But our Brighter Money doesn’t just celebrate innovation and the pioneering New Zealand spirit through the images depicted on the banknotes – the notes themselves are at the forefront of banknote technology. It’s been 15 years since the current New Zealand banknotes were last upgraded, and printing and design techniques have advanced significantly.
These increasing costs had an inflationary effect, while our valuable foreign exchange was used to help pay for these imports. High oil prices do have ripple effects for us. Consider the savings in foreign exchange, therefore, if we were to move to renewables, harnessing the sun, wind, water, and now biological resources and organic waste.