The Opportunities Party (TOP) wants to pass tax revenue from legal cannabis to local communities.
“It’s really about rangatiratanga,” Geoff Simmons says.
“The different communities should have a say if this legalisation actually goes forward.”
Simmons took over as TOP leader after founder Gareth Morgan stepped down.
“We have now transitioned from having a sugar daddy in Gareth Morgan through to being a real movement.” Simmonds says.
The TOP leader says that his parties had more donors in 2019 than all other political parties put together.
Votes rolled in
“There’s a real demand out there for real change,” he says.
Simmons says Labour and National have given New Zealand "same-old, same-old."
“People actually want change that is going to work.”
The Opportunities Party attracted 2.4% of the overall party votes in the 2017 election.
Although it did not gain a seat in Parliament, it attracted double the votes of the Māori Party and over four times the votes for ACT.
TOP made headlines recently when it announced the return of former immigration minister Tuariki Delamere into politics.
Delamere had been an advisor to the party for some time. When former candidate Joshua Love left TOP to campaign as an independent, Delamere was nominated as his replacement.