Open Journal Systems at the Victoria University of Wellington Library
Not a member yet
6045 research outputs found
Sort by
Commercial Common Sense in Contract Interpretation: Observations on the Court of Appeal in Technix v Fitzroy and The Malthouse v Rangatira
Get PDFThe contemporary principles of contract interpretation require courts to have regard to a number of factors to determine the meaning of a contract, including the plain meaning of the express contractual language, the contract's context, and commercial common sense. These principles superseded the narrower plain meaning rule, which directed courts to interpret contracts in a manner largely consistent with the plain and ordinary meaning of their express words. Since their manifestation some 20 years ago, these principles have undergone change, development and elaboration to the extent that some commentators now claim the approach to contract interpretation more closely resembles the former plain meaning rule, with courts giving "primacy" to the words of the contract in order to deliver "commercial certainty". This article argues that while courts must give primacy to the express contractual language, that does not mean courts should maintain an unwavering loyalty to the plain meaning of those words, even if their meaning is clear. Courts that adopt this approach, referred to by some as the "conservative approach", risk obscuring the true meaning of a contract that can only be obtained through the careful balancing of a contract's internal and external factors, including commercial common sense. This article demonstrates the problem with the "conservative approach" through the analysis of two Court of Appeal decisions, and argues that courts should not overstate the circumstances in which departure from the plain meaning of a contract should occur
‘My Grandmother Never Told Me That Before!’: Collaborative oral histories with ethnic minority youth and elders in northern Vietnam
Get PDFHmong ethnic minority populations in Vietnam’s northern borderlands have a long history of oral tradition and story-telling. Yet with an historical absence of literacy and no self-created written archives, the first-hand knowledge and experiences of Hmong elders is seldom communicated beyond their kin. At the request of a Hmong community member we developed a collaborative, intergenerational oral history project that would allow stories of Hmong elders to be shared on the internet. Concurrently, we trained Hmong youth in research methods, helping to improve their English skills and contribute to inter-generational knowledge transfer. Drawing on debates regarding collaborative North-South ethnography, positionality and critical reflexivity, and feminist fieldwork approaches, we contemplate our roles as two Global North researchers interacting with Global South ethnic minority youth and elders, and the degree to which we were able to help support the creation of subaltern counter-narratives to Vietnamese state discourses of upland minority histories.
Heaney and Bog Bodies Narratives Literary Translation as Archaeology
Get PDFDuring the late 20th century the Northern Irish poet Seamus Heaney sought to use the bog bodies as metaphorical emblems of adversity to express a profound sense of tragedy and to comprehend the underlying drivers of the sectarian violence of his own time in a series of poems known as the ‘bog poems.’ 1 Thus far, no literary inquiry has been undertaken to investigate the archaeological interpretations of the bog bodies. This study aims to do just that in order to optimistically uncover by delving into a literary analysis of the mind of Heaney, the inherent bias entrenched in modern archaeological interpretations of the bog bodies
A Case for Universal State Housing in Aotearoa New Zealand
Get PDFIn contemporary debates about solutions to the housing crisis in Aotearoa New Zealand, state housing is side-lined. But there have been renewed calls internationally for expanding state provision of housing. Some of these calls have been to expand the criteria of access to state housing to make it more universal, ensuring everyone has a home and challenging housing as an investment. This article presents a case for universal state housing in Aotearoa New Zealand. It explores nine main benefits that a universal state-housing policy could bring to Aotearoa New Zealand, including creating more affordable housing, towns, and cities, more secure housing, combating gentrification, displacement, and stigma, and making housing more democratic, environmentally sustainable, and accessible. This article is an act of imagining—the seeding of an idea to start conversations—not a blueprint for how things should be
Engaging Communities in the Design of Homes and Neighbourhoods in Aotearoa New Zealand
Get PDFCommunity engagement in Aotearoa New Zealand is a variable practice. Generally driven by local and central government, much of it could be described as superficial at worst and naïve at best. This paper sets out concerns with existing practice as evidenced by my own experiences working on projects with local and central government. Drawing heavily on Atawhai Tibble’s tips for engaging with Māori, I outline how we might move engagement towards meaningful practice that is rooted in the Aotearoa New Zealand context
Envisioning Regenerative Communities
Get PDFThis interview asks how we can move to the next era of urban design, away from extractive capitalist models towards a more connected and equitable society. While there is disagreement over what exactly might come next—Young favours a new ‘compassionate capitalism’, while Nash argues for the importance of imagining non-capitalist models—both argue for regenerative economic models that empower people at the community level. Nash argues that Pākehā need to overcome their addiction to individual, exclusive land and property ownership, and to recognise how the violent history of colonialism underpins the ongoing commodification of land. The unfolding Covid-19 crisis lays bare the failings of our current economic model and prompts us to radically reimagine what might be possible. Young and Nash’s dialogue suggests that this involves both a reckoning with our past and taking a stand in the future—imagining the world we want to inhabit as a first step towards transforming it
Community Organising: A Critical Dialogue
Get PDFMohan Dutta, Director of the Center for Culture-Centred Approach to Research and Evaluation (CARE) at Massey University talks with Sue Bradford, the centre’s first activist-in-residence in Aotearoa New Zealand. The conversation outlines the role of community organising in communication for social change, with both Mohan and Sue drawing on their work in grassroots organising at the margins. Mohan and Sue detail the role of voice infrastructures at the margins as a basis for structural transformation. They critically interrogate the tensions that emerge in the relationships among communities, activists, and academics, and discuss how these tensions can be addressed in creative ways. The conversation wraps up with the authors’ thoughts on the role of community organising in building socialist futures in the post-pandemic world
The Christian Question: Interview with Roland Boer
No full textRoland Boer’s five-volume work, On Marxism and Theology (2007–2013), explores the connections between Marxism and Christianity. In this interview, Boer speaks about some of the pressing issues and knotty questions raised in the series. Beginning with questions of Boer’s intellectual and political formation, of previous work on the Marxism–Christianity link, and contemporary claims about the return of religion, the discussion moves to the treatment of religion by Marx and Engels, by key Second International thinkers, and within Russian Marxism. The interview then turns to the Western Marxist tradition and the importance of Ernst Bloch and Theodor Adorno in Boer’s work. Responding to a final set of questions, Boer reflects on post-secularism and the new atheism, ethics and grace, and the contemporary struggle over the Christian legacy
The Hokianga Dog Tax Uprising
Get PDFWhy was a seemingly mundane 19th-century fiscal measure—a tax levied on dog owners—met by Māori with widespread repudiation and an armed uprising? The significance of what is known as the ‘Hokianga Dog Tax Rebellion’ is often framed in terms of its apparent quashing by colonial forces in 1898, taken to signal the moment at which Crown sovereignty was finally imposed upon northern Māori. This paper questions the mainstream historical narrative, taking seriously the political stakes of taxation and locating the ‘dog tax’ within a disciplinary colonial regime that sought to interpellate Māori as financially and morally liable subjects. The dog tax was aimed at the protection of sheep, a central pillar of the early colonial economy, but was also viewed as a means of transforming Māori into citizen-subjects of the colonial regime. The doggedness with which colonial officials sought to enforce payment, and the steadfastness of Māori opposition to the tax, illuminate the highly politicised character of taxation in the colonial context. This article is an excerpt from Catherine Cumming’s The Financial Colonisation of Aotearoa, to be published by Economic and Social Research Aotearoa in late 2021
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage Open Journal Systems at the Victoria University of Wellington Library? Access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard!