Pānui July 2026
The majority of New Zealanders want our political parties to work together on the big issues
Kia ora,
We had a busy month in July with three new kaimahi joining our team and getting up to speed. We were also busy at various events across the motu sharing our vision for a better economy for Aotearoa’s future.
Over the last month we’ve also seen political parties from across the spectrum launch their election campaigns and start releasing policy.
Aotearoa’s energy system has been a focus of these first policy releases. The National Party started with their announcement of low-cost loans for homeowners to install solar power, followed closely by Labour's similar loans scheme, with $3,000 kickstart subsidies, and plug-in solar for renters. The Greens joined with a comprehensive plan to transform the energy market through investment in publicly-owned and community-owned renewable energy production, along with their own zero-interest loan scheme. Even the Act Party has announced a plan to cut red tape for solar installations. However, New Zealand First has also joined the energy conversation with an announcement of $1 billion in fossil fuel subsidies backing the wrong horse in oil and gas.
This emerging consensus on tackling our energy crisis is promising because the majority of New Zealanders want our political parties to work together on the big issues. As we learned from our polling earlier this year:
I hope to see more political consensus on these long-term solutions and recognition that the economy needs to be designed around people and nature, not profit and special interests.
With this in mind, we recently released our Blueprint for Prosperity, outlining our vision for a better future for Aotearoa, and we’ll be presenting this to as many political minds from across the spectrum as possible in the coming months.
At the heart of this is a call for intergenerational responsibility. Our new Future Generations Lead, Nate Wilbourne, has been busy advocating for this change and specifically our calls for a Future Generations Act.
I have exciting news! Next month we will be partnering with the Australia New Zealand Society for Ecological Economics at their conference, Regenerative Futures, Imagining Alternatives, Transforming Systems. There is an open call for Abstracts; we particularly welcome novel ideas, including decision-making, community engagement, art-making, and other creative approaches. Submit your abstract by 14 August.
Our members support us to do this important mahi. If you aren’t already, please consider becoming a member today. We are a fast-growing movement, and it is an exciting time to join the groundswell.
Ngā manaakitanga,
Gareth and the WEAll Aotearoa team
Events this month
Wellbeing Economy Book Club: The Beginning Comes After the End by Rebecca Solnit
Tuesday, 4 August 2026 7 pm - 8 pm
Whether you’ve read the book or not, join us for a conversation about this beautiful book.
Recommendations
Learn from the inspiring leaders of our movement in a new online learning journey on how to redesign the economy. It’s free for all, so share it around.
Wellbeing economy news
New book Facing Up to Our Future: Challenges and Choices for New Zealand includes a chapter that highlights the contribution of Pacific people in New Zealand's economy and society: "When these contributions are considered, the value Pacific peoples bring to Aotearoa is far greater than GDP figures alone suggest.”
Read the National Indigenous Times article here
The World Happiness Report 2027 will have a focus on Aotearoa, ‘From wellbeing budgets to wellbeing outcomes: lessons from New Zealand’. We look forward to their findings and seeing how we might learn from recent history.
Quote of the month
“We have an economy that needs to grow, whether or not it makes us thrive. We need an economy that makes us thrive, whether or not it grows.”
– Kate Raworth, author of Doughnut Economics