Good News Aotearoa Digest
🌿 Good News Aotearoa – Edition 12th September 2025
It’s easy to feel weighed down by headlines. Rising costs, divisive politics and international uncertainty often dominate the news cycle. But if you look just a little closer, you’ll find something else happening in Aotearoa – a steady flow of good stories that remind us of our ingenuity, resilience and community spirit.
This week, five very different developments show that even in uncertain times, New Zealanders are growing solutions, investing in the future and strengthening one another.
1. Solar Power Shines in Hawke’s Bay
Hawke’s Bay-based Freenergy Solar Solutions has just been recognised at the SEANZ 2025 Aotearoa Industry Awards for clean energy leadership. For a local solar provider to be celebrated at a national level sends a powerful message - the renewable energy revolution is not just about multinational giants. Small businesses, often family-owned and community-rooted, are doing the mahi to shift us toward a cleaner energy system.
This recognition gives Freenergy credibility with customers and potential investors, but it also raises the bar for other SMEs. It shows that small firms can lead with innovation, professionalism and sustainability. Every new solar panel on a roof in Hawke’s Bay means reduced carbon emissions and lower power bills for households. It’s the kind of practical, positive shift that adds up across the country.
2. Community Gardens Flourish in South Auckland
Not all solutions need technology or billion-dollar investments. Sometimes, the most hopeful actions start with a patch of earth. South Auckland now hosts more than 100 community gardens, 44 of them on council land. These spaces are doing more than just producing vegetables. They are teaching gardening skills, strengthening local identity and providing a sense of belonging.
One initiative, the Fonua mahu mei Langi Tongan gardening project, has become a place where families can grow their own kai, share knowledge and celebrate culture. As one advocate put it, “Growing and sharing kai is a way for people to lead climate and wellbeing action from the ground up.”
Food resilience is not just a buzzword. When whānau have access to fresh produce nearby, health improves, costs ease and communities feel empowered. At a time when supermarket prices often dominate political debate, these grassroots efforts remind us that local solutions can be powerful and nourishing.
3. Newlands Leads on Disaster Resilience
In Wellington’s northern suburbs, the Newlands community has launched a two-year pilot called Coordinated Community and Disaster Resilience. The project explores how local people can design their own systems of preparedness and response.
Why does this matter? Because resilience is more than civil-defence manuals and sirens. True preparedness comes from neighbours knowing one another, having shared plans and feeling confident about what to do if disaster strikes. By tailoring solutions to local needs, the project ensures that when challenges come – whether floods, earthquakes, or storms – communities can respond together rather than wait for help from elsewhere.
Newlands is showcasing what community-led resilience looks like in practice. If successful, the model could spread to other parts of the country, turning “be prepared” from an abstract slogan into lived, local reality.
4. Gen Z Proves It’s Future-Focused
You might expect younger New Zealanders to be struggling most in today’s cost-of-living crunch, but new survey data shows Gen Z is actively saving and contributing to KiwiSaver. Despite all the pressure, this generation is building financial resilience earlier than many expected.
It’s easy to dismiss young people as “living for today,” but the reality is more nuanced. Many are budgeting carefully, putting money aside and planning for a future in which home ownership, retirement and security may feel out of reach. Their discipline is an encouraging sign that even in tough times, younger New Zealanders are determined not to give up on long-term goals.
For employers, this is also a cue - a financially resilient workforce is less stressed, more focused and better able to thrive. Gen Z’s habits are a reminder that resilience is not just about surviving the present, but preparing for tomorrow.
5. A2 Milk Expands and Delivers Record Profits
Finally, a story from the business world that shows Kiwi companies can still punch above their weight on the global stage. The A2 Milk Company has just posted a 21% jump in full-year profit – reaching NZ$202.9 million – on the back of strong international demand.
Beyond the headline numbers, A2 is reinvesting at home. The company is acquiring a nutritional manufacturing facility in Pokeno and ramping up its investment in local production. That means jobs, supply-chain opportunities for other NZ businesses and further positioning our country as a trusted global source of premium nutrition products.
In a climate where many firms are shrinking, it’s good to celebrate those who are growing responsibly, creating value at home while competing successfully abroad.
The Bigger Picture
What ties these five stories together? They are all signs of New Zealanders choosing to act with foresight and care. A solar business shows that small firms can lead on clean energy. Community gardens demonstrate that wellbeing can grow from the ground up. A neighbourhood resilience project proves locals know best how to prepare for challenges. Young people are saving, despite pressures, showing a determination to plan ahead. And a home-grown brand is winning in global markets while investing back in Aotearoa.
The negative headlines will always be with us – they are louder, more urgent, more dramatic. But running alongside them are these quieter, constructive wins. They show a country that, even in difficult conditions, is moving forward.
Perhaps the lesson is this - optimism in New Zealand is not naïve. It’s practical. It’s rooted in gardens, in workshops, in savings accounts, in research labs, in boardrooms. It’s visible in the countless small choices people make every day to build something better.
So, next time the news feels overwhelming, remember these bright spots. They don’t erase the challenges, but they remind us that Aotearoa is more than its problems. It’s also its solutions – and those are worth celebrating.
If you’d like a confidential, free of charge, free of obligation conversation about your business, here’s how to get me.
📞 Phone +64 275 665 682 ✉️ Email john.luxton@regenerationhq.co.nz 🌐 Contact Form www.regenerationhq.co.nz/contact
If you’d like to read more RegenerationHQ thinking on SME business and other things, go here – www.regenerationhq.co.nz/articlesoverview
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