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Additional Trustee: Call for Expression of Interest

In February this year, Wellbeing Waikato was established as a Charitable Trust. Our Deed sets out the key governance principles and structures that guide the trust and can be seen here.The Deed sets out the rules for trustees, including their number, term and the process for selecting new trustees. The trust must have a minimum of three trustees, and a maximum of seven. The trust was established with three trustees, Delwyn Abraham (Chair), Mike Rolton and Don Scarlet.The trustees want to seek ad...

Affordable Housing

Wellbeing Waikato (and previously Wellbeing Waikato Project) has been actively involved in improving housing affordability since 2021. We have supported regional leadership groups such as the Waikato Housing Initiative to better understand the current situation through a housing dashboard and a stocktake of the current number of homes being built, compared to the projected future demand.In 2025, we further explored the current state of affordability in the region in a report “Hiding in Plain S...

Affordable Energy

Along with kai security and housing affordability, energy (and more particularly electricity) affordability is a key factor which influences household budgets daily. While the rapid increase in fossil fuel prices since February has made ICE vehicle fuelling more expensive; domestic, commercial and industrial power prices remain a very significant drag on business, community and household prosperity.Data from MBIE and research shared by the Community Energy Network (below, note different time sca...

Social Investment

Following on from last year’s Social Investment Summit, Wellbeing Waikato has been researching and exploring more deeply what Social Investment is, how it is being applied in New Zealand, its strengths, weaknesses and opportunities. This work was a priority in our 2026/27 Business Plan.A paper has now been drafted and is current under review prior to publication. The paper explores the following dimensions:Problem Definition- Why Social Investment?What is Social Investment?Context and Essentia...

Local Government Reorganisation

The government has launched a Head Start programme for local government reorganisation. Under the programme two or more territorial and/or unitary authorities can submit an outline proposal to establish a new unitary authority covering part or all of a region. Proposals need to be submitted by 9 August 2026. Councils that do not make  a proposal will be included in a mandatory “backstop” process after the 2028 local government elections. You can read more about the process here.Wellbein...

Connect With Community Waikato

We are delighted to be partnering with Community Waikato and Free FM and Community Waikato to present a monthly discussion on data and what it means. Every month Harvey will  sit down with Community Waikato CEO Holly Snape, to explore a current topic and look carefully at what the data says, what it means for the Waikato and how people can get involved.You can listen to the stories so far here. A big thanks to Holly for inviting us to join the korero....

Expressions of Interest: Wellbeing Waikato Trustees

Call for Expressions of Interest: Trustees About Wellbeing Waikato Wellbeing Waikato is an independent charitable trust dedicated to strengthening long-term wellbeing across the Waikato region. Established in February 2026, it builds on the foundations of the Waikato Wellbeing Project. Our vision is simple and enduring: our mokopuna are thriving. At the heart of our work is a belief that better decisions—by government, business, and communities—start with a deeper underst...

Submission on Local Government Reform (Head Start Programme)

Wellbeing Waikato has submitted to all territorial authorities in the Waikato region regarding their response to the government's Head Start programme. The programme has invited councils to submit different amalgamation options for unitary authorities across the Waikato and New Zealand. Councils that don't submit proposals would enter a 'Back Stop' process where the government decides on a future model instead.At present, all councils in the region are consulting on different model options ...

New Webinar Added with Te Waihanga | The New Zealand Infrastructure Commission

An Exciting Addition to Our Affordable Energy Webinar SeriesWellbeing Waikato is thrilled to announce that Te Waihanga | The New Zealand Infrastructure Commission is joining our affordable energy webinar series on Wednesday 15 July 11am. We will host Graham Campbell, Director of Economics and Research and Pippa Player, Principal Adviser, Policy from the Commission. Graham and Pippa will take us thorough their recent report "Shifting Currents: Energy Infrastructure in Tra...

The Waikato Affordable Energy Challenge

The Waikato Affordable Energy ChallengeThe Waikato sits at the heart of New Zealand’s electricity system—home to major hydro generation along the Waikato River, extensive geothermal resources, and large-scale thermal generation at Huntly, with wind and solar continuing to expand.Yet despite this abundance, electricity is becoming less affordable for many households and businesses. Evidence shows these costs ripple through household budgets, reducing what’s available for essentials like hou...

Webinar: What Would it Take for Housing to be Affordable in the Waikato?

Housing affordability, or more correctly its unaffordability, is a significant determinant of wellbeing. Many cities and communities are grappling with house prices (to rent or to own) which are now significantly out of proportion with incomes.Unaffordable and unavailable housing creates a cascading series of other challenges, from less money for other households needs, especially food, to insecure housing and ultimately severe housing deprivation and even homelessness.In the Waikato, collective...

Presentation to Hamilton City Council Community Committee

21 April 2026.In support of the homelessness report: Agenda of Ordinary Community Committee Meeting - Tuesday, 21 April 2026IntroductionKia ora and thank you Chair, Mayor and Councillors. Ko Harvey Brookes toku ingoa, I’m the Executive Director of the Waikato Wellbeing project.I’m here today to thank the council for its work on homelessness and encourage it to keep going! I’m also here because our research and work points to a well-known truth- housing IS a vital underlying factor which ma...

Next Steps for the Waikato Wellbeing Project

In previous newsletters we’ve described how the WWP was initially established, funded and operated. We’ve also talked about the results of our 2025 independent review, and further work to explore a series of future operating and funding options for the project.The key outcomes of that work included:A need to further refine our operating model to better show how our work leads to real world changes and impactsA need to broaden our funding and operating model to ensure financial sustainability...

Clarifying our Role

As the WWP continues to evolve and change, so does the rest of the wellbeing community in the Waikato, and across Aotearoa New Zealand. We have been working to keep our contribution as clear and focused as we can, so that we can continue to add value.Our distinctive contribution lies in high-quality primary research, deep engagement with lived experience, and rigorous synthesis across silos. We set our agenda by identifying system pressures early, clarifying trade-offs, and translating insight i...

The Increasing Importance of Household Affordability

As our programme has progressed, the vital role that household income and affordability plays in prosperity and wellbeing has become increasingly evident. For example, while the Grocery Commissioner has found that retail food is slightly (+3% in 2023) more expensive in New Zealand than the OECD average[1], this cannot fully explain why thousands of children and families in the Waikato regularly go without food.Affordability is high on everybody’s mind right now as the Iran conflict enters its ...

State of the Region Report

An important role of the WWP has been to provide an overview of the region’s progress towards greater wellbeing. In the past we have tracked this against our original wellbeing targets- for example our 2023 Progress Update, as well as providing more specific data and information on wellbeing in relation to areas such as rangatahi wellbeing, food security, housing, the wellbeing of young woman, and the wellbeing of people in the Hauraki rohe.Our 2025 State of the Region Report has now been comp...

Waikato Kai Challenge Update

By Hera DentonPhoto credit NZ Herald...

Housing Challenge – Affordability

Housing affordability in the Waikato remains structurally constrained, with significant implications for regional productivity, wellbeing, and economic resilience. Despite increased housing supply (~20,000 homes over five years), only ~1% has been affordable, indicating that current system settings are not delivering accessible outcomes—including for middle-income households. Our more recent State of the Region Report[1] further reinforces the role of affordable housing in wellbeing and family...

Community Compass Reports

In partnership with Dot Loves Data, the WWP regularly publishes Community Compass reports foreach district in the Waikato region. The reports for Quarter 4 2025 are now available online and can be seen here. The Q4 2025 summary page for Waitomo District is shown below for illustration:...

Mere Kirihimete

Once again, the year is quickly drawing to a close. For the WWP, it’s been an incredibly busy and productive year — dynamic, demanding, and full of progress. It’s also a significant moment for the programme as we near the end of our initial five-year timeframe and start looking ahead to what comes next.You’ll find more detail on our next steps in this newsletter. Some important decisions about our future direction have now been made — these are summarised here — with more information...

Reflections on 2025 and Looking Ahead

We started the year by finalising an independent review of our deliverables and funding, which had been commissioned to address concerns raised by the WEL Energy Trust about the project. The review found that the project has delivered solid results — especially through its storytelling work — and has already made the region’s community sector more accessible, connected and engaged.  At the same time, the review notes important opportunities ahead: to sharpen WWP’s focus, strengthen ...

State of the Region Report

An important role of the WWP has been to provide an overview on progress the region is making towards greater wellbeing. In the past we have tracked this against our original wellbeing targets- for example our 2023 Progress Update, as well as providing more specific data and information on wellbeing in relation to areas such as rangatahi wellbeing, food security, housing, the wellbeing of young women, and the wellbeing of people in the Hauraki rohe.Our 2025 draft State of the Region Report aims ...

Waikato Kai Challenge Update

By Hera DentonThe Waikato Kai Hui 2025 was co-hosted by Waikato Tainui, GoEco and the Waikato Wellbeing Project. The hui brought together a diverse collective of kai leaders from across the region — whānau, hapori practitioners, growers, educators, researchers, and small-scale pākihi. The energy and engagement throughout the day reflected a strong, shared commitment to strengthening kai systems grounded in mātauranga and community resilience.The hui affirmed that our region holds both the d...

Housing Challenge – Affordability

In September, we issued the final version of our housing report “Hiding in Plain Sight: The Real Cost of Housing in Waikato”. We also hosted a webinar that month where Quanita Ali took participants through the findings of the research. Since the start of the year, we have wanted to not only describe the problem, but to contribute to its solution.As we described in our October update, in partnership with the Waikato Housing Initiative and Futureproof, we have commissioned Veros Ltd to identif...

Lots of Little Fires Takes the Next Step

Since early 2023, the Waikato Wellbeing Project’s storytelling initiative Lots of Little Fires (LOLF) has been at the forefront of our work to illuminate the deeper stories of wellbeing challenges, to awhi the real-life initiatives, people and projects  imagining, creating and leading positive  alternatives to the status quo.In that time, the creative team of Joe Wilson, Muredach Daly (One Man Crew) and Amy Van Garderen (The Collective Agency) has amplified and celebrated the voices ...