The New Economy Network Australia (NENA) is a network of individuals and organisations working to transform Australia’s economic system so that achieving ecological health and social justice are the foundational principles and primary objectives of the economic system.
NENA works to facilitate connections, showcase and promote innovative projects, build peer-to-peer learning and use collective strategies to create and advocate for change, so that we can build a strong movement of people demanding, creating and benefiting from a ‘new’ economy.
NENA’s FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLES
- Ecological Sustainability: That economic activity respects and operates within ecological limits, bioregional health and planetary boundaries, and also supports the regeneration of natural systems and recognises and upholds the inherent rights of nature to exist, thrive and evolve.
- Social Justice: That everyone can participate and benefit from economic activity in inclusive and equitable ways and that this requires working in solidarity to address the historical and ongoing marginalisation of certain groups by racism, imperialism, classism, patriarchy and other systems of oppression.
- Democracy: That economic decision-making is participatory, inclusive and transparent and emphasises collective stewardship and management of economic resources, activities and outcomes.
- Place-based/ Emphasising Locality: That building strong, local/place-based economies is important for Australia’s communities; rooting wealth and power in place through localised economic activity.
- First Nations People in Australia: That working in solidarity with First Nations Peoples’ is vital to creating a new economy in Australia. NENA acknowledges that the sovereignty of the First Nations People of the continent now known as Australia was never ceded by treaty nor in any other way. NENA acknowledges and respects First Nations Peoples’ laws and ecologically sustainable custodianship of Australia over tens of thousands of years through land and sea management practices that continue today. NENA also acknowledges and respects the ancient, Earth-centred, steady state economic system that was created and managed by First Nations People across the continent for millennia. Australian society is in debt to First Nations People for many aspects of the modern economy.
NENA’S WORK – THREE DIMENSIONS
There are three dimensions to NENA’s work: we are building networks, connections and shared initiatives:
- within specific geographic areas such as towns/cities, regions and states;
- across different sectors within the new economy, including: sustainable food, energy, transport, housing, Indigenous economics, ecological economics and many more; and,
- that prioritise specific strategic goals every year.