Two Opportunities Party (TOP) candidates who resigned last week are starting their own political group.
Jessica Hammond Doube and Jenny Condie left the party after leader Gareth Morgan announced he was stepping down and deputy leader Geoff Simmons said he was leaving too.
Dr Condie was asked to resign and called a "pain in the arse" in an email from Dr Morgan in November. She had been TOP's spokesperson on tax.
She told Newshub she started a Facebook page with Ms Hammond Doube to reach out to supporters and find out what they wanted next. The group is temporarily named "Next Big Thing".
There are no long-term plans for the political action group, but they could become an advocacy group like RockEnrol or Action Station, or it could mean a starting a new political party.
"Our favourite part of campaigning was having difficult conversations with people about the big difficult issues that are facing New Zealand. We just wanted to find a way to keep having those conversations with people," Dr Condie said.
"We are still figuring out the details."
Those big issues? Things like "housing, inequality, climate change".
The aim will be to reach people across the left-wing/right-wing ideological divide, but there are "no plans" to work as a policy-based think tank.
Dr Condie did not want to discuss the issues with TOP, saying it was time to focus on the new project.
Newshub.
