Targeting Social Expenditure in New Zealand: An Evaluation of the Current Policy Regime

This paper provides a brief account of how social expenditure in New Zealand has been targeted (i.e. means-tested) since the late nineteenth century, outlines the policy framework at the dawn of the new millennium, and assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the current targeting regime. It is argued that the existing policy settings are open to challenge on a number of counts. In particular, they are complex, inconsistent and relatively intrusive, they impose significant administrative and compliance costs, and they generate considerable incentive problems. Nor has the greater reliance on targeting since the mid-1980s prevented an increase in relative poverty and inequality. Given this situation, the paper outlines some possible reforms.     

Pathways to parenting in New Zealand: issues in law,policy and practice

In New Zealand there are many ways to become a parent, including two-parent families of heterosexual and homosexual couples, single parents, adoptive parents, kin carers, whāngai arrangements, long-term fostering, guardianship and assisted reproductive technologies. In this paper we discuss the different pathways to parenthood, how they have come about, and New Zealand's laws, policies and practices that make them possible but also challenging. Two areas of law of particular interest are the implications of the Adoption Act 1955, which continues to be discriminatory, although some of its provisions have been reinterpreted in the courts, and the Care of Children Act 2004, which introduced ‘modern’ parenting arrangements but allowed conflicts to remain with previous child care Acts. The new Home for Life policy introduced by the Ministry of Social Development will also be critically discussed, in light of its weaknesses. We conclude with implications of the varied pathways and identified gaps in our current knowledge that call for further research.     

Gender Down Under: Welfare State Restructuring in Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand

Beginning in the mid-1980s, the governments of both Australia and New Zealand embarked upon programmes of economic reform. In the same period, they have also undertaken extensive, if incremental, restructuring of their social policy gender models, away from the male breadwinner family form and towards dual-earner partnerships based on individualized entitlement. This paper examines and compares this restructuring. It aims to identify those respects in which similarities and differences in this restructuring express enduring cross-national differences in social policy, and in what respects simply reflect differences in the timing of otherwise similar developments.     

Impact of municipal amalgamation on stakeholder collaboration: the case of Auckland,New Zealand

Local councils governing Auckland, New Zealand, underwent restructuring in 2010, amalgamating eight local authorities and establishing the Auckland Council as a unitary authority. Key objectives for Auckland’s amalgamation included achieving reform and a single direction in governance, facilitating democratic representation of local communities, overcoming prevalent problems of fragmentation in governance and addressing lack of engagement from local communities. Qualitative interviews with key public and private sector stakeholders suggest the amalgamation effected changes to collaborative practices in anticipation of the restructure and after the amalgamation occurred. The creation of one council eased many collaborative processes. At the same time, the amalgamation strained collaboration in several ways.     

Shaved heads and sonnenrads: comparing white supremacist skinheads and the alt-right in New Zealand

ABSTRACT

This article looks at two periods in the history of white supremacy in New Zealand: the short-lived explosion of skinhead groups in the 1990s, and the contemporary rise of the internet-driven alt-right. It looks at the similarities and differences between the two groups, looking at style, symbols, ideology, and behaviour. It looks at the history of these two movements in New Zealand and compares the economic and social factors that contributed to their rise, in particular how the different social class of members produced groups with near-identical ideology but radically different presentation and modes of action.     

One size does not fit all: organisational diversity in New Zealand tertiary sector ethics committees

New Zealand tertiary ethics committees may work from similar ethical principles but this article demonstrates that the way in which they operate is idiosyncratic. The paper builds on commentaries offered by current or former members of five New Zealand ethics committees on the organisation and practices of their committees. It examines differences among the committees with the aim of initiating an ongoing conversation about the work of ethics committees in the New Zealand context. It argues for the merits of diversity, transparency and openness as core principles for the work of ethics committees and as a platform for dealing with critique.     

Renting in New Zealand: perspectives from tenant advocates

Currently, around a third of New Zealand’s households, and half its population live in rental accommodation. The proportion of tenant households is growing. Tenant advocates, who are a first port of call for tenants experiencing difficulties in their housing situation, can provide unique insight into the experience of renting in New Zealand. This article presents key themes generated from semi-structured interviews with tenant advocates. Tenants are confronted with issues of poor housing quality, insecure housing, high rents relative to income, lack of autonomy, and difficulty asserting their legislative rights. These aspects of renting in New Zealand are likely to have adverse effects on health. Tenant advocates play an important role in supporting tenants to better housing. Their knowledge of the relationship between a landlord and tenant, particularly in times of trouble, means they can provide unique perspectives on policy solutions.     

Rethinking electoral reform in New Zealand: the benefits of citizens' assemblies

In 2011, New Zealanders decided by referendum to retain the mixed member proportional representation voting system. This article investigates the benefits of including a deliberative, participatory process in electoral reform to encourage collective debate and an informed choice by voters. In the last decade, Canada and the Netherlands have used citizens' assemblies, a form of participatory democracy, for electoral reform. This paper argues that a similar process would have been appropriate and valuable for New Zealand. Moreover, the discussion highlights the value of citizens' assemblies for minorities who can be outvoted in a referendum. This is considered with specific reference to voters in the Māori seats who had much at stake in the electoral reform. In addition to the general benefit of citizens' assemblies for electoral reform, a New Zealand assembly would have allowed for collective deliberation that ensured the inclusion of the perspectives of voters in the Māori seats.     

New Zealanders returning from overseas: how their experiences of xenophobia could help us respond to superdiversity

ABSTRACT

This article draws on qualitative interview data with 42 New Zealanders returning to New Zealand after living overseas, finding they feel more like a ‘migrant’ than someone coming ‘home’. This is in part because New Zealand people and institutions demonstrate an intolerance to difference, theorised here as a form of xenophobia that inhibits the economic, social and political integration of participants. However, the same experiences and ideas that lead many New Zealanders to frame returnees as an ‘out-group’ can be regarded as a national resource. The article concludes that we should embrace – not ignore or disparage – returnees' awareness of integration issues, transnational networks and cross-cultural experiences as we attempt to maintain social cohesion in an increasingly superdiverse world.     

Emerging needs,evolving services: The health of Pacific peoples in New Zealand

Abstract

From 0.1% of the total population in 1945 to 6.9% in 2006, Pacific peoples now resident in New Zealand highlight significant health policy and service delivery issues within an increasingly diverse society. Over the last decade, marked differences in the health status of Pacific New Zealanders and Palagi New Zealanders have been well documented, showing high levels of disparity and continuing negative trends. This paper provides a broad overview of the history of Pacific health and health initiatives in New Zealand from the 1940s through to the mid 2000s, highlighting the interface between Pacific peoples and the New Zealand health sector. While the New Zealand Government has become increasingly responsive to Pacific health needs, significant disparities remain between Pacific and Palagi populations. Furthermore, many of the encouraging health initiatives introduced in the past decade remain at risk due to a variety of factors, including a need to strengthen the Pacific health workforce and management expertise.     

What kind of country we want for our children: an analysis of media coverage of the 2017 New Zealand General Election

ABSTRACT

This article is the third in a series investigating media reporting of New Zealand elections. Based on content analysis of 510 articles published in the New Zealand Herald, and thematic analysis of a subset of news stories related to young people, the study examines media coverage of the 2017 elections by looking at the topics of news stories, presence of party policies, diversity of sources and references to social groups. Comparing the 2017 results with the results of the Herald’s coverage of 2014 elections, we register a shift towards a stronger presence of policy issues, more female voices in the reports and significantly higher reference to young people. We further investigated the high number of references to young people by conducting qualitative analysis on the subset of articles mentioning young people.     

Social participation and transnational engagement among Korean residents in New Zealand: issues and implications for social work practice

Social work practice involving migration issues requires a good understanding of migrants' social engagement within their embedded context. The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of social participation and transnational engagement among Korean migrants in New Zealand. The findings from the study show that ethnic-based groups provide Korean residents with the opportunity to actively engage in social and civic practices. Korean migrants are also involved in transnational activities, promoting networks and interactions between the host society and the homeland. This paper suggests that social work with migrants should take into account migrant social capital in the present-day migration context.     

The social condition of the New Zealand people: a pre-election review of social indicator information

ABSTRACT

Many social commentators have considered that alongside the fiscal transparency enjoined by contemporary New Zealand governments, there should be a complementary social responsibility reporting. This task is usually assigned to social indicator frameworks. However, at present (as the 2017 election looms) there is a faltering in the provision of social indicators which have been in place in New Zealand for almost two decades, with the exception of the recent 2016 survey data from Statistics New Zealand and Ministry of Social Development that were made available within a month of writing this article. Having commented on the current status of the New Zealand social indicator system, we present data from the General Social Survey and the Quality of Life survey to at least convey recent trends in subjective social well-being and reported behaviours and experiences. References are also made to the accumulating literature on social well-being in New Zealand, followed by suggestions for more systematic indicator development and underpinning research.     

Tavern proximity,tavern density and socio-economic status as predictors of assault occurrence within New Zealand: a temporal comparison

This paper investigates how the associations between tavern proximity, tavern density and area unit socio-economic status with assault occurrence vary in a temporal sense. Using New Zealand Police data specifying the day, time and location of assaults in 2016 and Ministry of Justice data specifying the location of on-licenced taverns, we construct logistic regression models to determine how well tavern proximity, tavern density and socio-economic status predict the occurrence of assaults at peak (Fri 22:00–Sat 03:00 and Sat 22:00–Sun 03:00) and off-peak times. An equal-sized sample of traffic generators (public venues whose primary function is not the sale of alcohol) is constructed and similar procedures applied. We find that tavern proximity and tavern density are stronger predictors of assault occurrence at peak, compared to off-peak, times. Conversely, socio-economic status is a better predictor of assault occurrence at off-peak times. We also find that whilst tavern proximity and density are stronger predictors of assault occurrence relative to traffic generator proximity and density at peak times, the opposite is true at off-peak times. These results suggest that in order to minimise alcohol-related harm, there is a need for policy-makers to take into account the temporal nature of these relationships.     

Cars,carbon, and Kyoto: Evaluating an emission charge and other policy instruments as incentives for a transition to hybrid cars in New Zealand

Abstract

Transition to hybrid petrol/electric vehicles (HEVs) is one means among many of reducing carbon emissions pursuant to the New Zealand emissions reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol. The potential financial incentive value of an emissions charge was evaluated by comparing purchase and running costs of an HEV with an equivalent petrol‐fuelled car. Had a carbon tax of $15/tonne CO₂ operated in January 2006, the net fuel efficiency saving on the basis of the emissions charge and the inbuilt fuel efficiency of the HEV amounted to $655.50 annually for an HEV. When compared with a $7000 purchase price differential in favour of petrol‐fuelled vehicles, it can be concluded the proposed carbon tax would not have provided a sufficient incentive to bring about any significant change in the distribution of HEVs across the market. Shifting the norm to a higher proportion of fuel‐efficient cars will therefore require other incentives and/or policy mechanisms. We explore alternative policy options for bringing about such a shift, including the option of a tradable vehicle emission permit system.     

Camping,climbing trees and marching to Parliament: spatial dimensions of environmental protest in New Zealand

Environmental movements are key actors in challenging social and political constructions of the physical environment. A wide variety of protest campaigns have been undertaken in New Zealand, from local issues of pollution and road building through to national opposition to native forest logging and genetic engineering (GE). The aim of this paper is to examine the scales at which environmental protest in New Zealand have taken place and the impact upon the actions and durability of environmental campaigns. Through an analysis of a catalogue of protest events over the period 1997–2013, this paper describes patterns of actions, before examining the campaigns against GE field trials and mineral extraction in more detail. The findings point to the importance of cross-scale operations in enabling campaigns to capitalise on and respond to changes in the external environment including governance structures, resources and countermovement actors.     

Managing professional identity within a changing market environment: New Zealand optometrists’ responses to the growth of corporate optometry

ABSTRACT

This research investigated the effects of changes in the market environment for optometry services and products on the professional identity of New Zealand optometrists. It explored three issues. First, ways participants’ location within either the independent or corporate sectors shaped their professional identities. Second, ways potential ethical conflicts between participants’ healthcare and retailing identities were resolved. Last, participants’ opinions concerning the future of their profession. Twelve male and fourteen female optometrists were interviewed. Nineteen participants worked within independent optometry practices. Seven worked within practices that were part of international optometry chains. Six participants were recent graduates, the rest experienced optometrists. All participants identified primarily as healthcare professionals. All recognised that practising optometry within a commercial market created the possibility of ethical conflicts between healthcare and business imperatives. There were differences in the ways participants managed this boundary, with participants working within corporate optometry seeming more comfortable with the business aspects of their profession. All participants thought the profession was changing and several suggested that the future of independent optometry was limited. The article concludes that recent changes within the market environment of optometry have heightened tensions between optometrists’ medical and entrepreneurial identities and contributed to changing work patterns within the profession.     

“Moving from transactional government to enablement” in Indigenous service delivery: The era of New Public Management,service innovation and urban Aboriginal community development

Over the last 40 years, Aboriginal Community Based Organisations have played a distinctive role in society in relation to urban Aboriginal peoples and their rights to self‐determination and community development in the Australian city of Newcastle. They have proven essential to advocacy, the maintenance of community development, and the creation of new Aboriginal social infrastructure (community organisations, facilities, services, and supporting infrastructure). Autonomy has been empowering for local Aboriginal people. Major reforms to the delivery of government social services, particularly government enablement of a new social service market based on New Public Management principles, threaten this success. This interpretive, qualitative case study illustrates the effects of social service market enablement. It draws on a case study of the effects of social service market enablement on urban Aboriginal Community Based Organisations in Newcastle, showing the antagonistic relationship between social service market enablement and Aboriginal community enablement and development. It ends with a discussion of how Aboriginal community development in this city could be re‐enabled in light of the Prime Minister's arguments in his 2017 Annual Parliamentary Closing the Gap speech providing particular value in the context of policy discussions about moving from transactional government to enablement in Indigenous affairs.