Winter pānui

Kia ora e te hāpori,

Our most exciting news to share since our last pānui is that WEAll has doubled its full time team! We welcome Sally Hett as our Knowledge and Engagement Lead.

Sally brings a wealth of expertise and passion and has contributed massively to our soon-to-be published Community Wealth Building report. We’ve achieved a lot in the last two years, imagine what we will achieve with two staff!

A key focus for Sally will be our upcoming Economy for Public Good conference in Pōneke Wellington, on 28 November. Save the date, more details to come soon. 

With Matariki coming up later this month, we hope you enjoy the time to celebrate Te Ao Māori, remember loved ones and reflect on the past year.

Ngā mihi

WEAll Aotearoa

 

Our Strategy 

We have an ambitious work plan. Our mission is to build a Te Tiriti-led, broad-based, people-powered movement to transform the economic system to a Wellbeing Economy.

We’re working on our three year project, What’s Next, which will outline a vision of a Wellbeing Economy for Aotearoa and the tools and policies to get there. To support this, our four priority areas are:

1. Community Wealth Building: We’re collaborating on a new report, launching an awareness campaign, hosting workshops, and identifying regions to put this approach into practice.
2. Wellbeing of Future Generations Act: We’re campaigning to follow Wales’ lead and drafting a bill to put future generations at the core of our government and public service decision making to enable intergenerational wellbeing.
3. Participatory approaches: We’re working to shift power from big corporations and lobbyists to people through our economic listening tour, emerging partnerships and see below for details of our upcoming event with international expert John Gastil.
4. Beyond growth: We’re challenging old myths like infinite growth and trickle-down economics and we are working on a video explaining the impact of Rogernomics/Neoliberalism for the fortieth anniversary in July.

Alongside this mahi, we will continue to prioritise our relationships with people and organisations, and running events and commenting in the media. Soon we will be launching our new website! 

Recent events + publications

Mahi Tahi retreat with our fellow Peter McKenzie Project organisations

We are a proud member of the Peter McKenzie Project flotilla of organisations working together to shift the systems which lock our children and families into poverty.

We came together in May to learn and connect. A highlight was Professor Ingrid Burkett and Associate Professor Jo McNeill (of the Griffith’s Centre for Systems Innovation) from Australia presenting, alongside Dr Eru Tarena from Tokona Te Raki, on the 3 Horizons system change framework. It’s a powerful tool to imagine transformative change, transitional change and change with the current system.

 

Future-fit business webinar

We were privileged to host this Future-Fit Business webinar with visiting UK sustainability & impact investment specialist expert Martin Rich, alongside B Lab Australia and New Zealand CEO Andrew Davies, and Founder and Chief Executive of the Sustainable Business Network Rachel Brown ONZM. 

Martin talked about the Future-Fit Foundation that has a vision of helping create a society which is environmentally restorative, socially just and economically inclusive. It was a great conversation highlighting how businesses can play a leading role in reshaping our economic system towards one designed to serve people and the planet. 

You can watch the recording here. Let us know what you think. 

Responding to Government policies

We made submissions opposing both the Fast-track Approvals Bill and the Local Government (Electoral Legislation and Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Bill, and commented on the Coalition Government’s first Budget.

We published an op ed looking at the Budget through an intergenerational lens and a blog post sharing the top takes we noticed.

 

Outgrow the system film, 12 June Kirikiriroa Hamilton

Join us, Go Eco (Waikato Environment Centre) and Impact Hub Network in Kirikiriroa Hamilton for a screening of Outgrow the System. The film shares those working at the global forefront towards a new economic system including Doughnut Economics, Participatory Economics, Degrowth approaches and the global Wellbeing Economy movement.

To ground the film’s big global ideas locally we have an incredible local panel to discuss “what would an economy that serves the public good within environmental limits in Waikato look like?” Tickets are free but seats are limited. Book your seat here.

People, Planet, Pints: kōrero with internationally acclaimed deliberative democracy expert, John Gastil  

Hosted by WEAll and Trust Democracy in Pōneke Wellington,  spots are limited, get in quick to join us for a drink, a discussion and connect with others interested in a greater voice for citizens in our economy and our democracy.

People, Planet, Pints will be an ongoing event series WEAll is hosting. If you’re interested in hosting one in your town, let us know.

Join our supporters’ call, Tuesday 2 July

Join our second supporters’ call and find out how you can get more involved in the WEAll community.  Find out about our supporter-led projects on participatory approaches, Wellbeing of Future Generations Act and moving beyond growth and our upcoming conference.

Register to attend here.

Wellbeing Economy Book Club, 9 July!

It’s happening! We’re pleased to be convening a WEAll Aotearoa Book Club led by our supporter Adrienne Gallie on 9 July, 7pm. Our first book is Mission Economy, written by Mariana Mazzucato. It’s at many libraries, and if you get in quick, Sally and Gareth both have copies to lend out. If you don’t get a chance to read it, you’re still welcome to come along. We will also discuss the ongoing Book Club structure, how we want to learn together and future books to read.

Register to attend here.

Our Economy for Public Good Conference, 28 November 

We are so pleased to announce we will be running our 2024 Economy for Public Good conference on Thursday 28 November at Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University in Wellington. Following the success of last year’s sold-out conference at AUT, we are excited to host over 200 attendees for a day of insightful discussions and meaningful connections. 

The theme for this year’s conference is ‘the current system was designed, and it can be redesigned.’ Our goal is to bring together diverse voices to explore how we can collectively design a new economy that prioritises public good and delivers wellbeing for people and the planet by default. 

Tickets are coming soon, put a save the date in your calendar now for 28 November!

Recommendations

​​Check out some of these great articles, podcasts and projects:

• What does fairness mean to New Zealanders? Koi Tū, the Centre for Informed Futures at the University of Auckland, is running a project to understand how New Zealanders think about fairness. They are seeking people’s input via survey, you can participate here. 
• WEAll founder Dr Katherine Trebeck and Warwick Smith from the Centre for Policy Development in Australia have produced an incredible report that provides a detailed yet succinct overview of a Wellbeing Economy. Well worth a read. 
• Busting false economic assumptions and flawed economic models CTU Chief-Economist Craig Rennie also proposes solutions in this Fabian Society lecture.
• Diving into Degrowth, Jennifer Wilkins looks at Degrowth-aligned finance in this report, argues it will become public policy in New Zealand on the Of Interest Podcast and Ben Gallant, explores in this podcast what the labour market could look like in a postgrowth economy. 
• Kate Raworth’s latest piece in the Guardian is a concise overview on why it’s time to pursue wellbeing and not endless growth.
• A new paper from EY outlines why tackling the polycrisis requires an economic reset. 
• With Fast-Track looming, enjoy this  documentary free on YouTube about the ongoing protection of Waikoropupu Springs and the groundbreaking Te Waikoropupu Water Conservation Order that is creating precedence in the legal world.
• Lastly, we keep returning to the Ministry of Imagination’s Manifesto. Drawn from the content of the ‘What If to What Next’ podcast, the manifesto outlines simple and straightforward policy recommendations on 35 different topics!

March for Nature and People over Profits, 8 June

If you’re in Tamaki Makaurau, join the March for Nature (1pm Aotea Square) to stop the Fast-Track Bill. It’s going to be big.

If you’re in Pōneke, join the ActionStation led rally, ‘People over profit, stop the cuts’ (1pm Pukeahu National War Memorial Park). With thousands of job losses, rolling attacks on Te Tiriti o Waitangi, no-cause evictions and selling off public housing, cuts to our public transport, health and education. Rally to say no to the cuts, and unify our voices for a future where everyone has what they need to thrive.

Right to repair bill 

The Consumer Guarantees (Right to Repair) Amendment Bill was recently drawn from the Members’ ballot. The Bill seeks to amend the Consumer Guarantees Act to include many key aspects of the right to repair. This is a fantastic chance to make a real step forward by legislating for repair in Aotearoa.

The Repair Network Aotearoa Trust’s webpage provides a useful summary and calls to action. For example, they’ve created a template email for reaching out to your local MP. The more voices heard now, the better chance the Bill has of progressing through Parliament. Send your local MP an email or write a letter to the Minister of Commerce & Consumer Affairs.

Be a Good ancestor petition 

Join WEAll Aotearoa in signing the global petition to members of the United Nations to take action and exercise the duty to safeguard our futures during the Summit for the Future, including:

🌿 Supporting a Strong Declaration on Future Generations

📣 Calling for the appointment of a UN Envoy for Future Generations

🌏 Creating a multilateral and inclusive Forum on Future Generations

Stay Connected

Thank you for your support for WEAll Aotearoa. We are a registered charity that relies on donations and philanthropic funding to continue our mahi. 

If you can support please get in touch with our Director Gareth Hughes.  

If you know of people or resources that would strengthen this movement, please do share with us. 

To stay in the loop ongoing, you can follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.