macindoe, the former National MP who held the seat between 2008 and 2020 announced on Wednesday that he would not be seeking his party's candidacy.
TOP was established in 2016 by philanthropist Gareth Morgan, but has so far been unsuccessful at winning a seat in Parliament. It secured 2.4 percent of the vote at the 2017 election under Morgan's leadership and 1.5 percent in 2020 under Geoff Simmons.
Former Christchurch Councillor Raf Manji is now in charge and believes the party is ready to "present itself with some new policy and direction" after sitting out the Tauranga by-election.
"We have a clear strategy to change the status quo and believe Kiwis are ready to move on from the traditional Red/Blue dynamic," he said. "Hamilton is a growing city, with a diverse and dynamic population. It can lead the way in charting a new direction and we hope to be part of that."
Earlier this month, TOP released a tax switch plan which includes a tax-free threshold of $15,000 and shifting tax thresholds in a way that would lead to about $6.35b in tax cuts. That would be paid for through a 0.75 percent annual land tax on residential property, making the policy fiscally neutral.
The party also proposes a $3 billion development fund for community housing groups to clear the public housing waiting list.
"The income tax-free threshold of $15,000 and a shift in other tax thresholds would help Hamiltonians with their day-to-day costs," Pocock said.
"Warm, safe and affordable housing is critical for our communities and whānau."
Manji, who as an independent came second to Gerry Brownlee in the 2017 Ilam election, is planning to visit Hamilton to help with campaigning.
"We want to support Naomi in her campaign. She is super passionate about her community and wants to help deliver better outcomes for all. We are keen to get behind her and make sure her message is heard."
