What Next is about to start,... ...and you're going to need your phone or computer with you,... ...because this really is a conversation with you. Join the rest of the country at whatnext.nz. And when we ask you a question, all you've got to do is press that button on your device. It couldn't be any easier. So join in now. New Zealand in 20 years, 2037. What do we want it to look like? Over the last four nights you've told us what you care about, and the kind of country you want in 2037. Tonight we pull all of that together as we look at what you've said, what path we want to take and what that might mean for all of our futures. Welcome, to What Next? I know that I'm planning for my future, but I don't think New Zealand is. I don't think we really have a vision for the next 20 years. It seems the more further we get into the future, the more problems that pop up. I'm very optimistic about the future. I think we live in a conservative time, and the pendulum is going to swing. I am pessimistic about the future. Because there is way too much greed in the world and not enough empathy. I think as New Zealanders we're a very caring country, but we've definitely got some way to go. I think for a positive future we need a collective voice so everyone's opinion needs to count. We need to come up with some big plans, and we need to do that now. Kia ora, New Zealand. Over the past four nights we've faced our future. At times it's been intimidating, bewildering, even a little frightening, but there has also been hope and optimism. This is the beginning of the conversation about what to do next. We've looked at the disruptive impact of technology and automation. We've looked at the environmental issues we're facing. We've looked at how we might respond to big economic disruptions that may increase inequality. And finally, last night, the big issues of finite resources. how we might deal with health, retirement, and housing. It's been said that the best way to predict the future is to create it, so let's start the process of creating our future. It's easy to get gloomy about the future ` although, it's impossible for me to be gloomy because of my genetic disability which predisposes me to optimism ` but we shouldn't. The human race tempts fate, and sometimes gets things terribly wrong. But the Cold War didn't end with nuclear missiles being fired, which was the nightmare of my childhood. And we can, and do, correct our own flaws and frailties. That's what we do. Things get bad, then we work out a solution. So, what do we want? Let's go have a quick look back at what you've said for the final question we've been asking you each night about whether you want Plan A or Plan B. And remember, that Plan A is you think the future won't be that much different, and what we're doing now should be fine, maybe with some minor tweaks. And Plan B is you think the future will be very different and very disruptive, so we need some radical new ideas for dealing with these things. We had a lot of data ` location, gender and ages ` but what we found is that on the whole, you felt the same across the board. At the end of each night, we asked whether you were Plan A or Plan B, and let's look and your decision. So, night one, technology ` Plan B 71%. Environment ` Plan B 89%. Tuesday saw us move onto the economy, and you were 90% Plan B. And last night for lifestyles Plan B 92%. All in overwhelming numbers. The more you found out, the more you became Plan B. Which sends a pretty clear message. We want some new radical ideas. It's not business as usual. So, as we join our futurists again for this final night. So we were overwhelmingly plan B, but there were two curious contradictions. Last night 75% of people thought they would retire. That completely blew me away. It was really shocking to me was the 18 and under and 18 to 34 expect to retire. If they want to retire, we have to create a fantastic economic model for them to get some economic growth. There were a lot of people who said they were nervous about what kind of job they would get in retirement if they were going to have to keep working. One of the solutions we could look at as an apprenticship for people who are going to retirement. It is a critical way we need to start thinking differently about having people continuing to work well into their 60s and 70s. To be part of a suite of how we arerestructuring our workforce and how we can have people in it for longer and how we can have different jobs because of automation. We could look at different working weeks, job sharing. People in their older years people need to have meaning and purpose to contribute back. Almost everything was Plan B across the board except when it came to automation. There was a guy on Facebook who was super angry at me. He was a bus driver and he said it was a load of rubbish. You'll never replace my job and robots. Right now we have automated buses in Christchurch airport. They are popping up in Australian universities. Here is something optimistic about this answer because it is partly about I expect to retire and I will need to find a way to do it. And it is also about having the final period in your life about where I get to do what I want to do. For all the other people like the bus driver, we as a society need to find a way to make it happen. Is a big things. Automation is going to make a major impact on work and people's work. But getting your head around that a super confronting. We have self checkout, self check-in. We have robots writing for journalism. We have people doing managed funds. When I arrived in the country was no longer an immigration officer that it let me into New Zealand. There was a robot. I am hugely encouraged by this because across the board we are thinking Plan B. Yoseph Ayele is one of the founders of the Edmond Hillary fellowship, a group that helps bring together globally minded visionary entrepreneurs and investors, and he thinks we have the potential to lead and to get it right. I think New Zealand's history and indigenous foundation provide a good basis for understanding what values has helped the country get to where it has today and for where it wants to go to. Kiwis are very resilient and very adaptable, and I think these are really critical values that are needed for the future. But respect for humans, respect for the environment, that is something the world is really seeking at the moment. And New Zealand has a really unique opportunity to lead based on that and to innovate on areas that are the problems that we're solving are really relevant and timely for where the world is at today. He absolutely believes that and wants to inspire us to believe it too. But of course, most of all we wanted to know your thoughts, your responses to all this. We've received roughly 200,000 votes and huge levels of Facebook participation. And today, we got some of our viewers in and spoke to them in person. I was a little bit pessimistic about the future but after watching the last four nights I was inspired to see that Kiwis have a lot of faith. Like the schools and the free food in Wellington they are making a change. We are relying on the government less. I am optimistic after seeing the show and seeing the young people who are driven by the passion for wanting to help humankind and fellow man get through, so I am encouraged by that, but everyone has to be part of that story as well. I am excited about what Derek mentioned lowering poverty. I am keen to leave that poverty behind In the past. So you have whanau that are living tough lives. And you think we're going to leave that behind. I actually wasn't aware how advanced technology already is. You can do the DNA test and find out we were from. No one had any idea that Nigel was a sprinter. You can relate it to your own life in company but you are also hesitant about what it might be doing to those who might not accept it as readily. I am optimistic about our generation. We have a lot to offer. We are doing a lot already. There is a lot of energy and motivation and innovation. It is in our blood. We are going to adapt to those changes and take them in our stride. We're going to hear from people throughout the programme tonight, and many of them are under 30. And I'm not just saying this, but I found their optimism and their belief in the future they can build, inspiring. Here's the first question for tonight. After all this, are you optimistic about the future? You know how this works now. Go to Whatnext.nz and add your voice. It's a really good question. And we believe in your optimism. Next ` are we at a crossroads? How big a deal is all this? Welcome back. Welcome back. Here's what you said about whether you're optimistic about the future. When you look at the results 77 to 78% of us are optimistic about the future. I am not right about much but I wasn't right about phones on cameras. But I said they would be optimistic about the future. And that is across the board. So when we think about the future we are thinking positive and can feel like we can do some stuff. Now, life is all about moments. You might remember Vaughan Rowsell from Sunday night, the tech entrepreneur who built a $100 million company and who's getting technology into our schools? He told us about a moment in his life. We all have these pivotal moments in our lives where sometimes just one simple act can set you on a completely new course, and for me, that was quite a few years ago when I was about 10, and one day Mum came home and she bought home a personal computer, and that may not sound too remarkable, but this was in the '80s when personal computers weren't common, and Mum, at the time, was a solo mum raising 3 boys by herself, unemployed, and she was a paraplegic. But she saw something magic. She saw a spark in us boys whenever we were near technology, and she knew one thing. She didn't need to understand the technology. she just wanted to make sure that we had every access to technology to set us on a new path. That is a great story about pivotal moments. However question on that coming up. Are we a pivotal time? I think history will tell us. The interesting thing about that story was that it was an individual moment in time and countries have moments in time and the world. At the current world in time the world is a pivotal moment. We have North Korea potential pandemics and climate change and really it is about where New Zealand fits within that. We have some strengths. It is economically in quite a good position. But it also has a mass of weaknesses. Particularly around environmental issues. So there are challenges and opportunities. The thing about that story was that it was a personal moment that put on a certain path. We saw some beautiful stories from the Kiwis you visited. And for them the show has been a pivotal moment of inspiration of where they can go. I think thousands of Kiwis watching tonight or think this is a moment to rethink what the future might look like. And the show has proven it could be a pivotal moment for New Zealand to rethink a much longer term approach and a vision of where we want to head. The concept of pivotal is subjective sometimes, but it is about a decision we make. We can choose something to be pivotal and make a change or we can choose not to. So we have to embrace that is the individual or collective. How do we not throw the baby without the bathwater? Over half of I said we want to invest in lab are meant. But over 80% said we want to continue farming. So how do we get the balancing act right? I think it is about decisions. And decisions that government and community makes. Pharma sing as part of iced Oracle legacy farming legacy so we have to do embrace it. I would encourage show industries to invest in some new things so processes in lab and synthetic. I'd encourage government to partner with workforce modelling that is about the lifespan on different roles about what is going off and on stream. I encourage government to do something about water quality. We will park that the later. And for communities to have conversations about what we think the land in our districts are suitable for. Not all land is suitable for dairy but it could be for yellow split peas to make chicken free chicken. And I would also grow veggies at home. We need to look at the crops that we have and that new technologies and farming. We seen the rise of vertical farms. Using abandoned buildings and cities and this reduces the cost of distribution some of these things we could do really easily. Are we compelled to make these decisions? We have no choice but to act. So do you think we are at a pivotal moment in our history? Go to whatnext.nz and add your voice to the conversation. Morgan on Twitter said yes... I think one of the exciting things as AIM might free up our our true purpose. Next ` and I know this sounds crazy, is failing part of the solution? Max Harris is another of the smart young person that makes you feel optimistic for our country. He's just written a book called 'The New Zealand Project', and he thinks it's time for us to be bold. If we keep going like we are, we'll be muddling through. Which means we'll be able to manage problems, we'll be able to withstand a shock or two, but we wouldn't be able to move in a new direction. We'll be letting challenges like mass incarceration, climate change, homelessness fester and eat away at the social fabric that ties us together. So I think we need something more than just muddling through. I think we need a bit of vision and a bit of imagination to get people excited, especially young people, about changing who we are and what we're doing. Do we need to be bold? Absolutely, and we have always had it. From woman getting the vote to getting nuclear free, we have been audacious. And we need to do what Martin Luther King did. We need a dream, and a plan. As a country we do not brace be in bold. We have a huge issue with that with the tall poppy syndrome. We want visionary political leaders. We don't brace it when people put their hand up and go out there and do something different. We tend to shoot them down. We need to rethink our culture. That is an approach that we need to continue to embrace if we want to adopt Plan B solutions. The confidence that young people have and that is so contagious. You can see they are helping people along. And they are embracing this change. More so than we do as we get older. But when we get boldness sometimes we get mistakes. One thing that I've learned by working in technology and making software is that if you sit by yourself in a room and try to come up with all the answers, plan it all out and then go build it all in one go, you're very likely to build the wrong thing that nobody wants to use. Instead what works for software is you have an idea and you build a prototype as quickly as you can and you get out there and you test it in the real world, and I think you can apply that idea to lots of things in society. How can we do social experiments or break things down into smaller ways of approaching it. So we can't change everything all at once; we're not going to change the whole government over night, but I think we can start doing small experiments to see how people really react and what really works in society. Is that what we do as a country? Expect people to sit in a small room and come up with a perfect plan. This idea of not embracing failure. But when we are born we do not know failure. Failure is a learned behaviour. When we are young we fail over and over again. It is part of the learning process. As entrepreneurs we embrace failure. There is a perception that it is a bad thing. But we see so many examples in the work we do every day about how it is an important part of the journey toward success. A lot of the stuff is policy stuff and government stuff, but if they do stuff we get cross. As an investor in start-ups I much prefer to see an entrepreneur that have had failures We are too harsh in Parliament. We need to have a culture shift to have experiments around the country and to know that they may not succeed. You are an exceptional investor because most investors are saying give me dividends and returns. They are risk averse. OUr governments and policymakers need to be speculatively. People are suggesting towns to run UBI. We could do this and it could be a disaster, but it could work. But no one will ever do because they are worried about all this money. But three quarters want us to trial it somewhere. We are already putting a lot of money into our small towns and propping up industries. In the far north we have systemic unemployment. The amount of money that is going into those communities to try and fix solutions but in really ineffective ways means we should be trialling bold things like a UBI just to see what would happen. We don't need to say there are bad investments therefore we need to take risk. We should say that we need to take risk because if we are going to prepare for a changing future in a time that could be the most dangerous time in humanity, we need to take risk and change culture so that risk and failure is okay. New Zealand seems to be up for this. It is a shame if the politicians hide behind this concept of not being able to take risks ecause we are seeing the public coming out and saying we are willing to put some things on the table here and try something. If we are not bold, we will get the future we deserve. I didn't know some of this stuff when I started working on What Next. And I know from your comments and input, that some of this has been surprising and challenging for some of you. We hope What Next has impacted on your thinking about our future, a future that will shaped by New Zealanders like these. I am scared. I don't know what the future will bring. Just really scared. What are you most get about? CORRECTION: scared people losing their identity. Number one is equity. Making sure people have all the same opportunities right across the board. We don't want people being left behind when technology has changed. I am scared about climate change. By 2037 we will need three earths to maintain he amount of resources we are using up at the moment. That really worries me. The world might end before we can get to the future. Employment makes me anxious. I work for the Ministry of youth development. It is an important job at the moment but in the future will still need to happen? The fact that we are moving into a technology-based future, I am kind of scared that people We always say that to what you love to do, so people are being forced to up skill and go into technology fields, are they really going to be happy about it? I do worry for some of those people, because we want everyone to be operating at their maximum, so if those jobs are lost, they don't have the opportunity to do that any more. If we don't make short-term economic losses and sacrifices now, I am really worried about our future environment for our kids. I am quite scared of solving cancer and so intimidated by it. Solving cancer is great, but once you have a solution for it, you are now on the fence. DO you want to live to 130? So, and this is a big question, do you want bold plans even at the risk of failure? S it okay for people and governments to take risks? Meaningful and insightful risks? We are getting so much feedback and participation. Thank you. So, do you think we're at a pivotal moment in our history? Overwhelmingly you are saying yes. Next ` we know we want some big, bold ideas. So where do they come from and how do we make it happen? Looking at the data from the University of Auckland's Attitudes and Values Study, when asked 'do you feel a great pride in New Zealand', 89% of New Zealanders agree. Which is awesome because despite the challenges ahead, it means we really believe in ourselves, and our country. How do we capitalise on that pride? How do we turn that into something real, something meaningful? I think it is a great start that we have a sense of pride. Without that it is very hard to begin. On a personal basis you want to express that in a way that makes you feel fulfilment and you are helping people for fill their lives. And that is what we need to get better at doing. Moving from a bunch of mes to wes. People need to bow to live a dignified life. And people and privilege can help bridge the gaps. What worries me is the 11%. What drives them. Why aren't they feeling positive about New Zealand. It be interesting to understand their thinking. I am interested in the questionof were proud of the country but do we have individual pride. There needs to be embracing our individual identity and to be part of something that is meaningful. And to build a career round that because we are going to be working longer. So we need to be passionate about the things that we do. Sometimes pride can get on the way of learning. So we have to make sure were not so proud that we aren't open-minded. One of the comments earlier was around the concern of losing identity. Paul a brilliant young man. I am actually not proud. I find the pollution were putting into New Zealand unacceptable. We are so fortunate as New Zealanders to have the resources we have and I think we should do a lot more. It is very uncomfortable. People are saying that we have opportunity to share. One of the things which has come through in the overwhelming number of your comments was best summed up by Benjamin from the Free Store. Well, there are many big problems that face us as a nation at the moment, and if we're going to solve them, we need to put relationship back at the heart of everything we do. We need to realise that. NZ is not going to be OK until everybody is OK, that we need to move from an individualistic world view to one where when everyone is OK, when we are OK, I am OK. Social entrepreneurs are my favourite people. Because they live by the code of be the change you want to see. And when it comes to solving social problems, government has a place but our communities have a bigger place. Where the people that will rebuild resilience. And where the people like Benjamin who will redistribute food. And there are thousands of social entrepreneurs all over the country from Dr Lance at the top two down the bottom one of my heroes and teachers food in the bush. Those are the people we should champion and emulate. And as a social entrepreneur what inspires me the most is when we had to get into communities and make a change. That is something I can be proud about. And seeing the change we can make in the communities if we all brace settle a bit more and were part of it and joined the movement that we could be proud of we would be inspired. And I want to come back to Max Harris again, because he's a young person with a lot of faith we can make a difference. I think it does sometimes feel like power lies somewhere else, like other people have the real power to change the country, change the world, and I think what we need to bring home is the fact that there is people power out there. There is power in individuals, and we just have to bring people together and tap into the ideas and the intelligence and the imagination and the love that people have in order to try and bring that power out. Is failing a part ofsuccess. I went to the wrong bits but no one noticed. Can you influence the future? Go to whatnext.nz hit load next question and tell us what you think. Mike from Auckland said... I could not agree more. Now let's have a look at whether we want bold plans even at the risk of failure. And what is really clear, and this is why I rate to New Zealand. Because 93% said yes. And I hope politicians are watching this. Because we want bold plans even with failure. This program is called what next. And after the break, we talk about what next? MAN: Look around. As the Favourites come out, it begins. Working as the Dream team. Nice! Ah. The flirt. Classic! Cadbury Favourites. Over the week we've had a massive national conversation, and it seems pretty clear that we want some big, brave new ideas to face the future with strength. Our responsibility is the effort ` making the future we want to live in, making a future with, and for, these people. A community where we are all there for each other, we are all backing each other, we all know what challenges we face what a challenge when you are all doing it together? As Kiwis we are a friendly bunch. I really believe in that. I think that if we can get that collective sense of growth together and progress, then I don't see a challenges to big for us. I think we are moving into a different time and a different time requires different types of thinking, innovation, thought processes and strategic planning that is more agile and more appropriate for the future. We can do this. People actually making things happen in the grassroots. A lot of the funding we get is minimal, but there is a passion to see change and we need to make sure we provide that in some way. It is the real energising of your life in getting into other lines of work or adapting your own experiences and to what you can offer to the younger people that will follow after us. We need to respect our environment. We need to make sacrifices. I am already a vegetarian. Some of my friends are even vegan I feel like some of my generation are starting to do their bit for the future. I think community work is really good. Making connections with different people, global plans. After seeing the polls and incredible Kiwis with real-life examples of making a difference, I am hopeful and I have faith in my country. They were amazing, those youngsters. What can people actually do? That was that voice and connection of people. Democracy has to work. The importance with the connection to the environment. I would like to see 16-year-olds being able to vote. I would like a four year government term. I would like corridor through our national parks. The first is, by popular demand, I think we need a trial of the UBI. I think it should start next year. And the second thing is our household budgets. We are used to budgeting with a very linear pathway. Have some education, do some work, and then retire. But if we train, work, retrain, work, do not retire for much longer, we need to manage our mortgages and our debt much differently. So encourage people to look at debt differently. And the third thing is to always believe in ourselves. Just to pick up on it that idea around the future of budgeting, I would love to see families getting around the dinner table with the kids and parents and grandparents and having a collective conversation about what is the future that we want to build for ourselves in adopting this concept of whanau Ora so that we can work towards that. On the second thing is to find something we are absolutely passionate about. We have so much passion coming from these young people. We need all of this energy and passion and all of this meaningful things that we can bring because it is only when we do it together that we are going to create the future that we want to see. So is this great saying (SPEAKS MAORI) which means stand at the stern of your waka and feel the spray of the future biting at your face and that is the kind of bravery we need to bring forward in the future. I think it would be obvious by now and this week that we need to decide and we can decide what kind of country wants to build and what kind of country want to shape. I think a great place to start would to set a bold audacious goal for the nation and to be the first country in the world to eliminate poverty. It would be beautiful for Te Papa to create a room now that might be empty, to save space and say to whoever is in charge that we all sign up to a bold audacious stream to eliminate poverty and out lifetime, there would be something worth fighting for. I met someone who tell me something once which I never forgot. It is just asking how can I help? Asking that question with genuine integrity with everyone you encounter can really create a much more beautiful society and a greater connection with New Zealand. I just want to close on I have seen more remarkable New Zealanders this week. Everywhere we look we have seen young people who are figured it out. For me it is an educational issue. His parents, his grandparents, as teachers, as advisers, we naturally need to get out of their way and let go of all out legacy views of about what education is for, what subjects they should study, what jobs they might go into, and let these young people decide because they are so well-informed. Let's let our young people figure out why and carry forward and be bold in the way that we have seen throughout this entire week. We have also had the most remarkable time together this way. What you don't see offscreen is the fact we have spent hours locked in a room having bold conversations. All five of us are so committed to carrying our voice forward and we want to kick poverty. We want to make sure you carry on the voice on Facebook I will come and join you and amplify this and take it forward from this event. Thank you so much. It has been wonderful spending the last week with you. Let's look at how you voted tonight as we're bringing all this to a close. Can you influence the future? That's what I knew you would say. That has been the theme. The recurring theme from our futurists. 90% of you said you could influence the future. And it keeps happening, Plan B. You're telling us you're ready for new ideas. You've said we're at a pivotal point in history, and that you want to try things without fear of failure. What a powerful message to send. Now let's look at the big picture and see where we ended up at the end of all this. We asked you 24 questions, and you chose Plan A eight times and plan B 16 times. That is a wall of orange. Overwhelmingly, we are a Plan B country. We've covered a huge amount of ground in a very short time, and we've asked you to try and grapple with some big ideas in an unreasonable amount of time, but you have. But these five days have been only the start of this conversation. We wanted this to be just the beginning of something, not the end. Sometimes it feels like you don't have any power. But you do. You get to connect with your community, to form and work with groups that want a decent future. You get to decide where to spend your money, and you can support businesses that are Plan B, thinking about the environment and inequality. If you're a parent, you can keep this conversation going with your children, and if you're a young person, you can make decisions about your life and career with your eyes open and focused on the amazing opportunities ahead of us all. You get to vote for the people you think are long-term plan B people. This isn't about parties or partisan thinking; it's about responding to meaningful plans. I'm hugely optimistic after this, and not just because of my genetic disability, which predisposes me to being upbeat, but because we all want these big brave new ideas. If you want to continue the conversation, head to Facebook now, where ` thanks to the support of University of Auckland ` we're hosting a live-stream Think Tank where our Futurists will discuss what it means for us to be Plan B. Thank you to the futurists for your insight and hope. 2-to-1 you have chosen Plan B. Thank you to the futurists for your insight and hope. And thanks to you have been involved in the conversation ` the beginning of designing our future. You are our future. We will all live in the country you help to build. Captions by Antony Vlug and Desney Shaw. www.able.co.nz