Open Journal Systems at the Victoria University of Wellington Library
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Making Good Choices for the Long Run: the economic benefits of KiwiSaver in 2100
Get PDFAs New Zealand faces the challenges of an ageing population and widening inequality, it is useful to ask: what is the long-run economic role of KiwiSaver, is it an inclusive institution, and how can it be strengthened for future generations? This article explores the economic benefits of KiwiSaver beyond individual retirement outcomes in the future. It examines whether KiwiSaver contributes to national savings, reduces long-term fiscal pressures, and supports intergenerational inequality by promoting early asset-building.
Considering case studies from Singapore, Australia and the Netherlands, the article highlights how starting earlier, contributing more and investing better can build economic resilience, increase capital accumulation, and reduce social polarisation by supporting intergenerational equity. The findings of this research and focus on the need for long-term stewardship allows us to think deeply about how today’s contributions to KiwiSaver can shape a better future for the younger generations in the year 2100
Overcoming Challenges to New Zealand Public Sector Risk Management
Get PDFRisk management in New Zealand’s public sector is challenging. The development of proactive, well-informed strategies that bear on risks affecting public policy has obstacles to overcome. The challenges include complexity, uncertainty, heuristic biases, policy debates over the role of government, and how the polity should determine and articulate risk appetites and tolerances. Overcoming these challenges is important. Effective risk management enhances policy resilience and adaptability during crises, whereas poor practices result in inadequate outcomes and missed opportunities for improvement. This article emphasises the need for probabilistic analysis, institutional checks, anticipatory governance and continuous improvement to overcome these challenges. It warns of common traps public servants often fall into
Governance of Our Oceans an Aotearoa New Zealand perspective: Toitū te marae a Tāne Mahuta, toitū te marae a Tangaroa, toitū te tangata; if the land is well, and the sea is well, the people will thrive.
Get PDFThis article investigates Aotearoa New Zealand’s ocean governance challenges against a backdrop of competing paradigms and proposes a pathway towards transformative, anticipatory marine stewardship. It is contended that a ‘relational paradigm’ to ocean governance is essential given the interdependence of ocean health and human wellbeing. This relational paradigm is operationalised through anticipatory governance, and underpinned by four foundational elements: long-term public value creation, adaptive management, multi-layered accountability, and alignment of ambition and execution. The article aims to catalyse public debate about how anticipatory governance can improve current ocean governance systems, while building foundations for deeper transformation when political conditions allow
Control familiarity bias when shifting to a risk-based approach: Lessons from the Temporary Traffic Management industry
Get PDFRisks are apparent in all industries, but what if the industry you worked in had been focussed on familiar, existing controls that didn’t eliminate risk? The Temporary Traffic Management (TTM) industry historically has had a culture that tends to accept risk, as working on or near roads carries an inherent level of risk. TTM worksites account for 66 serious and fatal injury crashes each year in New Zealand. To reduce incidents on worksites there has been a shift from prescriptive guidance to a risk-based approach, with the aim of moving to more impactful safety controls. A national TTM worker survey was created to review attitudes, reported behaviours on site, and the acceptance and adoption of a risk-based approach. Survey insights revealed that even in a higher-risk industry with a strong focus on workplace safety, engaged workers still have challenges to overcome. In the TTM context these were, correct identification of risk and appropriate controls, habituation to risk, and the pressure to balance and trade risk against competing requirements, like cost and delays to traffic. New insights indicate a Control Familiarity Bias (CFB), where controls that are available, familiar, easy and embedded are preferred, selected and assigned an overinflated weight in safety decisions, even where better alternatives exist
Underwater solar panels in Aotearoa New Zealand: An economic analysis
Get PDFThe global shift toward renewable energy sources has intensified research into innovative solar energy solutions. One promising avenue is submerged photovoltaic solar panels (SP2), which leverage water cooling to enhance efficiency while addressing land use constraints. This study conducted an economic analysis of SP2 technology in the Aotearoa New Zealand context, comparing its viability to conventional land-based photovoltaic (LPV) and floating photovoltaic (FPV) systems. Using a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) framework, capital expenditures (CAPEX), operational costs, efficiency gains, and potential financial returns of SP2 farms were assessed. The findings indicate that while SP2 panels offer improved cooling and potential efficiency gains, these advantages are largely offset by higher installation and maintenance costs, biofouling risks, and structural challenges. Sensitivity analyses suggest that material advancements—particularly in GaInP and CdTe solar cells—could improve SP2 feasibility in the long term if manufacturing costs decrease. Additionally, the study highlights niche applications where SP2 could complement agricultural activities by preserving farmable land while providing renewable energy. Despite current economic limitations, SP2 technology remains a promising research direction, with potential improvements in cost efficiency, durability, and deployment strategies. Future work should focus on large-scale pilot projects, material innovation, and environmental impact assessments to refine the feasibility of underwater solar farms as a viable component of the renewable energy landscape
Institutional Amnesia in Government: How much is enough?
Get PDFThe concept of institutional amnesia represents a means of describing the loss of policy-relevant knowledge across time. This loss is keenly felt in all government institutions and typically leads to a conclusion that institutional amnesia is a problem to be fixed. However, there are positives that can be associated with a lack of memory. This article explores the good and the bad of memory loss by asking ‘how much amnesia is enough?’ This question prompts a discussion of the nature of amnesia in government, where it is most keenly felt, what causes it and the effects it produces
First Nations First: First Nations public servants, the future of the Australian public service workforce
Get PDFThis article imagines a future public service that is culturally safe and supportive of First Nations employees and end users, a place wheretransformative policy can emerge. The authors, First Nations and settler/non-indigenous academics and public servants, offer visions for change in five key areas, drawing on our academic research and public service practice
The 2023 Aotearoa New Zealand Sea Ice Emergency Summit
Get PDFThe record low Antarctic sea ice extent observed during 2023 prompted a group of Aotearoa New Zealand researchers to organize a “Sea Ice Emergency Summit” to provide information for the media and public. The key output from the summit was a public statement - the “2023 Aotearoa New Zealand Sea Ice Emergency Statement” - that called for a “dramatic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions now”. This was achieved through the ad hoc development of a rapid-response collaborative and communication process - as often required in emergency situations. This article reports on the motivation, process, science and initial impact of the summit
Women naturalists in Tūhura Otago Museum, Dunedin
Get PDFHistorical studies on naturalists who contributed their expertise to Tūhura Otago Museum, are few and invariably deal with men. The roles that women played in the formation of its collections in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries are uncovered. The paucity of information in the handwritten museum registers and archive is supplemented to a small extent by newsprint and annual reports. Women’s expertise included field collecting and academic studies. Donations arose because of changing family circumstances or through friendships with the male curators. A few businesswomen also featured. The career of Lily Daff, the museum’s first female appointment, is described as she rose to become chief designer.
 
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