‘So hacked off’: as election nears, New Zealanders despair at the main parties – and Opportunity knocks

National and Labour have passed government back and forth for years but many voters are no longer content with politics as usual

For decades, Mattie Wall mainly voted for Labour, one of New Zealand’s two major political parties. A former diplomat and project manager, the South Island-based retiree felt that the party with working class origins aligned with what was important to her: a thriving country, and the environment.

This year she is among the New Zealanders who are peeling away from the Labour and National parties – which swing in and out of power every few terms – to vote for an untested party that has never held a parliamentary seat.