Election 2026: The Opportunity Party names Cail Smith as East Cape candidate
Cail Smith, 31, is The Opportunity Party candidate for the East Cape in November's general election.
The Opportunity Party has announced Cail Smith as its candidate for the East Cape in November’s general election.
The 31-year-old is originally from Waitara, in Taranaki, moving to Gisborne with his wife in 2018.
He has a people-focused background, starting his career in retail before moving to HR operations management.
“I think it’s really important to be uplifting and empowering people, and it’s really cool to be in a role where I can actually do that,” he said.
Smith was raised by a single mother.
“I know how hard my family was working to get ahead and how that didn’t translate into security,” he said.
“That’s why I’m standing for Opportunity. It’s a party that wants fairer rules so hard work can actually pay off.”
Smith said The Opportunity Party’s policies, including a land value tax and a “Citizen’s Income” (or form of universal basic income), would help to address housing affordability and cost-of-living pressures in Gisborne.
“The way we’ve structured it, which is a half per cent land value tax on rural property and 1.75% on the rest of the property, funnels enough tax revenue that it pays for the Citizen’s Income.”
The Citizen’s Income policy proposes that almost all adults would receive up to $370 a week, or about $19,400 a year.
“So you’re going from land values to spendable income,” he said.
He emphasised the importance of building consensus in politics and encouraging collaboration.
“If the Government kind of keeps trending in the way they’re going, they get out this election, someone else comes in, a lot of this is just going to be replaced, so there’s no enduring consensus.
“I think having a party that genuinely sees not necessarily the parties, but the people that vote for the parties, as worthy of consulting and getting on board, so we can have that consensus. I think it’s really important.”
East Cape candidates announced to date:
Incumbent MP Dana Kirkpatrick (National), Jo Luxton (Labour), Jordan Walker (Green) and Cail Smith (Opportunity).