Open Journal Systems at the Victoria University of Wellington Library
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Sea Level Rise and Local Government: policy gaps and opportunities
Get PDFLocal authorities in New Zealand have a significant responsibility to their communities for managing the effects of sea level rise due to climate change. However, while most local authorities are well engaged and have a clear understanding of issues arising from sea level rise, 73% report that their organisations do not receive enough direction from central government on how to respond. Territorial authorities in particular are seeking a stronger lead, such as legislative reform, clearer and more directive policy, clarification of responsibilities, or a national environmental standard on coastal hazard management. Central government direction is seen as critical to achieve a nationally consistent and equitable approach for coastal communities. This article summarises how this could be addressed, and identifies key challenges facing local government in adapting to sea level rise and climate change
The case for an inequalities perspective in child protection
No full textThe year 2019 represented a watershed moment for Aotearoa New Zealand’s child welfare system, as a public spotlight was shone on systemic ethnic inequities during ongoing legislative changes aimed at centering Te Tiriti o Waitangi and whänau, hapü, and iwi considerations in policy and practice. In the midst of this dialogue, Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Government hosted the “Children, Families, and the State”– a seminar series focused on the historical, current, and future role of the state in the lives of families and children. The seminars, and the discussion it generated, was due to the calls to action from speakers across the system, including leadership at Oranga Tamariki, within the family court, non-profit providers, commissioners and advocates, and academics.
The four brief essays in this edition of Policy Quarterly capture viewpoints from several of the seminar speakers. Despite their different perspectives, common threads unite them. A greater recognition of the structural causes of the historical and current patterns of ethnic inequities in child welfare system contact, a commitment to whänau, hapü, and iwi-centred policy, practice, and partnership, the authors argue, are vital for a more just and empowering system.
In this essay, Emily Keddell reflects on how a lack of an inequalities perspective in policymaking has shaped New Zealand’s unequal child welfare system, and the ways in which this perspective can drive down the number of children who enter the system in the future
Trust local knowledge: citizens are experts in their own lives
Get PDFI was excited. When I started working I was excited about the social impact mandate inherent in the public sector – how good! Then, as my work led me into the depths of the public sector’s limitations, I was swallowed by despair. As an advisor on the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction I was a sponge to the pain of the country. I heard the pain in young people, solo mothers, whänau, refugees of not being heard, seen or supported. The reality of slow, siloed, under-resourced and overly risk-averse agencies was undeniable
Blockchain in Aotearoa: are distributed ledgers the future for our regulators and policymakers?
Get PDFBlockchain technology has been moving beyond cryptocurrency into new areas internationally, with substantial investment from both the private sector and government, including private sector projects in Aotearoa. However, there is not yet clear evidence of successful use cases at scale. The technology offers important benefits through creating tamper-proof records of transactions, and major drawbacks of public networks like bitcoin, such as massive power consumption, do not seem to apply to regulatory uses based on private blockchain networks. But there is debate over whether the technology is as secure as its proponents claim. In exploring blockchain’s potential, regulatory designers will want to carefully consider more conventional alternatives such as distributed databases
The Global Plastic Pollution Crisis: how should New Zealand respond?
Get PDFThe management of plastic waste is a global problem which currently lacks a global solution. As one of the highest per capita producers of household waste in the developed world, New Zealand has a key role to play in addressing the plastics crisis at multiple levels of governance. This article analyses the various policy options available to the New Zealand government and offers a series of recommendations, including prioritising policy and investment at the top of the waste hierarchy (refuse, rethink, redesign, reduce and reuse); linking plastic waste to toxicological risk and commitments to carbon reduction targets; implementing global commitments domestically; and supporting a proposed international legally binding agreement that captures the full lifecycle of plastics and regulates the transboundary flows of plastic pollution
Risk and the Rule of law
Get PDFIn this article the author argues for the importance of law even in the face of a global pandemic, suggests some ways that law helps to reveal and articulate the moral issues at stake, and sketches the legal controversies surrounding the Covid-19 lockdown
Collaboration in a Time of Covid-19: will it reset the local– central relationship?
Get PDFThe social and economic impact of a pandemic like Covid-19 was always going to require a multi-government response, and so it was in New Zealand. Despite the complexity that has historically characterised intergovernmental relationships, the impact of Covid-19 saw institutional arrangements quickly put in place that enabled a joined-up response from both local and central government. This article looks at how these arrangements worked and how they contributed to the provision of essential services through all levels of the lockdown
What People Said about Life under Lockdown
Get PDFThe article discusses results from the IGPS/Roy McKenzie Centre Covid-19 lockdown survey, focusing on what people reported about their experiences of the level 4 lockdown, both positive and negative, in an open-field response. New Zealanders’ responses allow identification of some common themes. Some of these themes, perhaps, come as a surprise: generally, a plurality of people were positive about the lockdown, particularly in terms of the benefits of time with their family, with a majority having either positive or mixed/neutral feelings. Less surprisingly, work was also on a lot of people’s minds. The results also illustrate a wide diversity of human experiences during the lockdown
Support for Workers in the Covid-19 Emergency: what can we learn?
Get PDFThis article first briefly describes pre-Covid-19 support for workers who lose their jobs in New Zealand, then outlines and evaluates the government response to potential and actual job loss in the Covid-19 emergency. The main response was a wage subsidy. Some aspects of it were highly effective; others were problematic and tolerable only because it was a crisis and temporary. It demonstrated the systemic weaknesses in New Zealand’s support for displaced workers. The article finally considers what is needed to prepare New Zealand better for times of job loss
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