In 2023, Top’s annual return showed it had received about $300,000 in donations.

Top’s 2023 donations only included two above $5000. It’s understood Mills’ donation is the largest the party has received since at least 2017.

Late last year, Auckland businesswoman Qiulae Wong was announced as the party’s leader. The 37-year-old will be the party’s fifth leader since it was founded by economist and philanthropist Gareth Morgan in 2016.

The party hasn’t been able to secure a seat or receive 5% of the party vote required to enter Parliament.

Top general manager Iain Lees-Galloway, a former Labour minister who officially took on the general manager role this week, told the Herald the party had engaged people who knew Mills well to encourage him to consider supporting Top.

Mills told the Herald he first became interested in the party during the 2023 election but he didn’t rate the party’s chances.

“I looked at it and I said, ‘I’m already supporting a couple of parties and these guys are going to struggle to get over the line’,” Mills said of Top.

“I think a lot of people probably last election thought they were a wasted vote and I was sort of in that camp and didn’t donate, but looking at what happened in Aussie with the teals, I think that there’s a real chance that in New Zealand we’re going to see that this year.”

Mills’ mention of Aussie teals refers to the success of independent MPs in Australia’s federal election last year. MPs who campaigned on strong climate action as well as conservative fiscal policies are dubbed “teal” as a combination of blue and green.

“What we’ve seen from the current coalition Government is some really environmentally destructive stuff … there are just a lot of people that are really pissed off about it, a lot of my National-voting friends … this has turned them off,” he said.

“I think there’s going to be a big teal vote, and I think Opportunity are going to do well.

“My pick is that you will see them get across the line and they will reflect what happened with the teals in Aussie … I think it will surprise us all.”

Mills cited “refreshing policies” concerning tax and education, while clarifying he remained a supporter of Labour and the Greens with environment-focused policies central to his motivations.

“I’ve been a strong supporter of the Green Party and the Labour Party for a long, long time, and I absolutely support those guys as well and [there’s] nothing that I would love better to see than a partnership of Labour and Greens and Opportunity, that would be a great thing for New Zealand.”

Mills confirmed he had donated $100,000 to Labour and $50,000 to the Greens late last year. Donations of that size outside of an election year are only required to be declared in a party’s annual returns.

He said it was likely he would repeat those donations this year, noting he often donated more in election years.

Asked if his support extended to Te Pāti Māori, Mills said he hadn’t donated to the party and hadn’t properly assessed its policies.

“I’m supporting anybody really who is genuinely pro the environment.”

Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.