Surfers Healing
Welcome to Hudson's first blog of 2026. It certainly has been a momentous start to the year, which was not anticipated three short months ago when 2025 ended.
Currently, the news is being dominated by America/Israel's decision to declare war on Iraq and the fallout, which the rest of the world is suffering in relation to energy costs, travel disruptions, and general safety and security resulting from this event. Listening to Mike Hoskins's radio show this morning, he highlighted a positive that New Zealand can take away: that we have a significant source of power being generated through our natural resources, such as hydro, that many parts of the world do not enjoy. It is no doubt, however, going to be a challenging year for many, both from a cost of living, business operations and general decision-making perspective, e.g. is it a good time to travel to visit family and friends overseas or should one stay closer to home? Hopefully, the next month or so will see a stabilisation of what has been an unexpected and fast-moving environment, which will enable more certainty to enable assessment of the pros and cons of each decision one must make.
Hudson was delighted to support this year's Surfer Healing initiative, which was held at Waipu Cove, an hour and a half drive north of Auckland. While we invite you to have a look at Surfers Healing online at their website, in brief, it involves children suffering from various forms of disability spending a day learning to surf under the guidance of volunteers who are part of a system. The joy on the faces of the young people and their parents when they overcome the challenges of entering the ocean and catching a wave to the beach is indescribable. Young and not-so-young volunteers from all around the world assisted in making the day a spectacular success.
Hudson's own Taylor Newdick, along with her brother Matt, participated as volunteers, as they have done in previous years. A special thanks should also go to Tom Mason, who is responsible for the overall organisation of the event in New Zealand, which requires a significant amount of time and energy on top of his regular responsibilities, as a builder currently located in Dunedin.
Often overshadowed by international news, there has been a steady stream of positive economic news in New Zealand, and it seems we are finally climbing out of the malaise that has affected our country over the last three years. Notwithstanding the uncertainty that will inevitably creep in given its selection year, the writer is hoping for a continuation of the trend during the next 18 months.
As always, if the team at Hudson can assist in any way with either investing in investment options for qualified investors or funding for property projects, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.