It is here. It has been two years now since Dick Smith offered this award but he has apparently not found anyone who meets his criteria.

At the time he said “So today I am announcing Dick Smith’s Wilberforce Award – $1 million to go to a young person under 30 who can impress me by becoming famous through his or her ability to show leadership in communicating an alternative to our population and consumption growth-obsessed economy. I will be looking for candidates whose actions over the next year show that they have what it takes to be among the next generation of leaders our incredible planet so badly needs.
Candidates will need to have a firm belief that we can have a viable and strong world economy that is no longer obsessed with growth for its own sake, but instead encourages both a stable population and sustainable consumption of energy and resources. They must be able to communicate that we cannot continue to squander the resources that will be needed by future generations, and they must also be able to communicate a plan that offers an alternative to our growth addiction.”

And five days ago he released it again in the NZ media, suggesting there might be a kiwi who was going to be showing up. There is also a youtube video of the original launch. It looks as though Dick Smith is coming to Queenstown on 14 Sept for Tomorrow’s Business Forum.

He says we are ‘sleepwalking to catastrophe’.  Have we any young New Economics Party people who would like to show leadership? Our party is about exactly what Dick Smith is asking for, a viable economic solution to protect future generations.

You can’t apply for this prize, you have to demonstrate leadership.