Topic and scope of the Stats NZ 2026 long-term insights briefing: Summary of submissions summarises the feedback we received for The future of eco-nomics: Proposed topic for the 2026 long-term insights briefing consultation document. Changes to scope following the feedback are also presented.
| Respondent type | Number |
| Individual | 52 |
| Central government | 4 |
| Local government | 4 |
| Business | 2 |
| Community and NGO | 2 |
| Advocacy groups | 1 |
| Iwi Māori | 1 |
| "Researcher | 1 |
| academic | |
| tertiary institution" |
Summary of submissions
Key themes
Most submitters (85 percent) were supportive of the topic and scope, noting the importance of this work for ensuring the wealth and wellbeing of New Zealand.
Several other key themes emerged. Many submitters expressed interest in the integration of social and wellbeing data with environmental and economic data, the importance of drawing on mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge), and the need for granular data and insights for use at local and regional levels. They also noted the importance of building on the significant work already completed or in progress.
Responses by consultation questions
We asked the following questions in our consultation:
- Do you find our proposed topic valuable and worth exploring?
- Is the scope useful, relevant, and clearly defined?
- Are there additional opportunities or implications we should consider?
- Are there any other topics you would like us to consider for future briefings?
- Do you have anything else you would like to share with us on this topic?
This section summarises the responses we received to each.
Do you find our proposed topic valuable and worth exploring?
Supporters of the topic described it as "beyond valuable", "imperative", and "critical".
Submitters felt the topic was important to support the transformation of our economy and help internalise the cost of natural capital use. They also thought it would help us better understand the impact of environmental stresses on the economy and support planning at a national and regional level.
Several submitters spoke about the interdependence of the environment and economics, the limitation of relying on only economic data to provide a picture of progress, and how bringing the two together would provide a richer picture:
The health and wealth of our people and economy are fundamentally intertwined with the environment and state of natural resources (regional council submitter).
Submitters noted the important role the environment plays in many of our largest economic sectors (such as primary industries and tourism):
New Zealand is a biologically based economy with primary industries and tourism being important contributors to economic production and foreign exchange. The continued operation of these economic activities depends on a raft of ecosystem services and natural resources (central government submitter).
Submitters who did not support the topic were primarily concerned about the state of our environmental data system. They felt that issues with the environmental data system should be addressed before we extend into a new area, and that environmental data issues may make integrating environmental and economic metrics problematic:
The higher priority is filling gaps in our basic collection and reporting of environmental outcomes (individual submitter).
Focusing effort on novel developments will both attract resources away from filling key data gaps and is likely to be based on insufficient - and therefore potentially misleading - evidence (tertiary institution and iwi Māori joint submission).
Another submitter also voiced these concerns, but felt the proposed topic provided an opportunity to make progress on these issues:
These deficiencies demonstrate that work to enable the more coherent and comprehensive integration of economic and environmental statistics is warranted (central government submitter).
Is the scope useful, relevant, and clearly defined?
Twenty-one submitters (31 percent) responded 'yes' to this question, and six (9 percent) responded 'no'. The remainder either chose not to respond, or did not state a position.
Many submitters who responded 'yes' also made suggestions about how the scope could be further improved and refined.
Several submitters emphasised the importance of building on existing work and frameworks. Work mentioned included the NZ Biodiversity Finance Assessment and The Aotearoa Circle's Bay of Plenty Natural Capital Regional Resilience model. Established frameworks and approaches mentioned were the Living Standards Framework, wellbeing budgets, wellbeing statistics developed by Stats NZ, He Ara Waiora, and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services.
Several felt it was important to include social and wellbeing aspects, and some suggested a te ao Māori perspective should be incorporated to enhance this integration:
The scope is missing a te ao Māori grounding - this would help the integration piece by bringing data together holistically. It would also mean the scope would include a people/social focus (individual submitter).
Submitters also suggested:
- using case studies to illustrate what integrating economic and environmental metrics could look like in practice
- ensuring regional-level data is included
- identifying key players and providing clear suggestions on how they can help move things forward
- extending the time horizon.
The most common reasons for responding 'no' included that the scope was unclear and too broad. One submitter felt the scope was "too complex", particularly given that the "underlying data available for monitoring environmental outcomes in New Zealand is not sufficient to support the type of analysis proposed" (tertiary institution and iwi Māori joint submission).
Are there additional opportunities or implications we should consider?
We received a diverse range of responses from 28 submitters on this question.
Several submitters felt the scope should be expanded to include wellbeing and social outcomes, building on our previous LTIB topic Aotearoa New Zealand: Empowered by data - Long term insights about the role of data in wellbeing and economic advantage:
The previous work linking social/wellbeing and environmental outcomes should be linked in some way to this work. Increased community involvement in conservation/biodiversity also leads to social cohesion and community resilience which has economic outcomes (individual submitter).
Others suggested incorporating te ao Māori concepts as it brings an "inbuilt" integration of environmental and economic perspectives, rather than solely expressing natural capital in economic terms.
Many submitters highlighted the benefits of building from, and aligning with, existing frameworks, for example Treasury's Living Standards Framework and the United Nation's System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) framework.
Several submitters stressed the need for ongoing trend tracking and monitoring. As we transition to a low-carbon economy, they felt it would be essential to link regenerative practices with economic goals to drive further action and highlight what is working. Further, one submitter felt it important to take an environment-first perspective, rather than an economic-first perspective, when thinking about how they relate:
We can/should modify our economic structure, rather than our environment - for example, the measurement of things such as ecosystem services in an economic context is challenging. Where are there issues with our economic system that are causing environmental problems/feedbacks? (individual submitter).
A few submitters emphasised the need for nuanced, granular, and region-specific data, noting that smaller regions face unique environmental and economic challenges that should not be overlooked.
The potential of artificial intelligence for integrating economic and environmental data was also raised - particularly for forecasting future trends.
Are there any other topics you would like us to consider for future briefings?
Eight submitters responded to this question. Climate change was the most mentioned topic. Several submitters noted they would like to see more information to help better identify and monitor impacts, risks, and mitigations, and to understand what's working and what isn't:
What about 'bottom lines' or tipping points for the environment that we don't want to exceed? We need to closely monitor these thresholds, know what levers there are to influence them, and show that we are doing so (individual submitter).
We need a post-growth economy based on the wellbeing of both people and planet. How can we navigate that intelligently and urgently? (individual submitter).
Other suggestions included:
- looking at building climate resilience into government planning and decision-making
- evaluating how restoring ecosystems has impacted agriculture.
Another submitter commented that the proposed topic could help highlight the value of ecosystem services essential to primary industries, while pointing out that these ecosystems may become less reliable in an unstable climate future.
Do you have anything else you would like to share with us on this subject?
The responses received to this question were out of scope.
Decisions following feedback
The feedback was generally supportive of the proposed topic and scope. Therefore, we can confirm that the topic of our 2026 long-term insights briefing is The future of eco-nomics: Integrating environmental and economic measurement in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Based on the feedback, we will amend the scope to:
- extend the time horizon beyond the proposed 10 years
- incorporate mātauranga Māori and a te ao Māori lens
- incorporate the use of case studies
- incorporate discussion on different user needs.
Stats NZ would like to thank everyone who took the time to make a submission.
Next steps
The next phase of work will focus on developing the content of the LTIB, with a second round of public consultation on the draft briefing in the middle of 2025.
We expect presentation, scrutiny, and review of the briefing to begin towards the end of 2025.
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