Open Future New Zealand

About Open Future New Zealand Limited

Open Future Limited was registered in November 2007.
NZ Business Number 9429033066219.    Company Number 2029475

There are two web sites, Open Future New Zealand, and Open Future Health.

The principle was simple. We are living in an information age which tells us that the future is closing. That the prospects for our children and grandchildren are declining, not improving.

First; imagine a better outcome.

Yet it should be possible for the opposite to happen, for the future to open, to enlarge opportunity for ourselves and the wider community.

The original idea was that the Internet makes the tools of education and innovation widely available, and that by learning and communicating and innovating, we might build a world that had a more attractive future.

Sadly, that outcome is today (December 2020) extremely unlikely. Humanity seems to be headed for self-destruction, maybe quite soon. The assumption that the primary purpose of government is to maximise economic growth, is promoted by economists and accepted by governments in almost every country, has become a destructive force. In a world of limited resources, where it's accepted that everyone should have a life where good health, quality housing and safe working conditions, are a "human right," that expectation becomes impossible if the population grows and the demand for more and more destroys the environment.

Regeneration and restoration is still possible, but everywhere the political process is broken, even in "democratic" countries. Destructive environmental and social changes are too rapid, and not understood.  Politicians seeking to be elected, are focused on the promises they made, on creating growth and "wealth."  Today that usually just makes things worse. For instance there is a strong demand for more motorways to solve the congestion issue.  But we know that "solution" quickly creates new problems.  At the same time we can't maintain the houses we have, the bridges, highways and power grid we've already built.  The situation is critical and changing, and the old, once trusted institutions, are once again proven inadequate. Promises are broken.

Worse, the opportunity to educate the public is lost. A democratic solution should be possible, but if the public is deliberately misinformed and divided for political reasons, the opportunity to minimise the cost, and improve the outcome passes. 30 Years of ineffective and wasteful discussion about acting to minimise global warming is a prime (but not the only) example. Politicians are finally discovering the courage to change direction, but only when the public demands it, and long after the best opportunity to be effective has passed.

The future is not predictable precisely. I believe each of us should try to be healthy, and to lead a full life, while contributing to community well-being, as best we can. For me there is work to do, things I can do now, that help myself and those around me to lessen the effect we are having on the environment. We can try to live lightly on the planet. Each of us has to learn how to do that, but if the community moves in that direction it would be so much easier.

The best political parties, trapped by old rules and outdated principles, are typically 20 or 30 years behind in understanding today's events. The worst political parties are only focused on using political power to steal resources and to create wealth for themselves (100 years behind).  Sadly, in too many nation states, many of which pretend to be democracies, the latter situation is the reality. Corruption is so "normal" in most societies, that it's practiced in the open and is considered "standard practice". Corruption in plain sight, is so normal it becomes invisible.