Andrew Leiataua: "Welcome to the More FM Breakfast show, it's your host Andrew Leiataua, coming to you straight from the Taupō studio. Good to be with you as always and we have a packed show for you today. But first, we have managed to secure for you an interview with the local political sensation, and one of Taupō's very own expats, /u/silicon_based_life! /u/silicon_based_life has become somewhat of a larger-than-life character throughout the Whanganui by-election, going from being a relative unknown to polling at 20% and coming close to reaching the votes of dyljam, who is the frontrunner and expected winner tomorrow. /u/silicon_based_life represents the fledgling political party known as The Opportunities Party, and has caused significant controversy over some of his policies. He's here with us in the studio this morning for a short interview."

/u/silicon_based_life: "Great to be with you, Andrew."

Andrew Leiataua: "We'll start with a couple of personal questions. Is it true you grew up and lived in Taupō for several years?"

/u/silicon_based_life: "That's true Andrew, although that doesn't necessarily make me any better than, say, /u/hk-laichar, who is also a Taupō boy. I only just moved back as well - for a while in my youth I was a DOC worker which enabled me to experience the sublimity of the local area. Taupō's a fundamental part of my identity, but that which I feel of the place may not necessarily be the same for anyone else!"

Andrew Leiataua: "What made you move back?"

/u/silicon_based_life: "After Red Saturday, when Labour was disastrously merged with National before splitting back off again, I came to the realisation that something was wrong in New Zealand politics. My foray into campaigning with United Future in the third election, followed by Triangle promptly betraying everything I had fought for - environmentalism, economic centrism and moderation - had left me disenchanted with politics and I eagerly took the UN post. However, Red Saturday made me realise that I was needed back in New Zealand, and I came back, negotiations to form The Opportunities Party were already in effect. /u/Timewalker102 throwing his support behind the party after alpine-'s resignation was all I needed to realise where my true electoral home was."

Andrew Leiataua: "Well very good, thank you for that. Now, I have to ask the question everyone wants to know. What came over you guys when making that controversial alcohol policy?"

/u/silicon_based_life: "Oh man, everywhere I go, I just can't escape that alcohol policy! Luckily, I know the justifications for this off by heart. My party has looked at the evidence. We know that the drinking age was brought down, from 20, in 1999, specifically because, well, people were drinking alcohol at age 18 anyway. By bringing it down, they thought we could just legislate to a societal default that had been in effect for years. Well, the concrete effect that this has had is to actually reduce the de facto drinking ago further. Now, people are drinking from ages as young as 14. That is having huge effects on teenage mental development, and is causing increasing stress on the health system as people develop more severe alcohol addiction, younger. Any hospital can tell you this. By raising the drinking age, we bring up that de facto age through cultural association. This will fit with historic trends and alleviate pressures on the health system. Our alcohol levy, as well, will go towards helping people affected by alcoholism - this includes victims of domestic violence, which is no small problem in Taupō, I know. Everyone wins, and the Kiwi tradition of a pint after work isn't affected for the adult population. For The Opportunities Party, this is a health issue, not a "oh man those innocent kids, they shouldn't be ever allowed to drink" issue."

Andrew Leiataua: "Well, I'll leave my viewers to come up with their own thoughts about that particular policy! I must say, you've got nerves to propose something like that in an electorate such as Whanganui."

/u/silicon_based_life: "Who knows, maybe it's the reason we're polling so badly. But I have to say, we have so many other good policies that I urge people to consider. Some of those have much more potential to affect the fabric of society than the drinking age, for example our multiple UBI schemes that we've proposed."

Andrew Leiataua: "I think we'll be getting to those in a second, but we've been seeing concerns about your tax policy here in Taupō. By-and-large, the small businesses here rely on tourist money to survive. How will your tax policy affect them?"

/u/silicon_based_life: "Well quite frankly, I don't know if it'll affect them at all. Small business don't tend to be making money just off the land they stand on, or the property they own or rent. That kind of gains are left to speculators. Small businesses currently come under normal business, GST and income tax laws. Business and GST are currently not covered in our policy - perhaps we can find a way to bring that down for smaller businesses, in the spirit of fostering a strong market environment - but our income tax will more than likely reduce the tax burden on at least the types of small businesses I tend to meet - and indeed, once worked for - in Taupō."

"Andrew Leiataua: "And how will that work?"

/u/silicon_based_life: "By restructuring income tax so that it will place more of a burden on collectors of passive income. The Green-Labour government came close to achieving a similar goal with their capital gains tax in the second model government, but it was never comprehensive enough. Our scheme is also tax neutral, so it gives a lot of people a tax break rather than just giving the government an attractive surplus. A surplus is meaningful, but so is money in the pocket for our worse off. The Liberal government understands thus, but they also greatly reduced the capital gains tax, so not much better off there."

Andrew Leiataua: "How exactly is it difference from a normal Capital Gains Tax?"

/u/silicon_based_life: "It's more comprehensive, easier to implement, and it has less loopholes. CGT's need to cover a lot of detail. Our income tax extension with easily cover all forms of income, active or passive."

Andrew Leiataua: "Right. And how does that fit with your Universal Basic Income ideas? If the tax proposal is tax neutral, then where will you get the money to pay all school leavers, all young families, and all retirees, $200 a week? That comes to a grand total of several billion dollars a year."

/u/silicon_based_life: The cost is very high, but remember these UBIs replace a significant number of existing social welfare, superannuation, and student allowance schemes. The money is simply redirected into an easier, more universal projects. Especially with Superannuation, means testing older people will allow to redirect money from wealthy pensioners, who don't really need superannuation - but will still, of course, get the UBI - and giving it to less well-off pensioners, will fairly deal out the money and free some up for the other UBIs."

Andrew Leiataua: "Why would you give so much money to wealthy students and parents, though, as well as the poorer people?"

/u/silicon_based_life: "Two reasons: It's incredibly simple, and it has been shown, through multiple studies, to work. Means-testing is complicated but just giving the same amount of money to everyone, which is the ultimate goal, is incredibly streamlined. There might be a few high-flyers who waste their income away, but realistically, that's just revenue back into the government and community, right? And the benefit towards lower-income people is simply immense, and more than makes up for money that maybe, might be, wasted on the richer class. It may seems counterintuitive to The Opportunities Party's policy of egalitarianism but the new tiered income tax will have a big effect on that."

Andrew Leiataua: "Well, we're almost out of time, but two more questions: What do you say to criticisms that you're basically just a replica of the Green Party, and what policy will you be announcing today?"

/u/silicon_based_life (chuckling): "The Greens haven't got the balls to propose half our policy. Besides, we want this all to fit within the effective liberal capitalist framework that modern society has progressed so far under. Some of the Greens... they hide it well, but perhaps not, if you know what I mean. Today, we'll be announcing our environmental policy down at Ngauruhoe Domain, so come on down and check it out. It'll be an event to remember."

Andrew Leiataua: "Thanks for your time. That was /u/silicon_based_life, leader of the nascent Opportunities Party and candidate for Whanganui in tomorrow's by-election.

"Next up on the playlist, "One Headlight" by The Wallflowers..."