Preface

In fewer than three years we enter a new millennium. New Zealanders will join the rest of the world in reflecting on the past and in celebrating the achievements of many centuries. However, as much as we may remember or dream about the past, or revise our interpretations of it, it is not something we can truly influence.

The future is different. It is in our power to create the future we want, and to decide how it should be achieved. This New Zealand Futures Trust publication proposes that the millennium be seen as an opportunity to celebrate the future as well as the past. It aims to begin a process which will create a vision of our country's future in the year 20/20, and to encourage reflection on the issues and choices that face us and our children if that vision is to become a reality.

That is not to say that a vision can be captured in one way in one place and kept there, unchanging, for 25 years. And complete consensus on a vision would be impossible. Rather, a visioning process will enable New Zealanders to explore the way we see ourselves and our country now and in the future. A vision will be expressed in many different ways - for example through writings, symbols, art, recreation and discussion.

Parliament and local bodies will be important forums for the debate about the future. Indeed, it could be argued that in a democratic society, political process is the means by which vision should be determined and then pursued. But Futures Thinking can augment the political process, in all aspects of planning and policy development, by making the visioning process more explicit - and more effective.

Our Country: Our Choices contains eleven New Zealanders' views on the future. They provide a focus for beginning a discussion on a vision for Aotearoa/New Zealand. Some of the assertions on the following pages are provocative, but any discourse about desired futures is bound to be controversial. The collection aims to raise possible goals and issues that must be considered rather than to take a position on them - it is for the following discussion to canvass the appropriate responses, hopefully in an atmosphere of tolerance of differing views. The Futures Trust will publish responses in a second edition of Our Country: Our Choices.

Our Country: Our Choices asks questions about what we in New Zealand hope to achieve, given the situation of the human world as a whole, and the health of the planet. Contributors have written from sectoral points of view, but these merge and overlap. They have also addressed cross-cutting themes of cultural and gender relationships, demographic changes, and the impact of developments in information technology.

Publication of Our Country: Our Choices has been made possible by the sponsorship of McCann Lane Ltd, who are also committed to promoting the continuation of the debate which begins with this publication. To encourage a 'snowballing' process of debate, the book: Our Country: Our Choices contains a tear-off page to enable direct feedback. On the Internet, surfers able to e-mail via their browsers can respond directly to the points made, offer alternatives, and thus also become involved in the debate.

Malcolm Menzies

Chairperson - New Zealand Futures Trust

March 1997