Fiji-born Qiulae Wong poised to enter New Zealand Parliament

Qiulae Wong may have failed to win her electorate seat in New Zealand’s general election on Saturday.

Still, the Fiji-born political newcomer has achieved something that three previous leaders of her party could not – and she’s getting into Parliament anyway.

She has taken the Opportunity Party across the five per cent threshold needed to enter Parliament.

With 5.96 per cent of the preliminary party vote, the party is projected to secure seven seats, including one for Wong through the party list.

But behind the 38-year-old mother of two is a remarkable family story with deep roots in Fiji, particularly Lautoka.

Ms Wong is the granddaughter of the late Eddie Yan Kong Wong, a successful businessman, former mayor of Lautoka and Fiji’s first senator of Chinese descent.

Her grandparents, Eddie and Sennung Wong, migrated from China and established a new life in Fiji.

Mr Eddie became one of Lautoka’s prominent businessmen through Eddie Hin Limited, which operated in food distribution, supermarkets and soft-drink manufacturing.

He was also very involved in community affairs and served as Lautoka’s first Chinese mayor in 1967 and 1968.

Following Fiji’s Independence in 1970, he became the country’s first senator of Chinese descent.

His public service extended to the boards of the then Fiji Electricity Authority (FEA), Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji (CAAF), and Tilak High School.

Interestingly, Mr Eddie’s business legacy continues in New Zealand.

His grandchildren, Qiuchee and Qiujing Wong, revived the name Lukbo for their Auckland-based food distribution company.

Meaning ‘six treasures,’ Lukbo was originally the name Eddie chose for a range of soft drinks manufactured in Fiji before his company began producing RC Cola and later Pepsi Cola.

The grandchildren say they revived the name to honour their grandfather and continue the family’s business tradition.

Ms Qiulae’s father, Jilyin Wong, moved from Fiji to Auckland for his secondary and university education, where he met Margaret Malcolm, a Pakeha New Zealander.

The couple subsequently moved to Fiji, where Ms Qiulae was born in 1988, before relocating to New Zealand when she was six months old.

Margaret also has a background in public affairs, served as a senior adviser to former National Party minister Judith Collins and was chief executive of the Auckland District Law Society.

Ms Qiulae grew up in Auckland, the youngest of three children, in a household shaped by both Chinese and New Zealand cultures.

Politics was not her initial career choice. After studying law and politics, she worked in sustainable fashion in London before returning to New Zealand and joining international consultancy firm KPMG.

Politics

Her political journey began almost unexpectedly in 2025 when she responded to an advertisement seeking a new leader for the Opportunity Party.

Despite having no parliamentary political experience, she applied and eventually secured the position.

She subsequently led a campaign focused on economic reform, housing affordability and environmental sustainability. Her rapid rise has come with personal challenges, including balancing political commitments with raising two young daughters, Malia and Cleo, with her husband, Grant Anthony.

She has also spoken about experiencing racism and personal attacks during the campaign.

But Wong’s sense of family history remains strong. In 2013, she travelled to China with relatives to visit the villages her grandparents had left decades earlier, describing the experience as a pilgrimage.

Now, the family’s journey has reached another milestone, with Ms Qiulae poised to enter New Zealand’s Parliament as the leader of a party that has finally broken through under her leadership.

The official election results, including special votes, are due on November 27.

For the Wong family, however, the story stretches much further back — from China to Lautoka, and now to New Zealand’s Parliament. It is a story of migration, enterprise, public service and opportunities embraced across generations.