Make Aotearoa Useful Again: A Manifesto for
the Solutions Economy
Download the Manifesto below ⤵
Aotearoa New Zealand doesn’t need an economy that simply keeps the lights on. We need one that lights the way forward – solving real problems and creating value for the world that’s emerging, not the one that’s decaying.
Every crisis we face, from cost of living to climate disruption, carries within it the seeds of innovation. The question is not if we can adapt, but how fast we can retool our systems to serve people and planet alike.
This is the Solutions Economy – lightweight, low-carbon, creative, and circular. It invests in ideas, not just infrastructure. It multiplies value rather than extracting it. It’s not utopian; it’s the necessary pivot.
A New Type of Leadership
We need leaders who can navigate complexity with courage and creativity, those ready to move beyond extraction and design for regeneration. Leadership in the Solutions Economy isn’t about perfection; it’s about participation. It’s for people who shoulder responsibility and act on what they can influence.
Think of it as moving from a coal-fired mindset to a composting one: everything of value recirculates.
Three Pillars of Action
-
Local Solutions, Global Impact
From climate-resilient housing and linked-up food systems to carbon-lite transport and regenerative dairying, every industry can innovate for local wellbeing and global relevance. -
An Economy that Multi-Solves
One investment, multiple wins. Money, skills, and knowledge circulate. Work becomes meaningful again. Progress is measured by wellbeing, trust, and resilience, not just GDP. -
Leadership that Connects and Listens
Grounded in Te Tiriti, open to many kinds of intelligence – scientific, cultural, lived. Aotearoa can become a global hub for mediation and healing, hosting reconciliation through tikanga, aroha, and shared story.
The Pivot Points
We shift:
-
From extraction to regeneration
-
From ownership to stewardship
-
From centralised control to distributed decision-making
-
From monoculture to diversity and adaptability
-
From scarcity to collective abundance
This is how we make Aotearoa New Zealand useful again – to our people, to the planet, and to the future.
8 Low-Cost, High-Impact Policies
The manifesto outlines eight policy levers, from fairer tax and future-fit housing to food sovereignty and healing as infrastructure – each designed to solve multiple problems at once.
They’re not expensive reforms. They’re smart reallocations that use what we already have: creativity, care, and Kiwi ingenuity. They boost what is already efficient, productive and aligned - our Māori economy, our caring economy, our technology and our social and environmental leadership.
A Call to Action
The Solutions Economy is not an expense; it’s an investment that pays back in multiple ways – economically, socially, and ecologically.
If your organisation wants to align its messaging with this vision for our future, to lead with relevance, regeneration, and real-world impact, I offer tailored Solutions Economy Workshops that help teams find clarity, courage, and coherence in their story.
Let’s make sure your message doesn’t just land. It leads.
Download the Manifesto below ⤵
Book a Solutions Economy Workshop