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Sarah Lucas
Small-business owner and manufacturer; former social worker and mental-health manager with conservation, governance and local-government leadership experience.
Stated priorities: Collaborative long-term leadership, local-government reform, regional development, conservation and strong public institutions.
Party candidate list
Latest party-vote polling
Polls measure nationwide support for TOP, not this candidate or this electorate — no electorate-level figures are published in these releases.
Latest poll
5.3%
RNZ–Reid Research, 21 Aug 2026
Average, last 3 months
4.8%
10 polls
Change on previous poll
-2.7
Percentage points
TOP manifesto promises
62 policy commitments on file for the party this candidate stands for.
Economy & Cost of Living
- • Pay almost all adults a tax-free Citizen’s Income of up to $370 a week, replacing most benefits with targeted top-ups retainedopportunity.org.nz
- • Make public transport permanently free nationwideopportunity.org.nz
- • Deliver household energy savings through cheaper electricity, low-interest electrification loans and warmer homesopportunity.org.nz
- • Lift research and development spending to at least 2% of GDP, introduce technology-investment tax credits and expand accelerator fundingopportunity.org.nz
- • Give the Commerce Commission the power and funding to challenge or break up uncompetitive markets through the High Courtopportunity.org.nz
+4 more in this area
Energy, Climate & Environment
- • Protect the Climate Change Commission and independent climate oversightopportunity.org.nz
- • [RNZ news source] Seek a durable multi-party Climate Adaptation Act with shared responsibility among central and local government, property owners, insurers and infrastructure providersrnz.co.nz
- • Add 30GW of renewable generation by 2050 under the Abundant Energy planrnz.co.nz
- • Add 30 GW of renewable generation by 2050 through a capacity-investment scheme and industrial electrification incentivesopportunity.org.nz
- • Merge four energy regulators into one, consolidate 29 distributors into no more than eight, and ring-fence Crown power dividends for renewable investmentopportunity.org.nz
+4 more in this area
Tax & Fiscal Policy
- • Raise up to $60 billion over ten years through an Infrastructure Fund, using Crown-rate borrowing and keeping interest costs below 1% of GDPopportunity.org.nz
- • Introduce a 1.75% annual tax on urban land value, with a lower rate and potential exemptions or deferrals for qualifying rural land, farmers and retireesopportunity.org.nz
- • Pay almost all adults a tax-free Citizen’s Income of up to $19,400 a year, replacing most benefits with top-up support retainedopportunity.org.nz
- • Introduce a 1.75% annual land-value tax and reduce personal income tax to three tiers of 28%, 34% and 39%opportunity.org.nz
- • Introduce compulsory KiwiSaver 2.0 with employee and employer contributions rising to 6% eachopportunity.org.nz
+3 more in this area
Education & Children
- • Use the Citizen’s Income and targeted top-ups to lift an estimated 50,000 families out of povertyopportunity.org.nz
- • Use the Citizen’s Income and targeted top-ups to lift an estimated 50,000 families out of povertyopportunity.org.nz
- • Raise early-childhood staffing, space and qualification standards and support community-owned servicesopportunity.org.nz
- • [1News source] Support the Online Safety (Minimum Age and Child Safety Risk Assessment) Bill at first reading so its under-16 safeguards can be tested at select committee1news.co.nz
- • Establish a ten-year cross-party education plan led by an independent Curriculum and Assessment Councilopportunity.org.nz
+1 more in this area
Governance & Democracy
- • Automate work currently performed by an estimated 2,000-plus Ministry of Social Development staff by replacing most benefit classes with the Citizen’s Incomeopportunity.org.nz
- • Merge four energy regulatory agencies into one and consolidate 29 energy distributors into no more than eightopportunity.org.nz
- • Introduce a public lobbying register, cooling-off period, donation caps, lower disclosure thresholds and an independent anti-corruption bodyopportunity.org.nz
- • Prevent Opportunity MPs from using taxpayer accommodation or office allowances to build private, party or donor property wealthopportunity.org.nz
- • Use representative paid Citizens’ Assemblies, overseen by an independent commissioner, to consider long-term contested national decisionsscoop.co.nz
+1 more in this area
Housing
- • Use a land-value tax projected to reduce house prices by 10–15% and discourage land bankingopportunity.org.nz
- • Simplify zoning and building rules, support offsite construction, and underwrite eligible affordable-housing developmentsopportunity.org.nz
- • Introduce a land-value tax projected to reduce house prices by 10–15%, simplify zoning and building rules, support offsite construction and underwrite eligible affordable developmentsopportunity.org.nz
- • Introduce a 1.75% annual urban land-value tax and 0.5% rural land tax, intended to reduce house prices by 10–15%opportunity.org.nz
- • [RNZ news source] Economists estimated the policy could reduce property values by at least 10%, with larger effects where land makes up more of the property’s valuernz.co.nz
+1 more in this area
Speeches and coverage
Stories and statements that name Sarah Lucas, updated automatically as they are published.
- Nothing naming this candidate has been collected yet.
Recent TOP speeches and statements
- 2 Sept 2026Official party sitePolicy release10-year plans to strengthen health and education
Opportunity commitment to cross-party long-term planning for frontline services.
- 28 Aug 2026Official party sitePolicy releaseTime for an honest conversation about transport funding
Opportunity called for immediate cost-of-living relief from high fuel prices alongside transparent long-term decisions about fuel excise, road-user charges and how New Zealand funds its transport network.
- 3 Mar 2026Official party siteForeign policy statementStatement on Middle East Crisis
Opportunity condemned US and Israeli attacks on Iran as breaches of international law and highlighted civilian harm.
- 15 Nov 2025StuffLeadership relaunchNew Opportunity leader sets 150,000-vote target
Wong set a 5% target, positioned the party as centrist and open to either bloc, and focused on housing and tax reform.