Maori family culture: A context of youth development in Counties/Manukau

Abstract

This paper has two main objectives. First, it examines the ways in which the Waitangi Tribunal considers the notion of “time” (and its corollary “timelessness") in relation to the Treaty of Waitangi. The Tribunal has increasingly emphasised the timeless‐ness of the Treaty, its ability to transcend temporal notions of time, and the implications of this for the relationship between the Treaty partners, Maori and the Crown. Second, it compares these tendencies with contemporary Maori ideas of time, as they are presented in the modern Treaty claims process. It is argued that the Tribunal, especially in its more recent reports, has signalled a marked shift in its acknowledgment of Maori concepts of time. Its published reports from 1999 onwards show more appreciation not for only for Maori understandings of the Treaty relationship, but for Maori values and concepts which, by their articulation and inclusion in the hearing process, test orthodox and dominant assumptions regarding the nature of change over time. Some broader trends may also be observed. Since the 1980s, there have been numerous references to the Treaty and its principles in statutory law, Waitangi Tribunal reports, and Deeds of Settlement ratified by successive New Zealand governments. Furthermore, there has been increasing (but by no means universal) recognition of the Treaty as a “developing social contract”, rather than a static historical document, with much of the impetus for such an interpretation coming from findings and recommendations of the Waitangi Tribunal.     

Maori and the New Zealand values survey: The importance of research relationships

Abstract

Requirements for non‐Maori researchers to consult with Maori compete with “by Maori for Maori” research agendas. Nevertheless, Maori provide varying forms of consultation, with Maori perspectives rarely being entered into the literature. Following an invitation from the Centre for Social Health Outcomes Research and Evaluation (SHORE), members of the Whariki Research Group agreed to take a consultative role, providing Maori input into the New Zealand Values Survey 2004. After initial examination of the survey instrument and follow‐up on previous consultation with Maori, Whariki's main role focused on questions relevant to the Treaty of Waitangi (signed in 1840 between the United Kingdom and Maori) and to Maori. The questions and related findings were of particular salience in the context of ongoing controversy and challenges to the status of the Treaty in New Zealand and to the position of Maori. Here we describe research processes and relationships and present the findings with reference to their social and political implications.     

Talking about citizenship in New Zealand

Abstract

This paper fleshes out the rather sparse empirical literature on citizenship with data collected from seven focus groups involving a wide range of New Zealanders. Results indicate that the term “citizenship” is relatively unimportant to identity and belonging compared to “family” and “community”. Yet there is considerable agreement about the key elements of citizenship and what makes a “good citizen”. Knowledge about citizenship, however, is not evenly distributed or experienced in the same way by different groups of New Zealanders, with Maori participants offering notably more negative perspectives on citizenship, and benefit recipients most likely to feel like “second‐class citizens”. Against predictions, the findings further suggest that neo‐liberal reforms have not eliminated a belief in community spirit and collective solutions to social problems. Although New Zealanders do believe that individuals should be responsible for themselves, they also expect government to ensure the social and economic conditions that make this possible.     

Pākehā and Tauiwi Treaty education: an unrecognised decolonisation movement?

ABSTRACT

The Māori call to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi is arguably the oldest continuous social movement in Aotearoa New Zealand since the Treaty for European settlement was signed. A much more recent Pākehā and Tauiwi activism for the Treaty has supported the Māori movement, but is often overlooked as a social movement. Responsibility for ensuring that Tauiwi understand the Treaty remains contentious—is Treaty education a Tauiwi or a Māori responsibility? This article describes the emergence in the 1980s of a consensus among Māori and Tauiwi activists that, as Treaty partners, Pākehā/Tauiwi should take responsibility for their own learning about Te Tiriti and colonisation. Six reasons for overlooking such decolonising education as a social movement are explored through reflexive scholarship by Treaty educators: 1. hegemonic views of social change movements as only class- or race-based and adversarial; 2. Tiriti education as counter-hegemonic education that encourages transformation of the Māori–Pākehā relationship; 3. confusion over whether the aims of Treaty education are counter-hegemonic or assimilatory; 4. the movement’s evolving membership to include many cultural identities and activism about diverse neo-colonialisms; 5. its focus on mutually-agreed relationship-building; and 6. the complexity of assessing its impact and contribution to a decolonisation agenda.     

Rethinking Aotearoa’s human geography

This essay is a reconsideration of my attempt as a geography Master’s candidate in 1950, to estimate the Maori population of New Zealand about the time of James Cook’s 1769–1773 voyages. Thinking that the 100,000 estimated by J. R. Forster, naturalist with Cook , excluded significant populations, I proposed a number approaching 250,000. But the subsequent rise of particular Social Sciences with a focus on Maori prehistory has challenged some earlier authorities. Critical evaluations of historical sources, demographic analysis, archaeological calculations based on settlement-sites, residues of fish and shellfish consumed, and analyses of past evaluations, generally suggest estimates not much exceeding 100,000 despite severe losses incurred through introduced diseases and tribal wars between 1770 and 1840. Parallels to losses among Pacific Islanders exist, yet may be deceptive. A survey of recent authorities on the Maori indicates general acceptance of deflated estimates.     

‘It’s who we are’: eco-nationalism and place in contesting deep-sea oil in Aotearoa New Zealand

ABSTRACT

Given near consensus among the scientific community about the anthropogenic nature of climate change, there is pressing concern about how to mobilise enough people to care and demand wider socio-political change. In this article we explore this urgent issue, drawing on recent conflicts over deep-sea oil exploration and drilling in Aotearoa New Zealand. We explore how some activist groups are attempting to mobilise care and concern around deep-sea oil drilling and climate change through the use of narratives that entwine aspects of national identity with the non-human world. We suggest that these activist groups are not concerned about a retreat of the state, but rather, are in direct conflict with the state, and state interventionism, over fossil fuel development trajectories in Aotearoa New Zealand. In drawing upon eco-nationalism, and particularly a way of life related to place, activists have called into question the common sense of business as usual and thereby sought to expand space for ‘ordinary’ Aotearoa New Zealanders to care about climate change.     

Problems in Maori Land Legislation and the Woodward Report

Legislation in New Zealand dealing with Maori land, though well intentioned, has given rise to the twin problems of alienation and fragmentation. Legislation proposed by the Aboriginal Land Rights Commission for the Northern Territory of Australia basically avoids these pitfalls, but there are some clauses that could give rise to some forms of alienation and fragmentation.     

Beyond poverty reduction: Conditional cash transfers and citizenship in Ghana

Ghana's Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme provides conditional cash transfers to poor households in deprived communities. Beyond the potentiality of the LEAP programme to reduce poverty, its implications for shaping state–citizen relations and inclusive citizenship have been largely ignored. This study explored the implications of the programme on notions of citizenship among cash recipients. The findings indicate that the programme generates interfaces that strengthen state–citizen interaction and serves as a promising avenue for reintegration. However, it is also characterised by undue delay in cash payment and weak institutional capacity to mediate interactive processes and grievances, which suggests that the contractual relationship and the state's accountability are weak. Furthermore, the programme has negatively influenced community social relations, limiting the forms of agency beneficiaries exercised. The study concludes that although LEAP represents a landmark in Ghana's quest for inclusive citizenship, it undermines social relations and citizens’ rights to hold the state accountable, which unavoidably limits effective state building.     

论公民身份认同的话语机制

从公民身份的历史发展轨迹来看,公民身份在不同国家和不同历史时期存在着不同的实践形式。公民身份意味着人在一个国家中正式的和负责任的成员资格。公民身份认同意味着公民对自己生活的共同体表示接受、赞同和承认,并且以自己忠诚共同体的实际行动体现出来,积极地参与共同体的生活,履行共同体赋予公民的责任和义务。语言是存在的家,公民通过语言言说认识自己,辨认自己,进而产生归属感。     

European technology and the New Zealand Maori economy: 1769–1840

The paper argues that the introduction of European technology to the New Zealand Maori prior to colonization in 1840 did not result in the collapse of their culture. New technologies were adopted in the context of their traditional valuing. Iron tools, white potatoes, agricultural technology and firearms were all integrated into Maori livelihood, and resulted in change in Maori society and economy. The change, though, was not preordained by the new technologies. New technologies led to new alternatives, but the adopted technologies was adapted by the Maori to their social processes.     

FROM ENTITLEMENT TO OBLIGATION IN THE AUSTRALIAN WELFARE STATE

This article examines recent debates relating to the provision of welfare in Australia. It starts with an assessment of the trend towards the acceptance of the philosophy of ‘mutual obligation’ by governments, commentators and lobby groups, traces the process of the movement of welfare from ‘entitlement’ to ‘obligation’ and argues that this is being used to justify a reworking of the relationship between citizen and state. The paper argues that a ‘genuine’ mutual obligation has always been part of the Australian welfare system and that, in contrast to the current rhetoric of individual responsibility, it should rather be seen as a community based obligation.     

Pacific Islands Families Study: Factors associated with living in extended families one year on from the birth of a child*

Abstract

Using data from the “Pacific Islands Families: the first two years of life (PIF) study”, this paper explores the factors associated with the living arrangements of mothers with a one‐year‐old Pacific child. Three living arrangements are considered: (1) those children who live with immediate family members only; (2) children who live with extended family members including at least one of their grandparents; and (3) children who live with extended family members but do not live with any of their grandparents. Findings of interest include: mothers who were born in New Zealand are much more likely to live in an extended family with the child's grandparent(s) compared to those who came to New Zealand as an adult; and mothers with high New Zealand identity and low Pacific identity being more likely to live with extended family members other than the child's grandparent(s) relative to those with low New Zealand and high Pacific identity.     

‘Which side of the bridge to safety?’ How young Pacific Islanders in New Zealand view their South Auckland community

The community of South Auckland, an area that is home to the largest population of people with Pacific Island (Pasifika) heritage in New Zealand, has consistently faced scrutiny and criticism from the media, law enforcement, and other sectors of New Zealand for its reportedly increasing levels of violent gang activity and high rate of criminal offences associated with gangs and involving Pasifika youth. Within the community, however, young Pasifika people appear to have a positive opinion of their community and about particular features of gangs in their South Auckland community though they remain highly critical of the presence of gangs. This was revealed in a recent research study for the New Zealand Families Commission (Nakhid et al. 2009), which was carried out with South Auckland youth of Pasifika heritage between the ages of 12 and 28, including those who were involved in gangs and those who had never been involved in gangs.     

Patterns of Governance: The Curious Case of Non-profit Community Services in Australia

"Community" has taken on a new significance in Australian social policy discourse. Seemingly sound and morally justifiable, in the context of neo-liberalism the language of community positions non-profit delivery of services as superior to state-provided services. As a consequence, non-profit community services are being centrally positioned to mediate the relationship between the state and citizen subjects. In the first part of this paper we trace some of the key historical developments in Australia's welfare state and patterns of governance that are propelling the non-profit sector from the margins to the centre. The second section examines the relationship between Australia's shifting political landscape and the emerging welfare regime. One key feature of this new regime is the attempt to relocate citizenship away from the domain of the state and into that of civil society. The article concludes by sketching out some research themes, focusing, for example, on the impact of devolution of governance in terms of client rights and public accountability.     

‘Going through the doors of pain’: asylum seeker and Convention refugee experiences in Aotearoa New Zealand

A qualitative study by ChangeMakers Refugee Forum and the National Refugee Network of the experiences of 18 Convention refugees has highlighted that the standards of safety and protection that Aotearoa New Zealand is obliged to extend to Convention refugees are inadequately met; most notably that there is a significant disparity between United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees quota refugees and Convention refugees, despite there being no distinction between the two within the 1951 Refugee Convention. Themes relating to participants' experiences of destitution, discrimination, and the deterioration of their physical and mental health during the process of seeking asylum and protection emerged from the study. Lack of resources, information and insufficient policies amounts to a lack of security and protection for Convention refugees in Aotearoa New Zealand, revealing an environment where funding, collaboration, and political and public goodwill are minimal.     

Māori experiences of multiple forms of discrimination: findings from Te Kupenga 2013

ABSTRACT

Comprehensive exploration of Māori experiences of discrimination in Aotearoa New Zealand remains limited, particularly in relation to exposure to multiple and interlocking forms of discrimination. This paper presents findings from a secondary analysis of Te Kupenga 2013, the first Māori Social Survey, examining patterning and prevalence of different forms of discrimination for Māori (n?=?5,549). Māori report experiencing multiple forms of discrimination, both over their lifetimes and within the last year. Although racial discrimination was the most commonly reported form, Māori also experience discrimination on the basis of other grounds including age, gender, and income. Māori also report exposure to multiple forms of discrimination. Discrimination occurred in a range of settings, with schools and workplaces common sites. The findings support the lived reality of Māori that racial and other forms of discrimination are pervasive, and experienced in multiple domains across the life course, representing a persistent breach of rights. It is critical that other forms of discrimination are measured alongside racism in order to understand and address the realities of multiple discrimination for Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand.     

Radical change or more of the same? Public attitudes towards social citizenship in New Zealand since neoliberal reform

International empirical evidence, including that from Australia, suggests that neoliberal reform has not changed public attitudes towards the social rights of citizenship as much as one might predict. But do these international findings hold true for New Zealand, whose institutions were more rapidly transformed by neoliberal reform than similar countries? Drawing upon public opinion data regarding economic protectionism and the welfare state over the past two decades, this paper argues that while some significant changes have emerged there is no overwhelming evidence of a paradigmatic shift in public attitudes towards social citizenship rights as a result of New Zealand's neoliberal reform. Indeed, New Zealand's experience appears as ambiguous and ambivalent as that of Australia, albeit different policy and historical settings have produced some differences in public attitudes.     

Positive youth development in Māori and New Zealand European adolescents through an adventure education programme

Within Aotearoa New Zealand there is growing interest in positive youth development (PYD). A PYD approach provides balance to narratives surrounding outcomes for youth and broadens our views of what we consider beneficial developmental outcomes. In the current study we used sail training as a method to promote PYD in Māori and New Zealand European adolescents. Specifically, 54 Māori and 37 New Zealand European adolescents completed the 7-day youth-development voyage on-board the gaffed rigged schooner, R. Tucker Thompson. We demonstrate that, for both Māori and New Zealand European adolescents, psychological resilience, self-esteem, and positive outlook on life increased from the first day to the last day of the voyage. In addition, we demonstrate that the increases in psychological resilience were driven by the social/collective identity adolescents formed with their group over the course of the voyage.     

Research and development absorptive capacity: a Māori perspective

This paper presents a view of research and development absorptive capacity from a Māori perspective. The assessment is part of a case study of a longitudinal programme – Science for Technological Innovation: Kia kotahi mai – Te Ao Putaiao me te Ao Hanagarau that aims to increase Aotearoa New Zealand’s capacity to use sci-tech for economic benefit. The paper finds that while Aotearoa New Zealand’s macro policy and meso institutional levels have become more responsive to Māori research and development demands, at the micro level of the individual or the firm there are still constraints given the small numbers of Māori in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. In response to this, a novel model of Māori sci-tech capacity is under development that considers not only research and development technical capacities, but also the human and relational capacities required to accelerate absorptive capacity to respond to Māori social and economic aspirations.     

Applying the international wellbeing index to investigate subjective wellbeing of New Zealanders with European and with Maori heritage

Abstract

The International Wellbeing Index (IWI), a global measure for investigating subjective wellbeing, consists of a Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI) and a National Wellbeing Index (NWI). The index is applied to the two largest ethnic populations in New Zealand—New Zealanders with European heritage and New Zealanders with Maori heritage. Psychometric characteristics of the IWI for both subsamples compare favourably to those found in other countries. However, for both subsamples, the absolute value of reported subjective wellbeing is lower than expected. Consistent with other social indicators, New Zealanders with Maori heritage show even lower values of PWI and NWI than New Zealanders with European heritage.