tag:theconversation.com,2011:/institutions/auckland-university-of-technology-1137/articlesAuckland University of Technology2024-03-26T16:39:21Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2248452024-03-26T16:39:21Z2024-03-26T16:39:21ZAccessibility remains an afterthought – how NZ’s digital health tools risk excluding people with disabilities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584241/original/file-20240325-26-kehuos.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=125%2C143%2C5865%2C2820&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Alongside my career path from a PhD in computer science, work as a nurse and ambulance officer and now a university lecturer in nursing, I have become progressively deafblind. </p>
<p>As a result, I have personal experience navigating New Zealand’s health system, both as an employee and patient living with dual sensory loss. </p>
<p>My experiences provide me with a unique perspective on how important it is to integrate technology well into healthcare practices. Currently, accessibility is often lacking or insufficient, both for staff and patients.</p>
<p>My <a href="https://ebooks.hinz.nz/view/260843176/">work</a> focuses on bridging the gap between technology and nursing to make digital health accessible. A broader review of existing research confirms this need: accessibility is often an afterthought in software development, and digital health solutions are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9719765/">designed in a way that makes them inaccessible</a>.</p>
<h2>Accessibility must be part of early software design</h2>
<p>One in four New Zealanders <a href="https://www.odi.govt.nz/home/about-disability/key-facts-about-disability-in-new-zealand/">lives with a disability</a>. Despite this significant portion of the population, digital solutions often overlook their needs.</p>
<p>For example, the YourRide taxi booking app’s launch last year has created difficulties for <a href="https://www.transport.govt.nz/area-of-interest/strategy-and-direction/total-mobility-scheme/">total mobility scheme</a> card holders, with some struggling to access their taxi service equitably. With 89,000 individuals relying on the scheme in 2022, it is essential that they have equity in access to taxi transportation. </p>
<p>The app does not cater for total mobility card holders and a national taxi company is making them call by phone to confirm their status. This is further complicated by a malfunctioning text-as-taxi-approaches system, leaving those without app access no way of knowing how far away the taxi is without phoning the company. </p>
<p>This system has led to delays, multiple phone calls and missed appointments. Had the app been designed with total mobility card holders from the beginning, these issues could have been avoided.</p>
<p>The lack of emphasis on accessibility often begins at the early stages of software development, which <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9719765/">leads to inaccessible digital health solutions</a>. </p>
<p>While major companies like Apple and Microsoft have proprietary accessibility libraries, their usage is not widespread and considerably variable. Some <a href="https://www.powermapper.com/products/sortsite/ads/acc-wcag-testing/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwnv-vBhBdEiwABCYQA1nKUST_PxwiwESoU-_Ha31EtoJHRMjmBIj59YpvRohLKaPTHTYiYRoC_ecQAvD_BwE">accessibility test tools</a> exist for web-based applications, but their implementation varies. And not all digital health solutions are web-based and guidelines for native applications are scarce. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-is-lagging-when-it-comes-to-employing-people-with-disability-quotas-for-disability-services-could-be-a-start-199405">Australia is lagging when it comes to employing people with disability – quotas for disability services could be a start</a>
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<p>It is important to integrate accessibility in the design phase of any project. One of the recommendations of a <a href="https://ebooks.hinz.nz/view/260843176/">Digital Health Leadership Summit</a> held in 2023 was that New Zealand should adopt a national strategy for accessibility in digital health, moving away from the fragmented approach. </p>
<p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34991540/">Community engagement and collaboration are crucial</a> to informing design in digital health and enhancing data collection and analysis. Projects such as <a href="https://www.tewhatuora.govt.nz/our-health-system/digital-health/hira-connecting-health-information/#what-is-hira">Hira</a>, which put in place the foundations for initiatives such as <a href="https://www.tewhatuora.govt.nz/our-health-system/digital-health/my-health-record/#about-my-health-record">My Health Record</a>, foster inclusivity, user-centred design, legislative compliance and equitable resource access. </p>
<p>Considering accessibility in the design phase and upholding ethical standards in digital health is essential. Flexible and adaptable solutions that cater to diverse access needs are necessary, along with clear information, navigation and personalisation to meet the specific requirements of individuals with disabilities. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/treatments-tailored-to-you-how-ai-will-change-nz-healthcare-and-what-we-have-to-get-right-first-219594">Treatments tailored to you: how AI will change NZ healthcare, and what we have to get right first</a>
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<h2>Gaps between recommendations and reality</h2>
<p>Unlike some other countries, New Zealand does not have legislation explicitly addressing or policing accessibility. </p>
<p>In 2022, the United Nations examined New Zealand’s performance under the <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-persons-disabilities">Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities</a> and highlighted:</p>
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<p>… a lack of recognition, across all government portfolio areas, that disability is a whole-of-government responsibility.</p>
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<p>The UN also stressed that legislative and policy frameworks on disability should align with the Treaty of Waitangi to ensure active involvement in decision making and consultation with Māori with disabilities. It recommended a national strategy to increase awareness and promote respect for the rights and dignity of people with disabilities.</p>
<p>The discrepancy between recommendations and reality may be related to employment. Only <a href="https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/labour-market-statistics-disability-june-2023-quarter/">44% of people with disabilities are employed</a>, compared with <a href="https://www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/employment-rate/">69% of those without disabilities</a>. This disparity in employment rates suggests a need for greater inclusivity and support for individuals with disabilities in the workforce. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A girl in a doctor's room using sign language" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584248/original/file-20240325-28-wnh0w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584248/original/file-20240325-28-wnh0w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584248/original/file-20240325-28-wnh0w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584248/original/file-20240325-28-wnh0w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584248/original/file-20240325-28-wnh0w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584248/original/file-20240325-28-wnh0w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584248/original/file-20240325-28-wnh0w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">sign languge.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/photo/adorable-smiling-little-caucasian-girl-standing-and-royalty-free-image/1398189833?phrase=sign+language+hospital&adppopup=true">Getty Images/PeopleImages</a></span>
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<h2>Perceptions of disability</h2>
<p>In healthcare, staff with access needs appear to be undeserved. </p>
<p>My first experience of this was when I worked as a nurse. I had disclosed my disability and was using a magnifying glass to check drug vials when giving medications. I had made no errors.</p>
<p>But the charge nurse nevertheless told me she no longer wanted me to use a magnifying glass as it decreased the public’s trust. If I had been quicker off the mark, I could have asked how a magnifying glass differs from reading glasses. </p>
<p>Her attitude raises important considerations regarding the perception of disability within healthcare environments. Her request to restrict the use of a tool that allowed error-free medication checks highlights a potential lack of understanding or sensitivity towards the needs of individuals with disabilities.</p>
<p>Last year, a German survey using sign language found that a lack of understanding of disability needs meant that deaf people were choosing not to engage with the healthcare system. </p>
<p>A similar survey in New Zealand could provide valuable insights into the barriers deaf people face. It could compare the effectiveness of digital versus face-to-face consultations and exploring the use of digital solutions such as closed captions in tele-health consultations.</p>
<h2>Lingering undercurrents of discrimination</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.odi.govt.nz/guidance-and-resources/a-brief-history-of-disability-in-aotearoa-new-zealand/">historical treatment of individuals with disabilities</a> within pākehā society was marked by a pervasive view of disability as a deficiency. </p>
<p>Rooted in the medical model of health which historically focused on deficits and impairments, the prevailing attitudes towards disability have often been shaped by societal norms that prioritise able-bodiedness. This has led to the marginalisation and stigmatisation of individuals with disabilities, who were seen as a deviation from the norm.</p>
<p>The legacy of these historical perceptions continues to linger. Despite advancements in understanding and awareness, an undercurrent of discrimination and exclusion prevails. This is reflected in the limited access to resources, opportunities and support systems available to individuals with disabilities.</p>
<p>People with disabilities have a long history of distrust in the health and disability systems in New Zealand. Improving education and training, building trust and promoting effective data sharing are essential for enhancing their care and experiences.</p>
<p>My goal is to advocate for this change. I want to ensure that digital health tools are designed with an equity lens, where disability, just like culture and gender, is given due consideration. This isn’t just about technology. It’s about reshaping our society’s approach to health, disability and inclusivity.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224845/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sally Britnell is affiliated with Health Informatics New Zealand as a Board Member, DeafBlind Association New Zealand as a Board Member and is employed by Auckland University of Technology. </span></em></p>New Zealand has no legislation, nor a national strategy, explicitly addressing or policing accessibility to digital health tools.Sally Britnell, Senior Lecturer in Nursing, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2261282024-03-25T19:54:19Z2024-03-25T19:54:19ZThe Body Shop shouldn’t have failed in an age when consumers want activism from their brands. What happened?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584003/original/file-20240325-28-qndbq4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=251%2C237%2C4283%2C2726&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/news-photo/general-view-of-the-body-shop-in-middlesbrough-high-street-news-photo/2075877447?adppopup=true">Ian Forsyth/Getty</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>We are in an era of brand activism and conscious consumerism. More than <a href="https://www.hg.agency/news/do-more-than-disrupt-the-feed">70% of consumers</a> expect brands to publicly stand for sociopolitical issues.</p>
<p>And more than <a href="https://www.statista.com/topics/10534/sustainable-consumption-in-australia/#topicOverview">half of Australians</a> consider sustainability an important purchasing criterion. Experts also predict a <a href="https://hbr.org/2023/09/research-consumers-sustainability-demands-are-rising">major shift</a> in consumer attitudes with sustainability evolving from a “nice-to-have” to a baseline requirement. </p>
<p>In this climate, The Body Shop – promoted as a global beacon of ethical retailing – shouldn’t have failed. However, in February, it entered administration in the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/feb/13/the-body-shop-collapses-into-administration-in-uk">United Kingdom</a>. The following month, The Body Shop in the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/mar/10/the-body-shop-files-for-bankruptcy-in-the-us-and-canada">United States and Canada</a> filed for bankruptcy. </p>
<p>The Australian subsidiary remains profitable, boasting about 100 stores. But it is <a href="https://insideretail.com.au/business/the-body-shop-australia-facing-cashflow-crisis-202403">reportedly facing</a> a “cash flow crisis” with “unsustainable levels of debt” following the collapse of its UK parent company last month.</p>
<h2>The Body Shop was once a ground-breaker</h2>
<p>Founded by UK businesswoman and human rights activist Anita Roddick in 1976, The Body Shop was a trailblazer of cruelty-free products, fair trade and environmental sustainability.</p>
<p>It was as well known for its advocacy and ethics as its flagship products, including White Musk scent, Dewberry oil and peppermint foot scrub.</p>
<p>The brand helped <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/02e5b3dc-62f3-44cb-b55c-8a99cf1b90a9">change 24 laws in 22 different countries</a> by mobilising customers to campaign against animal testing in cosmetics. </p>
<p>However, The Body Shop’s trajectory over the last two decades diverges sharply from its founding ethos.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/should-businesses-consult-shareholders-before-taking-a-stand-on-social-issues-216431">Should businesses consult shareholders before taking a stand on social issues?</a>
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<p>First sold in 2006 for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2006/mar/17/retail.money">A$1.26 billion</a> to cosmetics and personal care company L'Oreal, the brand was abandoned by many customers because of perceived betrayal of its core values.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583995/original/file-20240325-22-g4pdmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A make-up stand in a department store" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583995/original/file-20240325-22-g4pdmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583995/original/file-20240325-22-g4pdmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583995/original/file-20240325-22-g4pdmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583995/original/file-20240325-22-g4pdmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583995/original/file-20240325-22-g4pdmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583995/original/file-20240325-22-g4pdmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583995/original/file-20240325-22-g4pdmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The Body Shop seemed lost customers are several take overs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/news-photo/oreal-stand-is-seen-on-a-drugstore-in-krakow-poland-on-news-photo/1237997962?adppopup=true">NurPhoto/Getty</a></span>
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<p>In 2017, The Body Shop was bought by Brazilian cosmetics giant Natura for <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-67417591">A$1.7 billion</a>, which its CEO Ian Bickley promised would start “a new chapter”. Natura then sold the brand to asset management company Aurelius in 2023, just three months before its UK collapse, for <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/02e5b3dc-62f3-44cb-b55c-8a99cf1b90a9">only A$399 million</a>.</p>
<p>This signalled significant value decline and raised questions about the viability of the brand worldwide.</p>
<h2>Activism fatigue</h2>
<p>Countless brands are vying for marketplace positioning based on social and environmental justice. This saturation of ethical messaging leaves consumers <a href="https://www.marketingweek.com/brand-fatigue-and-brand-affection-across-the-globe/">fatigued</a> and they’re likely to tune out.</p>
<p>The most recent <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/consumers-are-less-interested-in-brands-taking-stances-on-sociopolitical-issues-survey-finds-2211e1ed">Gallup survey</a> shows consumer interest in brands engaging in sociopolitical issues is waning.</p>
<p>What was once an extraordinary point-of-difference for The Body Shop is now seen as standard.</p>
<p>The Body Shop has also faced extreme competition. Brands including Aesop, LUSH and Neal’s Yard Remedies emerged as worthy rivals, leveraging credible ethical branding to attract eco-conscious shoppers.</p>
<p>The Body Shop had the advantage of being the first in its field but the sale to L'Oreal <a href="https://www.retail-insight-network.com/features/the-body-shop-what-went-wrong/?cf-view">compromised its core purpose and consumer connection</a>. It struggled to recover its founding values and was crowded out by competitors.</p>
<h2>Dwindling brand bravery</h2>
<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41262-023-00319-8">Our research</a> shows activism must be backed by <a href="https://www.kantar.com/inspiration/brands/the-brand-bravery-benchmark">brand bravery</a> to be credible in the eyes of consumers. In the past, consumers supported <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41262-024-00355-y">activism aligned</a> with corporate values. We found alignment on its own was not enough.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JPBM-04-2020-2879/full/html?skipTracking=true">A brave brand</a> considers the greater good, sticks to its core values, defies dominant norms, takes risks to be unconventional and even controversial as a brand and shows resilience to setbacks such as consumer backlash. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583930/original/file-20240325-20-y23lj3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Sign pinned to a closed roller door" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583930/original/file-20240325-20-y23lj3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583930/original/file-20240325-20-y23lj3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583930/original/file-20240325-20-y23lj3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583930/original/file-20240325-20-y23lj3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583930/original/file-20240325-20-y23lj3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583930/original/file-20240325-20-y23lj3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583930/original/file-20240325-20-y23lj3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Sign on the closed door a Body Shop outlet in the UK notifying customers that the company has folded.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com.au/photos/the-body-shop?assettype=image&agreements=pa%3A182979&family=editorial&phrase=The%20Body%20Shop&sort=best">Leon Neal/Getty</a></span>
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<p>When <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/350221488/body-shop-was-absolute-pioneer-beauty-world-what-exactly-went-wrong">The Body Shop opened in 1976</a>, cruelty-free products and ethical business practices were unheard of. It is now challenged by competitors with more radical claims.</p>
<p>LUSH boldly <a href="https://retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2022/07/why-lush-cosmetics-deleted-its-social-media-accounts-feature-interview/">deleted its social media accounts</a>, citing concerning impacts on young consumers’ mental health. Considering potential revenue loss, as social media is the primary way to reach Gen Z, this was a brave move.</p>
<h2>Falling short of true transformation</h2>
<p>Recent research shows how important it is for brands to be <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0743915620947359">authentic activists</a>. Brands must practice what they preach. The Body Shop originally did this well but consumer scepticism arose after L'Oreal’s acquisition.</p>
<p>L'Oreal has <a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-au/the-body-shop-administration-what-happened">not tested on animals since 1989</a> but <a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-au/the-body-shop-administration-what-happened">consumers’ distrust of the company’s ethical standards</a> rubbed off on The Body Shop.</p>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/02761467211043074">Transformative brands</a> must also lead by example on both business and social fronts. The Body Shop did both in the beginning but neither by the end. </p>
<p>Under Roddick’s leadership, The Body Shop transcended mere profit-making and <a href="https://www.thebodyshop.com/en-au/about-us/our-story/a/a00002">revolutionised the beauty industry</a>. However, it later became part of faceless global conglomerates and private equity firms. While the brand initially served as a catalyst for change to industry and consumption standards, cruelty-free products eventually became <a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-au/the-body-shop-administration-what-happened">expected of all companies</a> in the saturated beauty market.</p>
<p>As a commercial business, The Body Shop became <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/02e5b3dc-62f3-44cb-b55c-8a99cf1b90a9">estranged from its original customer base</a> and failed to meaningfully engage with a younger demographic.</p>
<p>It missed the mark on evidence-based skincare products, which rely on scientific research and formulations - <a href="https://medium.com/myskincare/the-rise-of-science-backed-skincare-unveiling-the-trend-transforming-the-beauty-industry-c745f6f03203">another major trend</a>. Consumers have also <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-67417591">traded down</a> to cheaper options, amidst a cost-of-living crisis, as they must prioritise price over ethical claims made by brands like The Body Shop.</p>
<h2>Reclaiming an activist brand heritage</h2>
<p>What should The Body Shop and other ethical brands do? The UK business is trading in administration but <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/feb/29/the-body-shop-close-stores-uk-cut-hundreds-jobs#:%7E:text=Last%20week%2C%20the%20administrators%20at,next%20four%20to%20six%20weeks.">remains</a> “fully focused on exploring all options to take the business forward”.</p>
<p>Our research offers several possible pathways. The Body Shop needs re-energising as a brand leader on product innovation, customer connection and social change. For ethical brands, a shared <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/02761467211043074">focus on market and societal goals</a> is essential to be transformative.</p>
<p>The Body Shop must seek to not only reclaim its position as a leader in sustainability but adapt to survive the struggling retail sector. They could start by rebuilding customer relationships.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-charities-engage-in-brand-activism-research-shows-they-must-demonstrate-bravery-to-attract-donations-208890">When charities engage in 'brand activism', research shows they must demonstrate bravery to attract donations</a>
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<p>The Body Shop has a history of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0743915620947359">activism</a>. This can continue and it can be more effective in achieving change if it stays relevant and delivers on the brand’s vision long-term.</p>
<p>This means taking risks by adopting innovative and unconventional promotional strategies and updating its messaging to ensure it can attract the next generation of shoppers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226128/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Body Shop once led the world as a sustainable retailer but lost dominance when it failed to respond to growing competition and its customers changing needs.Zoe Lee, Reader (Associate Professor) in Marketing, Cardiff UniversityAmanda Spry, Senior Lecturer of Marketing, RMIT UniversityJessica Vredenburg, Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor) of Marketing, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2254612024-03-21T00:35:03Z2024-03-21T00:35:03ZThe demise of TVNZ’s Sunday spells the end of long-form current affairs – just when we need it most<p>The imminent demise of TVNZ’s <a href="https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/sunday-2002/series">Sunday</a> program demonstrates the TV current affairs genre in New Zealand is on its last legs. The death knell was sounded back in 2015 when <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/sarah-baker-serious-news-deserves-platform-on-nz-television/Q4OQN3TZMQOE3UR25EAXEYFNHA/">TV3 axed</a> its nightly <a href="https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/campbell-live-2005/series">Campbell Live</a> program, but this latest cut appears to spell the end. </p>
<p>Coupled with the earlier announcement that Warner Bros. Discovery will be <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018927944/discovery-warners-to-close-newshub-in-june">shutting down its Newshub operation</a> in June, the end of Sunday also represents a turning point for New Zealand’s broadcast media.</p>
<p>While it could be argued Sunday has not been as hard-hitting as past TV current affairs programs, these terminal signs still matter. All up, the <a href="https://thespinoff.co.nz/pop-culture/08-03-2024/all-the-local-current-affairs-shows-were-set-to-lose-in-2024">proposals mean</a> 20 hours of news and current affairs television per week will go from local screens.</p>
<p>In particular, long-form television current affairs has been a vital part of the overall broadcast news menu. It has allowed deeper analysis of events and issues, and often made news in the process. Its disappearance is a watershed moment in New Zealand media.</p>
<h2>The birth of TV current affairs</h2>
<p>The origins of long-form TV current affairs can be traced to Britain in 1953, when the BBC launched <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006t14n">Panorama</a>. Within a few years, the show was tackling the 1956 Suez crisis, setting the tone for stories of national and international importance. </p>
<p>Interviews would take time, and context was given in complex stories. It was all part of the BBC’s public service broadcasting remit, set out in its <a href="https://www.bbc.com/aboutthebbc/governance/mission">charter</a>, to “inform, educate and entertain”. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/with-the-end-of-newshub-the-slippery-slope-just-got-steeper-for-nz-journalism-and-democracy-224625">With the end of Newshub, the slippery slope just got steeper for NZ journalism and democracy</a>
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<p>Panorama was joined by other programs – notably ITV’s <a href="http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/457900/index.html">World in Action</a> and Channel 4’s <a href="https://www.channel4.com/collection/dispatches">Dispatches</a> – which established the form and function of TV current affairs. </p>
<p>Such programs helped audiences understand current events, and often held politicians and the powerful to account. To take just one example, World In Action’s investigations in the 1980s helped expose what happened to the so-called <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/mar/26/why-the-birmingham-six-story-must-not-be-forgotten">Birmingham Six</a>, one of the UK’s worst miscarriages of justice.</p>
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<h2>60 years of investigations</h2>
<p>TV current affairs arrived in New Zealand with <a href="https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/compass-1964/series">Compass</a> in 1963, not long after the still-running Four Corners debuted on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1961. Compass was followed by <a href="https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/gallery-1968/series">Gallery</a> in 1968. </p>
<p>This was the beginning of rigorous political interviews. These programs provided the opportunity for New Zealand stories to be told and seen from a New Zealand perspective. </p>
<p>By the 1970s, the local TV current affairs roster was well established, often dealing with controversial issues such as police brutality, industrial disputes and antiwar protests. The roster was later fleshed out with shows such as Foreign Correspondent and <a href="https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/eyewitness-1978/series">Eyewitness</a>.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/funding-public-interest-journalism-requires-creative-solutions-a-tax-rebate-for-news-media-could-work-146563">Funding public interest journalism requires creative solutions. A tax rebate for news media could work</a>
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<p>From the late 1980s, however, New Zealand broadcasting was progressively deregulated and commercialised. TVNZ became a “<a href="https://teara.govt.nz/en/state-owned-enterprises">state-owned enterprise</a>”, directed to run like a business and turn a profit. Ultimately, a program’s success relied not only ratings, but also on whether it earned more than it cost to make. </p>
<p>The commercial era saw the rise of a new kind of personality-driven TV current affairs: the nightly <a href="https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/holmes-1989/series">Holmes</a> show and the weekly 60 Minutes and 20/20 (local versions of international franchises).</p>
<p>Critics viewed the trend towards softer and often tabloid material as representing a wholesale loss in quality. But quality long-form current affairs still survived in the form of <a href="https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/frontline-1988/series">Frontline</a> and its successor, <a href="https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/assignment-1995/series">Assignment</a>.</p>
<p>That era lasted into the early 2000s. Sunday picked up the long-form mantle in 2002, replacing the local version of 60 Minutes. </p>
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<h2>New model needed</h2>
<p>As broadcasting grew more commercial, <a href="https://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/items/c18800d0-f6d2-498c-a441-89c1c30dc02c">research has shown</a> coverage of more serious subjects declined. At the same time, “infotainment”, human interest, celebrity and entertainment news increased. </p>
<p>But free-to-air broadcasting has been operating under economic constraint for decades now. With its advertising model broken by the digital economy, and viewers migrating to streaming services, expensive long-form current affairs formats have been harder to justify financially.</p>
<p>Public funding for current affairs, mostly via <a href="https://www.nzonair.govt.nz/about/our-funding-strategy/specialist-current-affairs/">NZ On Air</a>, has supported Māori and Pacific-focused programs The Hui (TV3) and Tagata Pasifika (TVNZ), as well as weekend interview show Q+A (TVNZ).</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/first-newshub-now-tvnz-the-news-funding-model-is-broken-but-this-would-fix-it-224966">First Newshub, now TVNZ: the news funding model is broken – but this would fix it</a>
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<p>The Hui, in particular, has investigated important issues such as abuse in state care. But with its fortunes tied to Newshub’s, the show’s future is also uncertain.</p>
<p>While the economics of TV current affairs are changing rapidly, the kinds of issues needing coverage are more urgent than ever – climate change and the impact of artificial intelligence, to name just two.</p>
<p>According to TVNZ, closing Sunday is still <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018929249/tvnz-axing-fair-go-sunday-two-news-bulletins">only a proposal</a>. If there is any room for negotiation, then, the broadcaster should seriously consider any viable alternative.</p>
<p>One option might be to retain a core team of investigative journalists and to develop a new model to deliver their stories, perhaps online and through the TVNZ+ digital platform. Because to lose what remains of TV current affairs will be a serious loss to journalism and to New Zealand.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225461/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Baker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Current affairs TV began over 60 years ago in New Zealand. The end of the long-form format leaves local journalism greatly diminished.Sarah Baker, Associate Professor, Communication Studies, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2260042024-03-20T19:03:09Z2024-03-20T19:03:09ZAdelaide Festival 2024: a moving marriage of local and international works – with Indigenous voices front and centre<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583039/original/file-20240320-30-grg01y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=113%2C47%2C6177%2C3489&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Jada Narkle photographed by T.J. Garvie.</span> </figcaption></figure><p>Between COVID, increasing production and transport costs, and changing audience tastes, the country’s largest arts festivals have had to rebadge themselves.</p>
<p>Festivals in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth have all undergone major cultural shifts – generally away from internationalism. The new kid on the block, Hobart’s <a href="https://darkmofo.net.au/program">Dark Mofo</a>, offered a brew of Tasmanian winter funkiness. This vision was transferred to <a href="https://rising.melbourne/call-to-artists">Melbourne’s Rising Festival</a> in the wake of lockdowns. </p>
<p>This leaves the Adelaide Festival, founded in 1960, as the venerable grandparent of the region’s art festivals. Against the odds, the Adelaide Festival continues to offer a carefully curated program of international work, placing it in active conversation with domestically produced work.</p>
<p>From 2017-2023, festival co-directors <a href="https://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/news/latest-news/changes-at-the-top-of-australia-s-leading-international-arts-festival/">Neil Armfield and Rachel Healy</a> delivered a solid program that balanced high-culture spectacle with local work. Their curatorial choices required mutual approval, extensive travel to international festivals, and healthy <a href="https://iview.abc.net.au/show/getting-their-acts-together">doses of fortitude</a>.</p>
<p>This year’s was the first full program curated by experienced international festival director <a href="https://www.fiftyplussa.com.au/arts-culture/introducing-ruth-mackenzie-adelaide-festival-artistic-director/">Ruth Mackenzie</a>, who has worked extensively in the UK and Europe. Under her watch, the festival placed high-quality Indigenous Australian work front and centre, while also showcasing superb offerings from the nation’s smaller companies. </p>
<p>On the international front, it brought big-ticket extravaganzas alongside outstanding theatre and dance groups from outside the mainstream. </p>
<p>I saw all the shows in this year’s theatre, music theatre, dance, dance theatre and opera categories. The music and visual arts program, as well as the events of Writer’s Week and WomAdelaide, were too much to take in simultaneously. </p>
<h2>Indigenous Australia front and centre</h2>
<p>When it comes to programming Indigenous work in the festival, pulling existing work off-the-shelf isn’t possible. And if it were, it wouldn’t be respectful or desirable.</p>
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<span class="caption">Dancers Maanyung and Rika Hamaguchi performed in ‘Baleen Moondjan’ on the shores of Pathawilyangga (Glenelg) beach.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel Boud</span></span>
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<p>Indigenous artists must be in positions of cultural and artistic leadership. Perhaps the greatest challenge is identifying and obtaining the financial resources from local and national funding bodies to support these artists.</p>
<p>Such work requires tact, solid community contacts and a deep knowledge of how funding and local systems work. Mackenzie, with the help of chief executive Kath M. Mainland and a capable festival staff, appears to have mastered these challenges.</p>
<p>This year’s festival featured outstanding works by Indigenous artists both local and national. For me, the standout was <a href="https://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/events/baleen-moondjan/">Baleen Moondjan</a>, Stephen Page’s first commissioned work since leaving the helm of the Bangarra Dance Theatre.</p>
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<span class="caption">Baleen Moondjan was staged amid a row of large whale bones at Pathawilyangga (Glenelg) beach.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">SA UAVs</span></span>
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<p>Staged on a sandy ridge amid a row of whale bones extending to the water’s edge at Glenelg (Pathawilyangga) Beach, the work dramatised the transfer of faith, spirit and knowledge across the generations. </p>
<p>Masterfully blending music, dance, movement, song and text, it featured powerful performances from Elaine Crombie as Moondjan elder Gindara, and Zipporah Corser-Anu as her granddaughter.</p>
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<span class="caption">Baleen Moondjan is Stephen Page’s first commissioned work since leaving the Bangarra Dance Theatre.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Roy VanDerVegt</span></span>
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<p>Guuranda, written and directed by <a href="https://www.jacobboehme.com.au/about">Jacob Boehme</a>, was another breakthrough work of local Indigenous storytelling. Like Baleen Moondjan, it was commissioned by the festival and supported by donors to the Adelaide Festival First Nations Commissioning Program. </p>
<p>The creative team drew from consultations with four elders from Narungga Country, traditional owners of the Yorke Peninsula region. Their personal stories were connected to creation stories linked to physical features of the land. </p>
<p>These ancient, living stories were beautifully evoked through dance and song. Lyrics in Narungga, written by Jacob Boehme and Sonya Rankine, were powerfully delivered by Rankine, Warren Milera and the Narungga Family Choir. </p>
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<span class="caption">Guuranda’s creative team drew from consultations with Narungga country elders.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tim Standing</span></span>
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<p>Another standout was the Australian Dance Theatre’s production of <a href="https://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/events/marrow/">Marrow</a>, choreographed by Daniel Riley. </p>
<p>The starting point for this work, Riley noted in post-show remarks, was the heartbreak that followed <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-17/sa-aboriginal-leaders-call-to-learn-from-referendum-result/102981736">the failure</a> of the Indigenous Voice referendum in October.</p>
<p>This work evoked that disappointment viscerally. Dancers moved with difficulty, against obstacles, then walked backwards toward the audience. Later they were tossed about, as if responding to external blows. </p>
<p>The work’s trajectory suggested it is the power of the land itself that provides the strength to continue the fight. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3jyYtGvp41","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<h2>A celebration of indie creators</h2>
<p>Australian work has long had a strong presence in the festival. But this year’s programming brought festival audiences into unaccustomed spaces to experience work by some of the nation’s most consistently interesting non-mainstream companies. </p>
<p>No longer was the best work of our independent companies relegated almost exclusively to the nation’s two large Fringe festivals (Adelaide and Melbourne). Mackenzie had the curatorial confidence to program their work alongside audacious, high-brow, big-ticket extravaganzas from some of the world’s most famed directors and choreographers.</p>
<p>Among the local standouts was <a href="https://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/events/private-view/">Private View</a> by Adelaide’s Restless Dance Theatre. Their honest, gentle and confronting exploration of the ups and downs of love drew from the experiences and imaginations of the company’s troupe of dancers living with and without disabilities. </p>
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<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Private View was a gentle and confronting exploration of the ups and downs of love.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matt Byrne</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The work broke down barriers between audience and onlooker, able and disabled. It ended with many of us on our feet, dancing in a sea of confetti, joyous.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583011/original/file-20240320-23-an3u1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583011/original/file-20240320-23-an3u1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583011/original/file-20240320-23-an3u1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583011/original/file-20240320-23-an3u1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583011/original/file-20240320-23-an3u1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583011/original/file-20240320-23-an3u1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583011/original/file-20240320-23-an3u1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583011/original/file-20240320-23-an3u1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many of the audience members ended the show on their feet.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matt Byrne</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another supremely memorable show from the independent sector was <a href="https://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/events/grand-theft-theatre/">Grand Theft Theatre</a> by Pony Cam, led by David Williams. With equal amounts of humour, charm and earnestness, highly skilled actor-dancers reminded us not just why we go to the theatre, but of how this experience can change lives.</p>
<p>It was a pleasure to also see work from <a href="https://vitalstatistix.com.au/">VITALStatistix</a>, a company that has been making high-quality, socially engaged work in Port Adelaide since 1984. The company’s <a href="https://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/events/i-hide-in-bathrooms/">I Hide in Bathrooms</a> was staged in their home in the historic Waterside Worker’s Hall. </p>
<p>Writer/performer Astrid Pill offered a quirky, serious and moving take on life, partnership and death. We were left with an obvious but often overlooked truth: “We will all be left, and we will all leave.” </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583012/original/file-20240320-30-ad1jmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583012/original/file-20240320-30-ad1jmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583012/original/file-20240320-30-ad1jmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583012/original/file-20240320-30-ad1jmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583012/original/file-20240320-30-ad1jmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583012/original/file-20240320-30-ad1jmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583012/original/file-20240320-30-ad1jmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583012/original/file-20240320-30-ad1jmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Astrid Pill’s I Hide In Bathrooms offered a quirky yet moving take on life, partnership and death.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sam Oster</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>International fare</h2>
<p>Mackenzie brought in work by four of the established superstars of the international festival circuit: directors Barry Kosky, Robert Lepage and Thomas Ostermeier, and choreographer Akram Khan. </p>
<p>She also programmed a deeply satisfying selection of carefully crafted, timely works by smaller companies, mostly based in Europe. </p>
<p>Among the outstanding works in this category were <a href="https://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/events/qui-a-tue-mon-pere/">Qui a tué mon père (Who Killed my Father)</a> and Antigone in the Amazon.</p>
<p>In the former, acclaimed German director Ostermeier teamed up with Édouard Louis in a theatrical adaptation of Louis’ novel. The writer himself narrated and enacted the story of his troubled relationship with his father, and of growing up gay in a conservative, working-class town a world away from Paris, condemned to “poverty, homophobia and conformity”. The work suggests the ultimate killers of his father were a long line of national leaders from Jacques Chirac to Emmanuel Macron. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583013/original/file-20240320-17-r6duw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583013/original/file-20240320-17-r6duw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583013/original/file-20240320-17-r6duw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583013/original/file-20240320-17-r6duw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583013/original/file-20240320-17-r6duw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583013/original/file-20240320-17-r6duw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583013/original/file-20240320-17-r6duw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583013/original/file-20240320-17-r6duw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">German director Thomas Ostermeier teamed up with Édouard Louis in this theatrical adaptation of Louis’ novel.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Roy VanDerVegt</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For me, however, the most emotionally taxing but rewarding work of this year’s festival was <a href="https://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/events/antigone-in-the-amazon/">Antigone in the Amazon</a>. It’s a collaboration between the Belgium company NTGent and the Amazonian activist group Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST).</p>
<p>Brilliantly directed by Milo Rau, the work offers complex, multi-layered insights into the ongoing battle between Indigenous peoples in the Amazonian rainforest and those profiting from the land through deforestation and habitat destruction. The dramatic recreation of a well-known <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2016/04/the-eldorado-dos-carajas-massacre-20-years-of-impunity-and-violence-in-brazil/">massacre of 17 civilians</a> in the state of Pará on April 17 1996 was masterfully paired with Sophocles’ ancient Greek tragedy, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antigone_(Sophocles_play)">Antigone</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583016/original/file-20240320-26-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583016/original/file-20240320-26-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583016/original/file-20240320-26-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583016/original/file-20240320-26-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583016/original/file-20240320-26-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583016/original/file-20240320-26-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583016/original/file-20240320-26-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583016/original/file-20240320-26-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Antigone in the Amazon offered multi-layered insights into the struggles of Indigenous peoples in the Amazonian rainforest.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kurt van der Elst</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Live action was cleverly linked to videos shot in remote locations in the Amazon. In turn, the onstage actors appeared in sequences shot on location with actors associated with the MST. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583019/original/file-20240320-21-5johew.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583019/original/file-20240320-21-5johew.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583019/original/file-20240320-21-5johew.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583019/original/file-20240320-21-5johew.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583019/original/file-20240320-21-5johew.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583019/original/file-20240320-21-5johew.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583019/original/file-20240320-21-5johew.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583019/original/file-20240320-21-5johew.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Antigone in the Amazon drew on Sophocles’ ancient Greek tragedy, Antigone.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source"> Kurt van der Elst</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The result was an uncanny and powerful doubling. Drawing from Sophocles’ play, the work concludes with the tragic observation that “the killers and the killed” are “all one family”.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583017/original/file-20240320-18-jcr03b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583017/original/file-20240320-18-jcr03b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583017/original/file-20240320-18-jcr03b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583017/original/file-20240320-18-jcr03b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583017/original/file-20240320-18-jcr03b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583017/original/file-20240320-18-jcr03b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583017/original/file-20240320-18-jcr03b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583017/original/file-20240320-18-jcr03b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Live action was linked to videos shot in remote locations in the Amazon.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kurt van der Elst</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The festival’s three big-ticket items were clear crowd-pleasers. </p>
<p>Berlin-based Australian Barry Kosky offered up a dark, brilliant staging of Bertolt Brecht’s <a href="https://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/events/the-threepenny-opera/">The Threepenny Opera</a>. Actors moved up, down and across a massive black constructivist set, playing a game of cat and mouse that ends with the capture of arch-villain Macheath. </p>
<p>All are equally complicit in creating misery in this Weimar-era German classic, in which Kurt Weil’s lilting tunes contrast with Brecht’s hard-hitting lyrics to create that sense of estrangement Brecht is famous for.</p>
<p>Canadian director Robert Lepage’s <a href="https://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/events/the-nightingale-and-other-fables/">The Nightingale and Other Fables</a> came in two parts: a prelude of Russian folk tales, ingeniously presented with human bodies creating shadows, and a wildly extravagant staging of Igor Stravinsky’s short opera, The Nightingale.</p>
<p>Based on a Chinese classic tale, it tells the story of a nightingale (sung by soprano Yuliia Zasimova) who enchants the emperor and ultimately returns every night to sing to him.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583021/original/file-20240320-22-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583021/original/file-20240320-22-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583021/original/file-20240320-22-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583021/original/file-20240320-22-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583021/original/file-20240320-22-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583021/original/file-20240320-22-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583021/original/file-20240320-22-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The work used Vietnamese water puppetry, with the puppets manipulated from a pool of waist-deep water.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Andrew Beveridge</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Lepage’s staging relied on the charming and enchanting tradition of Vietnamese water puppetry. While puppets were manipulated from a pool of waist-deep water in the orchestra pit area, the stage of the Festival Theatre was filled to capacity with members of the State Opera of South Australia Chorus and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.</p>
<p>It was a thrilling production with inventive and ingenious puppets of all sizes, even if excessive in its visual splendour at times.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583020/original/file-20240320-30-h1inp7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583020/original/file-20240320-30-h1inp7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583020/original/file-20240320-30-h1inp7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583020/original/file-20240320-30-h1inp7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583020/original/file-20240320-30-h1inp7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583020/original/file-20240320-30-h1inp7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583020/original/file-20240320-30-h1inp7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583020/original/file-20240320-30-h1inp7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One part of the production included a staging of Igor Stravinsky’s short opera, The Nightingale.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Andrew Beveridge</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583022/original/file-20240320-30-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583022/original/file-20240320-30-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583022/original/file-20240320-30-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583022/original/file-20240320-30-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583022/original/file-20240320-30-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583022/original/file-20240320-30-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583022/original/file-20240320-30-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583022/original/file-20240320-30-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Nightingale and Other Fables was a vibrant, visually enchanting production.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Andrew Beveridge</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Choreographer <a href="https://www.akramkhancompany.net/">Akram Khan’s</a> work famously builds on the vocabulary of the traditional South Asian dance, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathak">Kathak</a>, as a basis for his company’s unique style of contemporary dance. His work <a href="https://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/events/jungle-book-reimagined/">Jungle Book reimagined</a> is far from the Disney version.</p>
<p>In this darkly dystopian world, climate change has brought devastation to the planet. Humans are useful only for what they can teach the remaining animals.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583023/original/file-20240320-28-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583023/original/file-20240320-28-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583023/original/file-20240320-28-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583023/original/file-20240320-28-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583023/original/file-20240320-28-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583023/original/file-20240320-28-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583023/original/file-20240320-28-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583023/original/file-20240320-28-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The Kathak-inspired dance in Jungle Book reimagined involved extraordinary precision, speed and athleticism.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Camilla Greenwell</span></span>
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<p>Though I found the use of text intrusive and confusing at times, the dance work involved all the extraordinary precision, speed, athleticism and full use of the body associated with Khan’s choreographic practice. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583035/original/file-20240320-16-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583035/original/file-20240320-16-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583035/original/file-20240320-16-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583035/original/file-20240320-16-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583035/original/file-20240320-16-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583035/original/file-20240320-16-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1056&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583035/original/file-20240320-16-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1056&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583035/original/file-20240320-16-7taj2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1056&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Jan Mikaela Villanueva played Mowgli in Jungle Book reimagined.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Camilla Greenwell</span></span>
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<h2>An old vision realised</h2>
<p>The depth, breadth, range, grit and good-heartedness of this year’s festival made me reflect on one of the most infamous of international festival fails: the dismissal of artistic director <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Sellars">Peter Sellars</a> in November 2001, months prior to the opening of the 2002 Adelaide Festival.</p>
<p>Sellars, who met great success as a theatre and opera director in Europe and his native US, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/nov/17/books">had a compelling vision</a> for an Adelaide Festival. He wanted one that was international, yet intensely local, and which featured new Indigenous Australian work.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, for a range of reasons – not least of which was a lack of understanding of how things work in Australia – Sellars was sent packing.</p>
<p>Some 22 years later, we have a festival that in many respects realises Sellars’ three-pronged vision. It’s made possible because Ruth MacKenzie and her team did their homework, and did it well.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4mZembvEdb","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-magic-tricks-and-the-deep-souls-of-theatre-dance-and-music-at-the-2024-perth-festival-225343">The magic tricks and the deep souls of theatre, dance and music at the 2024 Perth Festival</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226004/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>William Peterson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The theatre, dance and music works at this year’s festival have helped fulfil a three-pronged vision from some two decades ago.William Peterson, Adjunct Associate Professor, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2246272024-03-08T05:44:19Z2024-03-08T05:44:19ZPersonal trauma and criminal offending are closely linked – real rehabilitation is only possible with justice system reform<p>New Zealand’s justice system is failing. The country has one of <a href="https://www.justice.govt.nz/justice-sector-policy/key-initiatives/key-initiatives-archive/hapaitia-te-oranga-tangata">the highest rates of incarceration</a> in the OECD, and over 56% of people with prior convictions are reconvicted within two years.</p>
<p>Some 52% of people in prison identify as Māori, while 91% of people in prison have experienced mental distress, and over 50% addiction. Many are affected by poverty and have been victims of sexual and physical violence.</p>
<p>Recent moves by the government to <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/508611/prison-reforms-government-ditches-reduction-targets-and-cultural-reports">abolish funding</a> for cultural reports at court sentencing further threaten the most vulnerable by removing information from judges to help create an appropriate rehabilitation pathway.</p>
<p>But it doesn’t have to be this way. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://heturekiatika.com/">new research</a> shows a “trauma-informed” justice system can better support people and their families to move from experiences of incarceration, mental distress and addiction into recovery and wellbeing.</p>
<p>This approach would mean taking into account the impacts of trauma across a wide spectrum that includes neurological, biological, psychological, spiritual, social and cultural wellbeing. </p>
<p>Simply put, a trauma-informed approach acknowledges what has happened to someone rather than identify what is wrong with them.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/changes-to-nzs-parole-laws-to-improve-rehabilitation-could-lead-to-even-longer-prison-times-224846">Changes to NZ's parole laws to improve rehabilitation could lead to even longer prison times</a>
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<p>Our study, He Ture Kia Tika (Let the law Be Right), aimed to identify how New Zealand can improve outcomes for people experiencing mental distress and/or addiction while in the criminal justice system. </p>
<p>Our team interviewed 45 individuals who had been in the system. They were now thriving in the community and free of criminal behaviour. We looked at what factors contributed to their success. </p>
<p>We also talked with six <a href="https://maoridictionary.co.nz/search?idiom=&phrase=&proverb=&loan=&histLoanWords=&keywords=kaupapa+maori">kaupapa Māori</a> community and peer-led providers who help support people on their recovery journeys. </p>
<h2>What a trauma-informed system would look like</h2>
<p>For Māori, a trauma-informed approach considers the importance of the wider community, acknowledges inter-generational and historical trauma, and incorporates te ao Māori (a Māori world view) to heal. </p>
<p>It also respects the autonomy of individuals and their families, and creates opportunities for them to feel empowered to make decisions about their own lives and livelihoods. </p>
<p>While the research included people across a number of ethnicities, most of the participants appreciated the healing they received from tikanga-led (customs and traditional values) approaches. </p>
<p>Time and again, participants shared how hapori (community) are already delivering what they need – localised, culturally safe, trauma-informed services that aim to support people to find their recovery pathway. </p>
<p>By prioritising kaupapa Māori and lived experience, grassroots community initiatives are making a real and lasting difference to people coming out of the justice system. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ending-legal-aid-for-cultural-reports-at-sentencing-may-only-make-court-hearings-longer-and-costlier-223627">Ending legal aid for cultural reports at sentencing may only make court hearings longer and costlier</a>
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<p>New Zealand’s <a href="https://www.districtcourts.govt.nz/criminal-court/criminal-jurisdiction/specialist-criminal-courts/matariki-court/">Matariki Court</a> allows an offender who has pleaded guilty to participate in a culturally appropriate rehabilitation programme. Ngahau Davis, head of Te Mana o Ngapuhi Kowhao Rau, which supports adults going through the Matariki court, explained it this way: </p>
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<p>Everybody wants to punish people - you’ve done wrong - but nobody is asking the question why. </p>
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<p>This approach does not mean ignoring the offending behaviour. In fact, our research underscores that the road to recovery and wellbeing is hard. It involves deep work to heal and restore balance from harms that have occurred.</p>
<p>Another research participant, Carly, shared how she tried and failed over many years to get support through official channels – either justice or health – for ongoing addiction and mental distress. Finally, she took drastic action. </p>
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<p>I woke up one morning, and I just wanted to die. I had a knife on me, so I walked into a dairy and held up the dairy worker at knifepoint. I climbed over the counter and said, “I’m coming over. I don’t want anything from you.” I took a packet of cigarettes, left the dairy, walked around the corner, and waited for the police to come. Then, I asked them to take me to prison.</p>
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<p>During the sentencing, Carly revealed, she and the judge were “both crying”. The judge acknowledged she had been trying to get help for a long time. But from a legal perspective, the only option was to send her back to prison.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Carly is one of our research participants who has kindly shared her story with the researchers.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Change at every level</h2>
<p>As a starting point, the government needs to meet its responsibilities to te Tiriti o Waitangi-Treaty of Waitangi. Both the legal and health systems have failed to provide justice or equity for Māori.</p>
<p>Our research shows the impact of people being deprived of access to the basic needs of housing, food, school and connection to their culture and communities. If we took eradicating poverty seriously, we would undoubtedly see more whānau and communities thriving. </p>
<p>There is also a lack of recognition of tikanga, as well as other ways of knowing and being, that are important to Māori. </p>
<p>Shane White, operations manager at Hoani Waititi Marae told us:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The government chased us hard to run a tikanga programme. Their want is for them not to re-offend. Our want is for them to be good Māori – to be part of their whānau, to be part of their hapū, to be down on the marae, and to have belonging, love and laughter. He won’t bother reoffending because he has a life now.</p>
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<p>The comment illustrates the power of a trauma-informed justice system – to move the goalposts from simply “stopping offending” to supporting people realise their full potential, with the capacity to connect with whānau and contribute meaningfully to their communities.</p>
<p>A trauma informed approach has the power to transform not just the way our justice system understands and responds to clients, but to imbue people with agency and self-determination as they move into well-resourced pathways of recovery and wellbeing.</p>
<p>By reframing the justice system’s approach to its most vulnerable clients, and acknowledging the power of trauma and poverty in their lives, the courts and associated agencies can offer meaningful and sustained support to those who need it most.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224627/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katey Thom and Stella Black, alongside our wider rōpū, received funding from the Michael and Suzanne Borrin Foundation for this research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stella Black received funding from the Michael and Suzanne Borrin Foundation for this research project. </span></em></p>A major new report identifies how a ‘trauma-informed’ justice system would acknowledge and act on the deprivation and mental health problems experienced by so many offenders.Katey Thom, Associate professor, Auckland University of TechnologyStella Black, Kairangahau/Māori hauora and social justice researcher, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2248622024-03-07T22:57:33Z2024-03-07T22:57:33ZToo much heat in the kitchen: survey shows toxic work conditions mean many chefs are getting out<p>Chefs are in hot demand. “Chefs, chefs, chefs! Virtually impossible to find anyone,” <a href="https://www.mbie.govt.nz/business-and-employment/employment-and-skills/regional-skills-leadership-groups/tamaki-makaurau/regional-workforce-plans/regional-workforce-plan-2023/regional-highlights/our-economy-industry-and-business-highlights/">lamented one Auckland restaurant owner</a> recently. Australia is seeing a similar gap, with chefs ranked the <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/australia-jobs-the-20-most-in-demand-professions-national-skills-commission/818fc635-6828-40e0-944b-385a0caef7d4#12">eighth most in-demand occupation</a>. Given this culinary skills shortage, we might expect such sought-after employees to be highly valued. </p>
<p>Apparently not. Our <a href="https://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/items/90384000-13f2-40ed-9809-70e2324410d6">new report</a> on chef wellbeing and working conditions shows chefs in Australia and New Zealand experience significant financial hardship and mental health issues, with many wishing to leave their jobs. </p>
<p>This has major implications for tourism, too, as jobs such as cheffing are “<a href="https://ojs.aut.ac.nz/7experiencessummit/7ES/article/view/36/36">keystone</a> occupations” in major destinations. When jobs can’t be filled, these places lose money. </p>
<p>Tourism <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/03/06/nz-is-tourism-booming-but-what-do-visitors-want-more-of/">revenue is booming</a>, with visitors reportedly seeking more scenery, history and culture. The food chefs prepare in cafés and restaurants forms an integral part of the tourist experience. But despite the laws of supply and demand, the situation for chefs is unlikely to improve without radical changes to work practices.</p>
<p>Our study is the first quantitative survey to examine working conditions and mental health issues among chefs in both Australia and New Zealand. The survey was distributed through professional culinary associations, and final responses were captured as Australasia emerged from COVID restrictions. </p>
<p>The survey also followed up previous Australian studies, which indicated <a href="https://theconversation.com/all-these-celebrity-restaurant-wage-theft-scandals-point-to-an-industry-norm-131286">exploitation was an industry norm</a>, with chefs experiencing <a href="https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/hosp_00030_1">burnout and wage theft</a>.</p>
<h2>‘Banter, bollockings and beatings’</h2>
<p>The kitchen environment is well documented to be particularly harsh. As <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-01-2017-0030">one British study</a> titled “Banter, bollockings and beatings” made clear, an often macho culture can prevail, including <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/29/top-chef-leaves-french-hotel-du-palais-biarritz-after-alleged-naked-hazing-of-kitchen-staff">bizarre induction rituals</a>. </p>
<p>An <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00127-022-02229-7">Australian study</a> published in 2022 showed chefs were significantly more likely than the general population to commit suicide. And even before the pandemic, the industry’s <a href="https://www.restaurantnz.co.nz/2019/06/24/mental-health-in-the-workplace-the-last-frontier/">“toxic” workplace culture</a> was blamed for mental health issues and high suicide rates among employees.</p>
<p>Most of our chef respondents were men, with an average age of 37. They had been chefs for 16 years on average. Of these, 42% originally came from outside Australia and New Zealand, underlining the profession’s high mobility. </p>
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<p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-bear-gets-the-suffering-and-self-sacrifice-of-a-top-flight-kitchen-just-right-210023">The Bear gets the suffering and self-sacrifice of a top-flight kitchen just right</a>
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<p>The results reveal disturbing insights into chefs’ working conditions. It was surprising to find nearly half (44%) of our sample were in precarious employment, given the skills shortage. </p>
<p>Two-thirds (67%) of respondents worked more than 38 hours weekly, but a fifth of the chefs worked 52-61 hours. Of these, 6.33% worked 62 hours or more – well above New Zealand’s <a href="https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/8-hour-workday-remains-commonplace-in-new-zealand/">still commonplace</a> 40-hour work week, and Australia’s <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/tools-and-resources/fact-sheets/minimum-workplace-entitlements/introduction-to-the-national-employment-standards#:%7E:text=The%20minimum%20entitlements%20of%20the,to%20change%20their%20working%20arrangements.">legally prescribed</a> 38 hours. Despite the fast-paced environment, a quarter did not get their legally entitled breaks. </p>
<p>Economic insecurity was very evident. Financial hardship was reported by almost one in five chefs (15-20%), and a quarter of respondents went without meals due to financial pressure. That those who feed others struggle to feed themselves seems a dark irony.</p>
<p>Two-thirds also reported working when sick, an average of nine days each a year. Post-COVID, this should concern health professionals, policy makers and the broader community.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/toxic-work-cultures-start-with-incivility-and-mediocre-leadership-what-can-you-do-about-it-204198">Toxic work cultures start with incivility and mediocre leadership. What can you do about it?</a>
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<h2>Leaving the industry</h2>
<p>The 2023 <a href="https://umbrella.org.nz/umbrellawellbeingreport/">Umbrella Wellbeing</a> report, which recorded New Zealanders’ perceptions of their workplaces and wellbeing, warns that long working hours and poor workplace cultures have adverse health outcomes, with New Zealand faring worse than Australia. </p>
<p>Nearly one in ten of the chefs surveyed suffered mental distress. Results showed high levels of physical and mental fatigue (“exhausted at work”, “emotionally drained”, “becoming disconnected”). </p>
<p>Respondents reported disrupted sleep and unhealthy lifestyles. Almost 15% of the sample consumed alcohol five or more days weekly, with 11.4% saying they had consumed hard drugs (LSD, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine or ecstasy) in the past year.</p>
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<p>One in five hospitality professionals experiences depression according to charity <a href="https://www.theburntchefproject.com/">The Burnt Chef Project</a>. In a spoken-word performance for the project, poet and writer Joe Bellman describes “defeated faces and lifeless eyes” behind the kitchen door, where “breaking the human spirit is just company policy”. </p>
<p>The majority of respondents said they were likely (with 20% extremely likely) to look for a new employer during the next year. Many of these new jobs will be outside hospitality (which is classified within the overall tourism sector).</p>
<p>Another <a href="https://aut.ac/hetangata">report</a> commissioned last year by the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) found a third of hospitality and tourism workers had high intentions of completely quitting the industries. Reasons included low pay and conditions, stress and toxic work environments.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/all-these-celebrity-restaurant-wage-theft-scandals-point-to-an-industry-norm-131286">All these celebrity restaurant wage-theft scandals point to an industry norm</a>
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<h2>Mental health and healthy hospo</h2>
<p>Maybe not surprisingly, our survey showed intention to quit a job declines with better management support. Failure to improve working conditions for chefs, however, will have lasting consequences for the industry. </p>
<p>The Better Work Action Plan, the first phase of New Zealand’s <a href="https://www.mbie.govt.nz/immigration-and-tourism/tourism/tourism-projects/tourism-industry-transformation-plan/">Tourism Industry Transformation Plan</a>, was launched by MBIE in 2023 under the previous government. It followed extensive consultation with representatives from hospitality and tourism, Māori, unions, workers and government. </p>
<p>Its aim was to develop a sustainable tourism workforce by addressing longstanding issues of low pay and poor conditions across the sector.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-did-abuse-get-baked-into-the-restaurant-industry-204993">How did abuse get baked into the restaurant industry?</a>
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<p>The first step involved hospitality and tourism workers receiving government approval to negotiate an <a href="https://thespinoff.co.nz/kai/31-05-2023/explained-hospitality-gets-the-fair-pay-agreement-green-light">industry-wide fair pay agreement</a>. However, the current coalition government immediately <a href="https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/22-12-2023/the-hard-won-and-swiftly-lost-dream-of-fair-pay-agreements">scrapped fair pay legislation</a>. </p>
<p>The Australian government’s post-COVID tourism recovery strategy, <a href="https://www.austrade.gov.au/en/how-we-can-help-you/programs-and-services/thrive-2030-strategy">THRIVE 2030</a>, has committed to “promote employment standards” regarding compliance obligations and fair work. If effective, these would address the breaches evident in our study.</p>
<p>The hospitality industry relies on young people actively choosing a culinary career. But <a href="https://www.mbie.govt.nz/business-and-employment/employment-and-skills/regional-skills-leadership-groups/tamaki-makaurau/regional-workforce-plans/regional-workforce-plan/our-economy-industry-and-business/services/">MBIE forecasts</a> show students are less likely to seek hospitality jobs given these problems in the sector. </p>
<p>By chance, however, New Zealand’s new <a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/minister/biography/matt-doocey#:%7E:text=Matt%20Doocey%20is%20the%20Minister,Waimakariri%20since%20the%202014%20election.">minister for mental health</a>, Matt Doocey, is also tourism and hospitality minister. It is now up to him to make the connection between his portfolios, and work to reduce the heat in the nation’s commercial kitchens.</p>
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<p><em>The authors acknowledge the assistance of the AUT Hospitable Futures Research Fund.</em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224862/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Stress, poor pay and job insecurity are driving professional chefs away from the hospitality industry in Australia and New Zealand. Tourism is also feeling the impact of the looming skill shortage.Shelagh K. Mooney, Associate Professor, School of Hospitality & Tourism, Faculty of Culture and Society, Auckland University of TechnologyMatthew Brenner, Lecturer, The Hotel School Australia, Southern Cross UniversityRichard Robinson, Associate Professor, School of Business, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2242572024-02-28T19:11:15Z2024-02-28T19:11:15ZThere is a knowledge gap around menstruation in NZ – and this puts people at risk<p>New Zealand girls and young women, as well as nonbinary persons who bleed every month, have a limited understanding of menstruation. This lack of knowledge about their own bodies is affecting their overall health and wellbeing. </p>
<p>Our ongoing research, currently under peer review, looks at the menstrual health literacy of premenopausal females between 20 and 34 years old (in this article the term “female” is used to refer to individuals with the reproductive organs and hormones that enable menstruation. However, the authors do acknowledge that sex is not binary). We examined how people understood the purpose of hormonal changes and health outcomes (acute and long-term) associated with the menstrual cycle.</p>
<p>The results are concerning in a country where more than half the population is female, and where health education <a href="https://hpe.tki.org.nz/health-and-physical-education-in-the-curriculum/">starts in the first year of school</a>. </p>
<p>But this lack of knowledge is not just a health issue. Anxiety over menstruation, what is normal and what isn’t, spills over to every element of a person’s life, affecting participation in activities such as sport, work, and school. </p>
<p>If New Zealand wants to encourage equal participation in life, then we need to start by properly educating females about how their bodies work. </p>
<h2>A lack of general understanding</h2>
<p>We used a 25-question survey to test menstrual cycle literacy. The questions were divided into four categories: the menstrual cycle, menstruation, symptoms and health outcomes. The final online survey was shared online and completed by 203 females aged 16-40 years. </p>
<p>We found the overall knowledge score for functional menstrual health literacy was low (less than 50%). This means more than half of menstruating individuals may not have an understanding of how hormones within their body can affect them and what symptoms are associated with menstrual cycle changes or disruption. </p>
<p>In particular, we have found a gap in knowledge around the second key hormone governing a person’s menstrual health. While respondents were familiar with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538260/">estrogen</a> and its effects on the body, few were aware of how the second <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK558960/">key reproductive hormone progesterone</a> affects their bodies.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-rags-and-pads-to-the-sanitary-apron-a-brief-history-of-period-products-203451">From rags and pads to the sanitary apron: a brief history of period products</a>
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<p>Progesterone is a key hormone for fertility and has roles in maintaining bone health, body fluid regulation and body temperature. It is also the first hormone to change when there is a subtle menstrual cycle disruption.</p>
<p>Failing to understand the importance of this hormone means most females are unaware of how to identify these subtle disruptions. They would most likely miss a lot of the initial warning signals from their body.</p>
<p>Approximately 38% of survey respondents were not aware of what is considered a normal length of the menstrual cycle. This may be associated with increased stress and anxiety commonly experienced with the “unexpected” arrival of their period.</p>
<p>Interestingly, we noted that females tended to score higher on questions where they could use or refer to personal experience (for example, menstrual cycle symptoms and menstruation).</p>
<p>But even here only 50% of females could correctly quantify normal or heavy menstrual blood loss values. Only 10% knew of the changes to cervical mucous that occur with ovulation and are recommended for fertility tracking. </p>
<h2>Missing the danger signs</h2>
<p>The lowest health literacy was reported for the awareness of adverse health outcomes associated with menstrual cycle disruption. </p>
<p>The majority (65%) were unable to correctly identify adverse health and wellbeing outcomes. </p>
<p>High stress, dieting, substantial weight loss and over-training are factors that independently and cumulatively have been found to increase the risk of menstrual cycle disruptions. </p>
<p>These changes in the menstrual cycle will often result in increased gastrointestinal upset, decreased immune response – and in severe cases increase the risk of bone stress injuries. </p>
<p>But the majority (95%) of survey participants only selected “increased risk of bone stress injuries”, the most severe outcome. They were unable to identify any of the other common negative health outcomes that may present first. </p>
<p>It is not uncommon for females to see multiple health or medical professionals when they are concerned with their reproductive health. </p>
<p>The lack of knowledge about what is happening in their body means there can be diagnostic delays or lack of diagnosis. In New Zealand, the average time for a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35292715/">endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) diagnosis</a> is between two and eight years. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lydia-kos-time-of-the-month-comment-showed-how-far-sportswomen-have-come-and-how-much-still-has-to-change-182421">Lydia Ko’s 'time of the month' comment showed how far sportswomen have come – and how much still has to change</a>
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<p>Similarly, the majority of females were unable to identify all the factors that could affect the menstrual cycle. Most selected exercise as a key factor responsible for any menstrual cycle disruption. </p>
<p>As a result, most females reported that stopping exercise was what was needed to help menstrual cycle health. </p>
<p>This perception may be a contributing factor to the <a href="https://sportnz.org.nz/itsmymove/overview/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA5-uuBhDzARIsAAa21T9m5ud_9QUhsW9UO5v8C4yHVhsw1ML_vlUa3a-S-DfKXG_0sLrCEjgaAqa1EALw_wcB">participation in sports gap</a> between young females and males – rising from a 17% gap in sport activity per week at age 16 to a 28% gap at 17. </p>
<h2>Talking about what is (and isn’t) normal</h2>
<p>Our survey results show a pervasive knowledge gap in menstrual cycle health. Most females we surveyed were not aware of what is “normal” for their menstrual cycle, nor did they have a good understanding of the health outcomes associated with menstrual cycle disruptions. </p>
<p>There is a high risk that many females may have a poor quality of life, health and wellbeing due to not being able to access, understand or communicate menstrual health information when it is needed.</p>
<p>This ongoing research is the first step to understanding this pervasive knowledge gap in menstrual cycle health within New Zealand. More research is required to quantify menstrual health literacy in adolescent girls and peri- and post-menopausal women. </p>
<p>Understanding the gaps will give researchers, advocates and educators insight into where we can help improve this basic knowledge – and achieve better outcomes for all those who bleed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224257/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claire Badenhorst has received funding from the Health Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stacy T. Sims does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Education needs to address the big gaps in the knowledge around the menstrual cycles and the impact menstruation has on a wide range of health outcomes.Claire Badenhorst, Senior Lecturer, Massey UniversityStacy T. Sims, Associate research scientist, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2246252024-02-28T05:53:59Z2024-02-28T05:53:59ZWith the end of Newshub, the slippery slope just got steeper for NZ journalism and democracy<p>If journalism in Western democracies has been on a roller coaster in recent decades, in Aotearoa New Zealand this week it threatened to come right off the rails.</p>
<p>Today’s <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/350194958/live-newshub-set-close-end-june#tickaroo_event_id=emttUHDz5so955ycScnC">shocking announcement</a> by owners Warner Bros Discovery of the closure of <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home.html">Newshub</a> by the end of June will leave only state-owned TVNZ and Whakaata Māori providing public-interest, free-to-air broadcast news.</p>
<p>The impact on the country’s already shrinking and fragile public sphere will be considerable, as yet another tranche of sacked New Zealand journalists goes looking for work.</p>
<p>Up to 350 jobs will go, <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/media-insider-super-anxious-three-and-newshub-staff-called-to-11am-warner-bros-discovery-meeting/2OVBMDSPPRH2JFTVBFX6AU4S3Q/">about 200 of which are from the news operation</a>.</p>
<p>The brutal nature of the decision, and the apparent disregard for affected staff, echoes <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/entertainment/2023/03/today-fm-taken-off-air-thursday-morning-amid-rumours-the-station-is-being-shut-down.html">the closure last year</a> of Mediaworks’ Today FM radio station. It should be yet another wake-up call about the vulnerability of the country’s precious and struggling news media to global investment priorities.</p>
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<h2>Diversity and competition</h2>
<p>The news media is core infrastructure for a democracy. Any attempt at a self-governing society requires a well-informed and, to some degree, unified public.</p>
<p>Today, we understand this to mean media that act as the conduit for a significant plurality of voices, ideas and political arguments. And a healthy and diverse media ecosystem is required to enable this.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/closures-cuts-revival-and-rebirth-how-covid-19-reshaped-the-nz-media-landscape-in-2020-151020">Closures, cuts, revival and rebirth: how COVID-19 reshaped the NZ media landscape in 2020</a>
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<p>Yes, television is now less central to our wider, mobile-based news consumption. But to have just one prime-time mainstream television news service for the entire country is a disaster.</p>
<p>TVNZ on its own will not be able to reflect the complex, multicultural and socially diverse country New Zealand is. Neither will it have the competition essential to doing its best work on behalf of the public. </p>
<p>And yet, despite warnings sounded since the internet began to erode news media income, the public sphere has been left to the vagaries of global markets – even more than other socially critical sectors such as education and health.</p>
<h2>Loss of trust</h2>
<p>Discovery New Zealand <a href="https://businessdesk.co.nz/article/news-in-brief/three-owner-discovery-nz-loses-34m-in-2022">made after-tax losses</a> in 2022 of more than NZ$34 million, up $800,000 on the previous year. Hence the decision of its owner, global media behemoth Warner Bros Discovery, to take out another foundation of the already teetering local news industry.</p>
<p>Politicians murmur about how terrible it is, but argue they can do nothing to save Newshub. The impacts of that impotence are as significant as any other challenge the local media face.</p>
<p>Broadcasting minister Melissa Lee <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/350194958/live-newshub-set-close-end-june#tickaroo_event_id=emttUHDz5so955ycScnC">today said</a> there would be no loss of plurality in the national conversation because of the closure. She said most New Zealanders now get their news on mobile phones.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-winston-peters-right-to-call-state-funded-journalism-bribery-or-is-there-a-bigger-threat-to-democracy-218782">Is Winston Peters right to call state-funded journalism ‘bribery’ – or is there a bigger threat to democracy?</a>
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<p>But television news also relies on social media, not just the airwaves, for its dissemination. If people are looking on their phones for news, the stories from one of the country’s most impactful newsrooms will no longer be there.</p>
<p>Emergency funding through the government’s $55 million public-interest journalism fund helped during the pandemic lockdowns. But it also triggered allegations from right-wing pundits and politicians that the media <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-winston-peters-right-to-call-state-funded-journalism-bribery-or-is-there-a-bigger-threat-to-democracy-218782">had been bought</a>.</p>
<p>Research conducted at the Centre for Media, Journalism and Democracy (<a href="https://www.jmadresearch.com/">JMAD</a>) shows <a href="https://www.jmadresearch.com/trust-in-news-in-new-zealand">public trust in news is falling</a> dramatically in Aotearoa New Zealand. Early results from this work in 2024 show that decline is accelerating. </p>
<p>The reasons for this loss of trust are complex and are under further study at JMAD. Indeed, the news media itself must look long in the mirror as it works through its trust issues. How did it lose the audience <em>so badly</em>?</p>
<p>But any attempts at rebuilding that trust and its role in a functioning democracy will be futile if the public perceives the production of news to be now largely controlled by self-interested global corporates.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/let-them-watch-netflix-what-can-be-salvaged-from-the-wreckage-of-the-failed-tvnz-rnz-merger-199502">‘Let them watch Netflix’ – what can be salvaged from the wreckage of the failed TVNZ-RNZ merger?</a>
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<h2>Journalism as a public good</h2>
<p>Poor media literacy, active conspiracy theorists, and decades of underfunding of journalism have likely all contributed to the increasing rejection of mainstream news media.</p>
<p>However, it would be foolish to think trust in democratic media can be rebuilt when the industrial forces behind it have only a financialised interest. If news is the daily record of human life, how can it be left to something as remote and disinterested as a global corporation?</p>
<p>None of this is to say the mainstream media should be viewed as entirely trustworthy. Some scepticism of everything, including news, is healthy in a democracy. We need critically thinking and politically active citizens challenging many things, including mainstream media news agendas.</p>
<p>But those serious about democracy understand the mainstream is where society is anchored, stable and productive.</p>
<p>The dangers of an increasingly fragmented and reduced mainstream media are real. It includes leaving open ground for radicalised actors to occupy and facilitate further social disharmony. If things fall apart and the centre cannot hold, as the poet <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43290/the-second-coming">Yeats put it</a>, “mere anarchy is loosed upon the world”.</p>
<p>The time to restore journalism as a public good and not simply a plaything for shareholders and other investors is overdue. The news in Aotearoa New Zealand today simply confirms that.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224625/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Greg Treadwell is a former journalist who works at Auckland University of Technology and is a researcher in its Centre for Journalism, Media and Democracy. He is currently vice-president of the Journalism Education Association of New Zealand.</span></em></p>It’s been 35 years since Aotearoa New Zealand’s first private network brought real competition in the television news market. Yesterday Warner Bros Discovery announced an end to all that.Greg Treadwell, Senior Lecturer in Journalism, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2245032024-02-28T01:00:24Z2024-02-28T01:00:24ZLeap of imagination: how February 29 reminds us of our mysterious relationship with time and space<p>If you find it intriguing that February 28 will be followed this week by February 29, rather than March 1 as it usually is, spare a thought for those alive in 1582. Back then, Thursday October 4 was followed by Friday October 15.</p>
<p>Ten whole days were snatched from the present when Pope Gregory XIII issued a papal bull to “restore” the calendar from discrepancies that had crept into the Julian calendar, introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BCE.</p>
<p>The new Gregorian calendar returned the northern hemisphere’s vernal equinox to its “proper” place, around March 21. (The equinox is when the Earth’s axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun, and is used to determine the date of Easter.) </p>
<p>The Julian calendar had observed a leap year every four years, but this meant time had drifted out of alignment with the dates of celestial events and astronomical seasons. </p>
<p>In the Gregorian calendar, leap days were added only to years that were a multiple of four – like 2024 – with an exception for years that were evenly divisible by 100, but not 400 – like 1700.</p>
<p>Simply put, leap days exist because it doesn’t take a neat 365 days for Earth to orbit the Sun. It takes 365.2422 days. Tracking the movement of celestial objects through space in an orderly pattern doesn’t quite work, which is why we have February – time’s great mop.</p>
<h2>Time and space</h2>
<p>This is just part of the history of how February – the shortest month, and originally the last month in the Roman calendar – came to have the job of absorbing those inconsistencies in the temporal calculations of the world’s most commonly used calendar.</p>
<p>There is plenty of <a href="https://theconversation.com/leap-day-fixing-the-faults-in-our-stars-54032">science</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-science-behind-leap-years-and-how-they-work-54788">maths</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-a-seasonal-snarl-up-in-the-mid-1500s-gave-us-our-strange-rules-for-leap-years-132659">astrophysics</a> explaining the relationship between time and the planet we live on. But I like to think leap years and days offer something even more interesting to consider: why do we have calendars anyway?</p>
<p>And what have they got to do with how we understand the wonder and strangeness of our existence in the universe? Because calendars tell a story, not just about time, but also about space.</p>
<p>Our reckoning of time on Earth is through our spatial relationship to the Sun, Moon and stars. Time, and its place in our lives, sits somewhere between the scientific, the celestial and the spiritual. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-does-a-leap-year-have-366-days-218330">Why does a leap year have 366 days?</a>
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<p>It is <a href="https://shop.whitechapelgallery.org/products/time">notoriously slippery, subjective and experiential</a>. It is also marked, tracked and determined in myriad ways across different cultures, from tropical to solar to <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/300062097/matariki-and-the-maramataka-the-mori-lunar-calendar">lunar</a> calendars.</p>
<p>It is the Sun that measures a day and gives us our first reference point for understanding time. But it is the <a href="https://librarysearch.aut.ac.nz/vufind/Record/1145999?sid=25214690">Moon</a>, as a major celestial body, that extends our perception of time. By stretching a span of one day into something longer, it offers us a chance for philosophical reflection.</p>
<p>The Sun (or its effect at least) is either present or not present. The Moon, however, goes through phases of transformation. It appears and disappears, changing shape and hinting that one night is not exactly like the one before or after.</p>
<p>The Moon also has a distinct rhythm that can be tracked and understood as a pattern, giving us another sense of duration. Time is just that – overlapping durations: instants, seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades, lifetimes, centuries, ages.</p>
<h2>The elusive Moon</h2>
<p>It is almost impossible to imagine how time might feel in the absence of all the tools and gadgets we use to track, control and corral it. But it’s also hard to know what we might do in the absence of time as a unit of productivity – a measurable, dispensable resource.</p>
<p>The closest we might come is simply to imagine what life might feel like in the absence of the Moon. Each day would rise and fall, in a rhythm of its own, but without visible reference to anything else. Just endless shifts from light to dark.</p>
<p>Nights would be almost completely dark without the light of the Moon. Only stars at a much further distance would puncture the inky sky. The world around us would change – trees would grow, mammals would age and die, land masses would shift and change – but all would happen in an endless cycle of sunrise to sunset.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/scientists-are-hoping-to-redefine-the-second-heres-why-157645">Scientists are hoping to redefine the second – here's why</a>
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<p>The light from the Sun takes <a href="https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-science/how-take-light-from-sun-reach-earth">eight minutes</a> to reach Earth, so the sunlight we see is always eight minutes in the past. </p>
<p>I remember sitting outside when I first learned this, and wondering what the temporal delay might be between me and other objects: a plum tree, trees at the end of the street, hills in the distance, light on the horizon when looking out over the ocean, stars in the night sky.</p>
<p>Moonlight, for reference, takes about <a href="https://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/astronomy-topics/light-as-a-cosmic-time-machine.html">1.3 seconds</a> to get to Earth. Light always travels at the same speed, it is entirely constant. The differing duration between how long it takes for sunlight or moonlight to reach the Earth is determined by the space in between. </p>
<p>Time on the other hand, is anything but constant. There are countless ways we characterise it. The mere fact we have so many calendars and ways of describing perceptual time hints at our inability to pin it down. </p>
<p>Calendars give us the impression we can, and have, made time predictable and understandable. Leap years, days and seconds serve as a periodic reminder that we haven’t.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224503/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily O'Hara does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>2024 is a leap year, when the shortest month mops up a bit of leftover time. But the extra day also tells us about space – and our place in it.Emily O'Hara, Senior Lecturer, Spatial Design + Temporary Practices, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2229892024-02-27T18:00:31Z2024-02-27T18:00:31ZUnintended consequences of NZ’s COVID vaccine mandates must inform future pandemic policy – new research<p>During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, policy was being made in crisis management mode. Decisions had to be made faster than usual, and there was limited ability to undertake wider consultation and impact analysis.</p>
<p>Now the worst of the pandemic is over, we have the luxury of being able to reflect on what worked well and what didn’t. </p>
<p>One of the more controversial policies implemented during the height of the pandemic was the <a href="https://theconversation.com/vaccine-mandates-for-nzs-health-and-education-workers-are-now-in-force-but-has-the-law-got-the-balance-right-171392">vaccine mandates</a>. Thousands of workers across a range of professions had to get vaccinated to keep their jobs. </p>
<p>This mandate presented a trade-off between public health considerations and the right of individuals to refuse medical treatment and earn a living in their chosen profession.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://workresearch.aut.ac.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/867876/Vaccine-Mandates-Final-Version.pdf">research</a> looked at whether these vaccine mandates increased COVID-19 vaccination rates among these workers, and what their employment, earnings and workplace experiences were. </p>
<p>The stated purpose of the mandates was to increase vaccination rates among these workers to <a href="https://www.simpsongrierson.com/insights-news/legal-updates/the-end-of-vaccine-mandates">ensure the continuity</a> of public services. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-vaccines-dont-violate-the-nuremberg-code-heres-how-to-convince-the-doubters-171217">COVID vaccines don't violate the Nuremberg Code. Here's how to convince the doubters</a>
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<p>In reality, the mandates had limited effect on increasing vaccine uptake. But they had a substantive negative effect on the employment, earnings and wellbeing of unvaccinated health workers.</p>
<h2>The importance of choice</h2>
<p>Vaccination rates among healthcare, education and corrections workers were already high when the government announced the mandates in October 2021.</p>
<p>Almost 90% of healthcare workers and 86% of corrections workers had already received two doses of the vaccine. The share among education workers was somewhat lower (82%), but they also did not have early access to the vaccine. There were only six weeks between the vaccine becoming available to everyone over 12 years and the mandates being announced. </p>
<p>While vaccination rates among these mandated workers did increase after the mandates were announced, the data shows a continuation of an upward trend rather than a jump in uptake. </p>
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<p>It won’t surprise anyone that people don’t like being told what to do. And this appears to have some bearing on mandatory vaccine uptake. </p>
<p>One <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2118721119#:%7E:text=While%20fluid%2C%20opposition%20to%20vaccination,opposed%20if%20vaccination%20were%20mandated.">German survey</a> found just over 3% of people said they would not want the COVID-19 vaccination if it was voluntary. But more than 16% said they would not want to get vaccinated if it was mandatory. </p>
<p>A consequence of vaccine mandates is that they can erode trust in government and provoke more resistance. This erosion of trust could potentially <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-090419-102240">strengthen anti-vaccination sentiment</a> generally and reduce uptake, not just of COVID-19 vaccinations, but also other vaccines. </p>
<p>This outcome is especially concerning given research has found New Zealand’s <a href="https://workresearch.aut.ac.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/851555/Assessing-the-impact-of-the-COVID-19-pandemic-on-childhood-vaccine-uptake-with-integrated-administrative-data_revised-20240111.pdf;%20https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21645515.2023.2301626">routine childhood immunisation rates have decreased</a> since the pandemic. </p>
<h2>Earnings took a hit</h2>
<p>In addition to not causing a noticeable increase in vaccination rates, the mandates also had negative consequences for the employment and earnings of unvaccinated health workers. </p>
<p>Their employment rate fell by 15% and their earnings fell by 19%, compared with vaccinated health workers and those not subject to the mandates.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/parents-were-fine-with-sweeping-school-vaccination-mandates-five-decades-ago-but-covid-19-may-be-a-different-story-168899">Parents were fine with sweeping school vaccination mandates five decades ago – but COVID-19 may be a different story</a>
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<p>Even after the health worker mandates were lifted in September 2022, the employment and earnings of unvaccinated workers never fully recovered. </p>
<p>This exacerbated existing health worker shortages. Closed borders and a global shortage of healthcare workers meant fewer moved into the health sector compared with the number leaving. </p>
<h2>The trauma of being branded ‘anti-vax’</h2>
<p>The effect of the mandates on health workers also went beyond financial consequences. </p>
<p>Affected health workers talked to us about the loss and ongoing trauma they have experienced. Those opposed to mandates are often incorrectly labelled as “anti-vaxxers”, or even conspiracy theorists. </p>
<p>All health workers we spoke to were pro-vaccination, but had legitimate reasons for not completing, or struggling to complete, the required vaccinations. They had researched the vaccine and made informed decisions based on their circumstances. </p>
<p>Some health workers pointed out that the case for mandates was not strong based on available evidence. While the vaccine reduces symptom severity, its ability to prevent transmission is <a href="https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/bioe.13141">currently limited</a>. </p>
<p>As one health worker said: </p>
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<p>I looked at the Australian data and couldn’t see the logic of me potentially being exposed to another vaccine where my potential benefit was so low […] the evidence wasn’t really strong.</p>
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<p>Some workers had health conditions that put them at elevated risk from the vaccine. Or they had a history of adverse reactions to vaccines. But the mandates meant they either had to get vaccinated, sometimes against their doctors’ advice, or lose their jobs. While some medical exemptions were available, the threshold for these was very high.</p>
<p>In addition, even those with medical exemptions faced stigma. One health worker who got an exemption after suffering a stroke following their vaccination, described people’s reaction upon showing them the exemption.</p>
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<p>That look on people’s faces, it was disgust […] it was really, really awful. </p>
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<p>As another health worker explained:</p>
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<p>We’re supposed to be a caring profession. Nothing about this is caring […] Due to no fault of my own, I have now been labelled an anti-vaxxer and anti-science, and in some people’s opinion, not worthy of calling myself a nurse. This hurts me immensely. This is what mandates have done. There is no room for individual circumstances.</p>
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<p>The people we spoke with said they lost their sense of control, and it eroded their trust in the health system and government. </p>
<h2>The risk of mandates</h2>
<p>What does this tell us about the use of vaccine mandates during future pandemics? </p>
<p>In the context of high voluntary compliance, mandates should be used judiciously. Mandating something is not always the most effective way to get people to do something for the greater good. </p>
<p>During the COVID-19 pandemic, a strong motivator for vaccination was the “feel-good” factor of knowing you were protecting yourself and others. </p>
<p>Ironically, the increase in distrust that resulted from the use of mandates in the COVID-19 pandemic may actually lower voluntary vaccine uptake in future pandemics.</p>
<p>As one health worker summed it up:</p>
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<p>Someone who’s been vaccinated badly, the trauma of that – it’s not just them, it’s their entire social circle, it’s their entire whānau. You’re seeding distrust in the health system, not just for COVID vaccinations, but the whole system, everything to do with medicine and the whole immunisation programme […] if there’s a policy that’s as big as a mandate for a whole population or health professionals, you really need to think about what are the unintended consequences.</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222989/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This research received funding from the Ministry of Health.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Denise Wilson, Gail Pacheco, and Lisa Meehan do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Mandates were meant to ensure continuity of public services during the pandemic. But a new study suggests they had limited impact on vaccination rates, while significantly hurting careers and eroding trust.Jan Dewar, Head of Nursing, Auckland University of TechnologyDenise Wilson, Associate Dean Māori Advancement | Professor Māori Health, Auckland University of TechnologyGail Pacheco, Professor of Economics, Director of the NZ Work Research Institute, Auckland University of TechnologyLisa Meehan, Deputy Director, NZ Work Research Institute, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2224852024-02-21T03:28:12Z2024-02-21T03:28:12ZTaiwan’s Indigenous languages are under threat – what can NZ learn from their successes and failures?<p>There has been a <a href="https://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/server/api/core/bitstreams/7463c742-7737-4e91-af20-5ed32da53aad/content">global push to revitalise Indigenous languages</a> since the late 1980s. </p>
<p>Aotearoa New Zealand has been at the <a href="https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/maori-language-week/history-of-the-maori-language">forefront of revitalisation efforts</a>, earning the admiration of campaigners in other countries, including Taiwan. </p>
<p>Te reo Māori became an official language in 1987. Immersion education is an option for students alongside dedicated Māori news media. Te reo Māori is also increasingly used in mainstream schools, universities and public life. </p>
<p>But the work is not finished. Academics and campaigners have expressed concerns <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/118654781/te-reo-mori-on-a-pathway-towards-extinction">te reo Māori could still go extinct by 2100</a>. And the current government has made moves to <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/504025/government-s-move-to-discourage-use-of-te-reo-maori-backwards-disappointing-hipkins-says">discourage the use of te reo Māori</a> in official spheres.</p>
<p>New Zealand can learn from the successes and difficulties of countries like Taiwan. The colonial language (Mandarin Chinese) has had dominance in Taiwan for generations, despite efforts to save threatened Indigenous languages, cultures and identities. </p>
<p>The answer for Taiwan – and New Zealand – may lie in supporting the work of grassroots campaigners instead of relying on the government.</p>
<h2>The colonisation of Taiwan</h2>
<p>Taiwan has 16 Indigenous groups – making up around 2% of the island’s 23.5 million population. Each group has <a href="https://www.cip.gov.tw/en/index.html?cumid=B54B5C7E1E0F994092EDA9D0B7048931">its own unique language and culture</a>. These languages are believed to be the <a href="https://theconversation.com/linguistics-locates-the-beginnings-of-the-austronesian-expansion-with-indigenous-seafaring-people-in-eastern-taiwan-186547">root of the Austronesian language family</a>, encompassing te reo Māori, Hawaiian and several Pacific languages.</p>
<p>The island of Taiwan was governed by mainland China for hundreds of years before being ruled by Japan between the late 19th century and the end of the second world war. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/reviving-indigenous-languages-not-as-easy-as-it-seems-68977">Reviving Indigenous languages – not as easy as it seems</a>
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<p>Taiwan became the home of the Kuomintang (KMT) – the Chinese Nationalist government – after the faction lost <a href="https://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/topics/chinese-civil-war-1946-1950">China’s civil war in 1949</a>. The KMT implemented martial law and a Chinese-only language policy. It had a significant impact on the survival of Indigenous languages. </p>
<p>This policy disrupted the sharing of these languages within families, leading to their rapid decline. Mandarin Chinese became the dominant language for communication in all social domains. </p>
<p>While Taiwan was presented to the world as the “democratic China”, there was no democratically elected president until 1996. The election of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/24/world/taiwan-s-leader-wins-its-election-and-a-mandate.html">President Lee Teng-hui</a> marked the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304755267_Taiwanization_in_Taiwan's_Politics">start of the “Taiwanisation” movement</a>.</p>
<p>In 2016, <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-president-makes-first-formal-apology-taiwans-indigenous-peoples-180959990/">Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen issued a formal apology</a> to the Indigenous peoples on behalf of the government for “four centuries of pain and mistreatment … indigenous peoples’ languages suffered great losses” . </p>
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<h2>The revitalisation of Taiwan’s languages</h2>
<p>While Indigenous peoples welcomed the gesture, the effectiveness of government measures to revitalise Taiwan’s original tongues remains in question.</p>
<p>Taiwan has introduced a series of policies dedicated to bolstering the revitalisation of Indigenous languages. These efforts started with the <a href="https://law.moj.gov.tw/ENG/LawClass/LawHistory.aspx?pcode=H0020037">Education Act for Indigenous Peoples</a> in 1988 and culminated in the most recent <a href="https://www.moc.gov.tw/en/cp.aspx?n=412">Development of National Languages Act</a> in 2019. </p>
<p>These laws look good on paper and reflect the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/josl.12630">government’s inclusion of Indigenous peoples</a> as a key part of national Taiwanese identity.</p>
<p>However, linguistic analysis of the policies show that ideologically they act to say “we are not China” rather than creating a positive, long-term framework for language revitalisation. The Education Act, for example, introduced “mother-tongue” classes (classes to teach one of the Indigenous languages). </p>
<p>But these classes are plagued by the question: whose mother tongue gets taught? </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/linguistics-locates-the-beginnings-of-the-austronesian-expansion-with-indigenous-seafaring-people-in-eastern-taiwan-186547">Linguistics locates the beginnings of the Austronesian expansion – with Indigenous seafaring people in eastern Taiwan</a>
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<p>By the time these classes were introduced, the vast majority of Indigenous families were speaking Mandarin Chinese in the home, the <a href="https://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/server/api/core/bitstreams/7463c742-7737-4e91-af20-5ed32da53aad/content">single most important domain for inter-generational transmission of language</a>. </p>
<p>Even with the Indigenous Language Development Act in 2017, Indigenous languages continue to decline. A <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000187026">2010 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) report</a> identified six of Taiwan’s Indigenous languages as “critically endangered” and others as “rapidly in decline”. </p>
<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-981-10-3899-0_11">Very few Taiwanese can claim fluency</a> in any of the Indigenous languages, particularly those with a limited number of speakers, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/29736885_Chapter_6_Documenting_and_Revitalizing_Kavalan">such as Kavalan</a>.</p>
<p>Research shows the usual problems of not enough teachers and materials are a smokescreen. The real problem is the pervasive use of Mandarin Chinese in all facets of Taiwanese life and the failure of “mother-tongue classes” to provide any sort of fluency.</p>
<h2>Reclaiming indigeneity</h2>
<p>What can Aotearoa New Zealand learn from Taiwan’s experience? </p>
<p>Firstly, it is clear policies might just be words if the government isn’t honest about its intentions. <a href="https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/fass/journals/cadaad/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Vol11.2-6-Ting.pdf">One study</a> found that while the policies are technically for language revitalisation, they are really about enhancing Taiwan’s international reputation and avoiding direct opposition to the one-China ideology.</p>
<p>Additionally, it’s not simple for many Taiwanese Indigenous people to “decolonise” because their families and histories are deeply connected to Taiwan’s past. There’s been intermarriage, urbanisation, relocation and even coercion. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-decolonisation-131455">Explainer: what is decolonisation?</a>
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<p>But what Indigenous communities can do is “recolonise indigeneity” by <a href="https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/35478/chapter-abstract/303898417?redirectedFrom=fulltext">establishing grassroot language revitalisation efforts</a>, continuing <a href="https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/creating-space-and-fulfilling-responsibility-indigenous-language-transmission">Indigenous journalism and television productions</a> and <a href="https://www.tekaharoa.com/index.php/tekaharoa/article/view/252/232">creating Indigenous art and creative spaces</a>. </p>
<p>Indigenous communities also need to be part of policy-making and participants in all political and cultural domains.</p>
<p>Undoubtedly, Indigenous people and their language contribute to national identities. Taiwanese Indigenous people aren’t Chinese, but the question arises – are they Taiwanese? What matters most to them is <a href="https://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/items/e95cea0e-97db-448c-839e-8c94e2bad85e">being recognised as “Indigenous Taiwanese”</a>, standing alongside their non-Indigenous counterparts.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222485/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chien Ju Ting does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The indigenous languages of Taiwan are struggling in the face of Chinese dominance. The answer to language revitalisation could lie in grassroots efforts rather than government legislation.Chien Ju Ting, Research Fellow, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2236272024-02-14T23:35:14Z2024-02-14T23:35:14ZEnding legal aid for cultural reports at sentencing may only make court hearings longer and costlier<p>The government’s move to remove legal aid funding for what are commonly known as <a href="https://www.culturalreports.nz/for-defendants">cultural reports</a> at sentencing has been <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/prime-minister-christopher-luxon-fronts-media-as-clock-ticks-on-100-day-plan/TPUOCXQ73ZH7FKX3FDLTLN5T4U/">wrapped up in rhetoric</a> about restoring “personal responsibility”, reducing “discounts” or “reductions” on sentences, and <a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/government-law-and-order-crackdown-begins">saving money</a>.</p>
<p>This may be popular, even populist, but it carries the risk of not achieving any of those purported goals. In fact, court hearings may become longer and more expensive.</p>
<p>To understand why, we need to look at the entire process of sentencing. It is governed by the <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2002/0009/latest/DLM135342.html">Sentencing Act 2002</a>, which requires judges to take into account many factors when considering a sentence.</p>
<p>Based on the facts of a case, judges must decide on the purpose of sentencing. For example, should it be for punishment, deterrence or rehabilitation? </p>
<p>Judges must also take into account various principles, including the seriousness of the offence, the defendant’s level of culpability, and any circumstances that make a sentence particularly severe.</p>
<p>There are also various aggravating and mitigating factors, such as the motive for the offence, the level of planning, and whether the defendant has any intellectual restrictions.</p>
<h2>What judges must take into account</h2>
<p>Take a simple offence such as shoplifting. There is a difference between someone who shoplifts expensive items to sell them, and so is in the business of shoplifting, and someone who steals food for their family. </p>
<p>Even within the former group, there is a difference between someone who has been persuaded to be involved because they are suggestible, and someone who has no such impairment.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rule-of-law-is-fundamental-to-a-free-society-so-why-dont-nz-courts-always-uphold-it-217556">The rule of law is fundamental to a free society – so why don’t NZ courts always uphold it?</a>
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<p>Judges also need to be aware of the likely effect of a sentence. Will a person be particularly vulnerable in prison, for instance? Will prison lead to a cycle of re-offending, maybe from gang recruitment? Is there any other action more likely to prevent re-offending? </p>
<p>In short, judges need a lot of information to help reach a proper sentence. This may have to come from experts, including reports from psychiatrists or psychologists when there is a mental health or impairment issue, as is often the case. </p>
<p>Similarly, reports about alcohol or drug use that cause a disproportionate amount of offending can be introduced from relevant specialists.</p>
<h2>Reasons for offending</h2>
<p>Probation officers are one source of information under <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2002/0009/latest/DLM135581.html">section 26</a> of the Sentencing Act. They may provide material relating to the cultural and social circumstances of an offender and make recommendations. </p>
<p>But probation officers have limits: they may not have much time and may not have the necessary expertise. This is where <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2002/0009/latest/DLM135583.html">section 27</a> of the Sentencing Act comes in. It provides for an additional source of this information, which has been available for almost 40 years. </p>
<p>When parliament passed the <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1985/0120/latest/whole.html">Criminal Justice Act 1985</a>, section 16 allowed a request for the court to hear from someone about a person’s “ethnic or cultural background”, how that might be relevant to the reason for offending, and how it might help avoid further offending. Any offender could use this provision. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nzs-new-government-is-getting-tough-on-gangs-but-all-the-necessary-laws-already-exist-217557">NZ's new government is getting tough on gangs – but all the necessary laws already exist</a>
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<p>When the Sentencing Act 2002 was introduced, this provision was continued and expanded. The offender may now ask for someone to address their “personal, family, whanau, community, and cultural background”. </p>
<p>More particularly, they can address how that might have been part of the offending, how it might be relevant to any sentence, and how support might help prevent further offending. Again, any offender can use this provision. </p>
<p>Its significance is underlined by the provision that the court can only refuse to hear the information if “special reasons” make it “unnecessary or inappropriate”. And if no request is made, the judge may suggest it.</p>
<h2>The right to a fair trial</h2>
<p>To be clear, there is no proposal to remove this long-standing right to use section 27 reports. The only proposal is that legal aid will not fund them. </p>
<p>It is true that the cost to legal aid has risen significantly in recent years. But this is partly because it has been clarified that legal aid was the correct funding mechanism for cultural reports. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealands-legal-aid-crisis-is-eroding-the-right-to-justice-thats-unacceptable-in-a-fair-society-171663">New Zealand's legal aid crisis is eroding the right to justice – that's unacceptable in a fair society</a>
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<p>The Ministry of Justice used to pay for them because they were considered a court report. But this was stopped and the reports became a <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/106498201/ministry-stops-funding-court-reports-that-examine-cultural-context-of-crimes">disbursement for legal aid</a>. </p>
<p>Also, senior judges have been clear these reports can contain useful information, meaning other judges have become more willing to consider them. The fundamental right to a fair trial includes a fair sentencing hearing, with the judge having all information that is useful. </p>
<h2>Shifting costs elsewhere</h2>
<p>Without legal aid funding for section 27 reports, then, what will happen? Obviously, those rich enough not to rely on legal aid will be able to use them. </p>
<p>On one level, therefore, there will be an additional barrier to equal justice for those who are poorer. Since Māori make up over 50% of the prison population, this inequity will also have an ethnic component.</p>
<p>But this obvious unfairness is something judges and lawyers will try to avoid. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/10-is-too-young-to-be-in-court-nz-should-raise-the-minimum-age-of-criminal-responsibility-188969">10 is too young to be in court – NZ should raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility</a>
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<p>Defence lawyers have a professional responsibility to make sure all relevant information is put before the court. If this cannot come in the form of a report prepared by someone with the relevant expertise, the lawyer will have to look elsewhere.</p>
<p>So, we can expect lawyers to ask other experts, including drug counsellors or psychiatrists, to collate and include relevant information. </p>
<p>Lawyers may also request information from child welfare agency Oranga Tamariki, or from medical notes, to collate and put before a judge. Expect more oral evidence to be called – from social workers who might have had a role in the offender’s background, for example. </p>
<p>In short, expect longer court hearings and more time put in by lawyers. This will potentially cost a lot more than any savings to legal aid from not funding section 27 reports.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223627/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kris Gledhill is currently working on a project relating to the Sentencing Act 2002 the expenses for which are funded by the Borrin Foundation. He is also a co-opted member of the Criminal Bar Association's Executive Committee. The views expressed in this article are his own. </span></em></p>The right to a fair trial means cutting the funding of cultural reports will simply shift the burden. Lawyers will find other ways to put the same information before a judge.Kris Gledhill, Professor of Law, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2229952024-02-12T02:20:48Z2024-02-12T02:20:48ZA slide in global corruption rankings is bad for ‘Brand NZ’ – what can the government do?<p>In 2010, then US secretary of state Hillary Clinton <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/clinton-nz-punches-way-above-its-weight/IIL2CO557CQ7WFK7WVJHJRFH7U/">famously described</a> New Zealand as a country that “punches way above its weight”. She was referring to our role in international relations, global security and natural disaster responses. But she was also talking about the country’s international reputation for being clean, green, safe and honest.</p>
<p>New Zealand has long enjoyed the economic and reputational benefits of these attributes. But recent rankings measuring the country’s international influence, transparency and corruption have started to tell a different story.</p>
<p>Between 2021 and 2023, New Zealand dropped ten places – from 16 to 26 – on the <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/03/new-zealand-takes-another-plunge-in-global-soft-power-rankings.html">Global Soft Power Index</a>. This measures a country’s influence abroad (among nation states, societies and international corporations) through its use of non-coercive measures.</p>
<p>Also, for the first time in a decade, New Zealand has <a href="https://www.transparency.org.nz/blog/new-zealands-score-slips-in-latest-corruption-perceptions-index-now-ranked-third">dropped to third place</a> in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI), which <a href="https://www.transparency.org/en/news/how-cpi-scores-are-calculated">measures perceived levels</a> of corruption in the public sector. </p>
<p>That puts New Zealand five points below Denmark in first spot, and two below Finland. What’s going on, and what are the political and economic implications?</p>
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<h2>Brand New Zealand</h2>
<p>According to the 2023 Anholt-Ipsos <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/en/nation-brands-index-2023">Nation Brand Index</a>, New Zealand is the 14th most valuable country brand in the world, valued at close to <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/130054566/new-zealands-brand-worth-440-billion-but-what-exactly-is-brand-nz">half a trillion New Zealand dollars</a> in 2022 by brand valuation and strategy company Brand Finance.</p>
<p>Indeed, “Brand New Zealand” – a carefully crafted and closely curated mix of national storytelling, strategic marketing and cross-sector investment – was a key driver behind the NZ$68.7 billion in exports of goods in 2023. On top of that, it drives a large part of the NZ$15 billion spent by tourists, and NZ$6 billion generated by overseas students.</p>
<p>Brand New Zealand is a precious commodity in its own right, which has taken many decades to build. But it can be quickly squandered, particularly through poor governance.</p>
<p>Enjoying levels of trust in public institutions <a href="https://ogp.org.nz/latest-news/ogpnz-26-july-2022-update-latest-trust-and-confidence-results">above the OECD average</a> has meant New Zealand takes pride in being recognised among the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/02/these-are-the-20-least-corrupt-countries-on-earth/">least corrupt countries</a> around the world.</p>
<p>The corruption ranking in turn affects the cost of accessing finance by countries, which eventually trickles down to household mortgages. It also influences public policies, public and private investment decisions, and market entry decisions by international firms (such as Ikea and Amazon).</p>
<p>Since 2014, New Zealand has dropped six points in its CPI score, three times more than Denmark or Finland. That’s not a trend we’d want to see continue.</p>
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<h2>Perceptions matter</h2>
<p>Corruption, defined as the misuse of authority for personal or organisational gain, reflects illegal activities which are purposefully hidden from the public and uncovered only through investigation, persecution or when a scandal erupts.</p>
<p>The CPI is based on expert assessment and opinion surveys from many different corruption studies by reputable global institutions, including the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, and the Economist Intelligence Unit.</p>
<p>A higher CPI score implies a lower level of perceived corruption. The aggregation of different indices makes the CPI more reliable than any single source.</p>
<p>New Zealand’s country credit risk rating – measured by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and which represents the single largest component of a country’s CPI score – has not dropped (yet). </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/return-of-the-consultocracy-how-cutting-public-service-jobs-to-save-costs-usually-backfires-218990">Return of the ‘consultocracy’ – how cutting public service jobs to save costs usually backfires</a>
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<p>But its two-point CPI slide from 87 to 85 is driven by perceptions among business leaders, as captured by the most recent World Economic Forum’s executive opinion survey taken in August 2023.</p>
<p>The survey asks those leaders to report on any pressures to make undocumented extra payments or bribes, and instances of untoward diversion of public funds to groups, firms or individuals.</p>
<p>CEO of Transparency International New Zealand, Julie Haggie, <a href="https://www.transparency.org.nz/blog/new-zealands-score-slips-in-latest-corruption-perceptions-index-now-ranked-third">attributes the 2023 drop</a> in business leaders’ confidence to three specific factors:</p>
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<li><p>several high-profile cases of COVID-19 subsidy fraud and tax evasion by businesses</p></li>
<li><p>the government’s insufficient response to a rise in scamming, as well as a lack of transparency around government spending on outside consultation contracts and infrastructure projects</p></li>
<li><p>and a heightened focus on appropriate spending of public funds during a cost-of-living crisis when most New Zealanders are doing it tough.</p></li>
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<h2>Trust in government</h2>
<p>New Zealand’s CPI score (85) still warrants an A grade. But the long-term slide should not be ignored. We need to understand it as part of a <a href="https://www.transparency.org/en/news/cpi-2023-asia-pacific-stagnation-due-to-inadequate-anti-corruption-commitments">wider trend</a> of stagnation across the Asia Pacific. </p>
<p>In 2023, the region received a failing grade, with an average CPI score of just 45 – dragged down by North Korea (CPI: 17), Myanmar (20) and Afghanistan (20). </p>
<p>Transparency International also highlighed the “slow decline” of top performing countries in the region – New Zealand, followed by Singapore (CPI: 83), Australia and Hong Kong (both 75). </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-ranking-in-global-anti-corruption-index-remains-steady-but-shows-we-cannot-be-complacent-222259">Australia's ranking in global anti-corruption index remains steady – but shows we cannot be complacent</a>
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<p>New Zealand’s latest CPI score may not yet reflect any erosion of public trust brought on by the coalition government’s <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/the-detail/story/2018923991/the-treaty-of-waitangi-articles-principles-changes">policies around revisiting</a> the Treaty of Waitangi principles. But it must still be mindful of the fragility of general trust in public institutions and the government. </p>
<p>Damaging that trust can have unintended consequences for our international reputation. It could <a href="https://theconversation.com/perceptions-of-corruption-are-growing-in-australia-and-its-costing-the-economy-176562">potentially cost</a> the country thousands of jobs, drive away talent, and dampen export growth.</p>
<p>There is a tension here, too. Cutting public spending by between 6.5% and 7.5%, as government agencies have been <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/507659/the-public-service-agencies-asked-to-cut-spending">told to do</a>, may be viewed positively by business leaders. But it can also erode public trust in government.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/artificial-intelligence-and-corporate-social-responsibility-can-strengthen-anti-corruption-efforts-177883">Artificial intelligence and corporate social responsibility can strengthen anti-corruption efforts</a>
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<h2>Turning the trend around</h2>
<p>To halt or reverse the slide, New Zealand might look to Australia. While it placed 14th in the latest Transparency International ranking (with a CPI score of 75), Australia has gained two points under the Albanese Labor government.</p>
<p>This <a href="https://theconversation.com/after-a-decade-of-decline-australia-is-back-on-the-rise-in-a-global-anti-corruption-ranking-198305">marked a turnaround</a> in previously declining CPI scores. It was driven by the establishment of a new federal anti-corruption commission, and significant changes to whistle-blowing protection.</p>
<p>As New Zealanders learn about the sometimes messy inner power dynamics of a three-way coalition, one thing is clear: the government would be wise to assure the domestic and international public that there is no risk of state capture by specific interest groups, such as tobacco, the military industrial complex, or foreign property developers.</p>
<p>State capture by vested interest groups is a form of public corruption and would likely significantly affect New Zealand’s declining CPI score. Again, public perceptions count as much as reality in such cases.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222995/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matevz (Matt) Raskovic does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New Zealand has dropped six points on the main global index of perceived corruption. To turn that around, the government must guard against state capture by vested interests.Matevz (Matt) Raskovic, Associate Professor of International Business & Strategy, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2219792024-02-11T19:05:40Z2024-02-11T19:05:40ZA new emergency procedure for cardiac arrests aims to save more lives – here’s how it works<p>As of January this year, Aotearoa New Zealand became just the second country (after Canada) to adopt a groundbreaking new procedure for patients experiencing cardiac arrest.</p>
<p>Known as “double sequential external defibrillation” (<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9907872/">DSED</a>), it will change initial emergency response strategies and potentially improve survival rates for some patients.</p>
<p>Surviving cardiac arrest hinges crucially on effective resuscitation. When the heart is working normally, electrical pulses travel through its muscular walls creating regular, co-ordinated contractions.</p>
<p>But if normal electrical rhythms are disrupted, heartbeats can become unco-ordinated and ineffective, or cease entirely, leading to cardiac arrest.</p>
<p>Defibrillation is a cornerstone resuscitation method. It gives the heart a powerful electric shock to terminate the abnormal electrical activity. This allows the heart to re-establish its regular rhythm.</p>
<p>Its success hinges on the underlying dysfunctional heart rhythm and the proper positioning of the defibrillation pads that deliver the shock. The new procedure will provide a second option when standard positioning is not effective.</p>
<h2>Using two defibrillators</h2>
<p>During standard defibrillation, one pad is placed on the right side of the chest just below the collarbone. A second pad is placed below the left armpit. Shocks are given every two minutes.</p>
<p>Early defibrillation can dramatically <a href="https://pardot.stjohn.org.nz/l/182252/2023-02-08/63fwb2/182252/1675908603ZVeUnZBf/Hato_Hone_St_John_OHCA_Summary_Feb23.pdf">improve the likelihood</a> of surviving a cardiac arrest. However, around 20% of patients whose cardiac arrest is caused by “<a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/ventricular-fibrillation">ventricular fibrillation</a>” or “<a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23254-pulseless-ventricular-tachycardia">pulseless ventricular tachycardia</a>” do not respond to the standard defibrillation approach. Both conditions are characterised by abnormal activity in the heart ventricles.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cardiac-arrests-in-young-people-what-causes-them-and-can-they-be-prevented-or-treated-a-heart-expert-explains-163276">Cardiac arrests in young people — what causes them and can they be prevented or treated? A heart expert explains</a>
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<p>DSED is a novel method that provides rapid sequential shocks to the heart using two defibrillators. The pads are attached in two different locations: one on the front and side of the chest, the other on the front and back.</p>
<p>A single operator activates the defibrillators in sequence, with one hand moving from the first to the second. According to a recent <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36342151/">randomised trial</a> in Canada, this approach could more than double the chances of survival for patients with ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia who are not responding to standard shocks.</p>
<p>The second shock is thought to improve the chances of eliminating persistent abnormal electrical activity. It delivers more total energy to the heart, travelling along a different pathway closer to the heart’s left ventricle.</p>
<h2>Evidence of success</h2>
<p>New Zealand ambulance data from 2020 to 2023 identified about 1,390 people who could potentially benefit from novel defibrillation methods. This group has a current survival rate of only 14%.</p>
<p>Recognising the potential for DSED to dramatically improve survival for these patients, the National Ambulance Sector Clinical Working Group updated the <a href="https://cpg.stjohn.org.nz/tabs/guidelines">clinical procedures and guidelines</a> for emergency medical services personnel.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/arrested-development-can-we-improve-cardiac-arrest-survival-in-hospitals-100079">Arrested development: Can we improve cardiac arrest survival in hospitals?</a>
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<p>The guidelines now specify that if ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia persist after two shocks with standard defibrillation, the DSED method should be administered. Two defibrillators need to be available, and staff must be trained in the new approach.</p>
<p>Though the existing evidence for DSED is compelling, until recently it was based on theory and a small number of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0300957220302446?via%3Dihub">potentially biased observational studies</a>. The Canadian trial was the first to directly compare DSED to standard treatment.</p>
<p>From a total of 261 patients, 30.4% treated with this strategy survived, compared to 13.3% when standard resuscitation protocols were followed.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00134-023-06993-1.pdf">design of the trial</a> minimised the risk of other factors confounding results. It provides confidence that survival improvements were due to the defibrillation approach and not regional differences in resources and training.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-pacemakers-and-defibrillators-work-a-cardiologist-explains-how-they-interact-with-the-electrical-system-of-the-heart-217429">How do pacemakers and defibrillators work? A cardiologist explains how they interact with the electrical system of the heart</a>
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<p>The study also corroborates and builds on existing theoretical and clinical scientific evidence. As the trial was stopped early due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the researchers could recruit fewer than half of the numbers planned for the study.</p>
<p>Despite these and other limitations, the international group of experts that advises on best practice for resuscitation <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37937881/">updated its recommendations</a> in 2023 in response to the trial results. It suggested (with caution) that emergency medical services consider DSED for patients with ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia who are not responding to standard treatment.</p>
<h2>Training and implementation</h2>
<p>Although the evidence is still emerging, implementation of DSED by emergency services in New Zealand has implications beyond the care of patients nationally. It is also a key step in advancing knowledge about optimal resuscitation strategies globally.</p>
<p>There are always concerns when translating an intervention from a controlled research environment to the relative disorder of the real world. But the balance of evidence was carefully considered before making the decision to change procedures for a group of patients who have a low likelihood of survival with current treatment.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/anyone-can-save-a-life-including-kids-heres-why-they-should-learn-cpr-and-basic-life-support-200337">Anyone can save a life, including kids. Here's why they should learn CPR and basic life support</a>
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<p>Before using DSED, emergency medical personnel undergo mandatory education, simulation and training. Implementation is closely monitored to determine its impact.</p>
<p>Hospitals and emergency departments have been informed of the protocol changes and been given opportunities to ask questions and give feedback. As part of the implementation, the St John ambulance service will perform case reviews in addition to wider monitoring to ensure patient safety is prioritised.</p>
<p>Ultimately, those involved are optimistic this change to cardiac arrest management in New Zealand will have a positive impact on survival for affected patients.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221979/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vinuli Withanarachchie is a Clinical Research Assistant at Hato Hone St John. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bridget Dicker is Head of Clinical Audit and Research at Hato Hone St John. She is a member of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation Basic Life Support (BLS) Task Force.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Maessen is a Clinical Research Fellow at Hato Hone St John.</span></em></p>New Zealand is just the second country to approve a novel defibrillation procedure for some patients. With current survival rates very low, it is hoped the new method will save many more lives.Vinuli Withanarachchie, PhD candidate, College of Health, Massey UniversityBridget Dicker, Associate Professor of Paramedicine, Auckland University of TechnologySarah Maessen, Research Associate, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2218642024-02-06T17:48:42Z2024-02-06T17:48:42ZOne year on from Cyclone Gabrielle, NZ still needs a plan to fix its failing infrastructure<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/13/cyclone-gabrielle-new-zealand-declares-national-state-of-emergency">Cyclone Gabrielle</a> caused chaos one year ago. Repairs due to that storm and the Auckland floods have required <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/131883544/repair-bill-from-cyclone-and-auckland-floods-at-least-9b-treasury-estimates">substantial time and resources</a>. Hawkes Bay, parts of Auckland and the Coromandel all still bear the scars of the worst storm to hit New Zealand this century. </p>
<p>The good news is that most initial repairs are complete. The bad news is that the restored infrastructure is just as vulnerable as it was prior to Gabrielle. Restoring infrastructure to the way it was before a natural disaster is not necessarily the best approach for a resilient future.</p>
<p>Cyclone Gabrielle simultaneously exposed New Zealand’s dependence on “horizontal” infrastructure (electricity and roading networks, for example), and how tenuous and <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/local-government/300809387/cyclone-gabrielle-extreme-weather-leaves-aucklands-water-infrastructure-fragile">potentially prone to damage</a> it is. </p>
<p>The cyclone also revealed the flaws in the country’s planning and consenting processes. There is a history of <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/507562/1415-new-homes-consented-on-auckland-flood-plains-in-the-year-since-flooding-disaster">developing new housing in flood-prone areas</a> – particularly in Auckland. A year after Gabrielle, New Zealand needs to look to the future of climate risk, policy creation and infrastructural investment. </p>
<p>Both the <a href="https://www.labour.org.nz/release-labours-next-steps-to-reduce-climate-emissions">previous</a> and <a href="https://www.national.org.nz/tags/subject_climate_change">current</a> governments have expressed concerns over future climate impacts. Yet climate risk and related infrastructure investment were comparatively minor themes in the various election debates of 2023. </p>
<p>New Zealand now needs to ask some serious long-term questions:</p>
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<li><p>How frequently will it be exposed to the costs and chaos of weather events? </p></li>
<li><p>How should it respond to those risks? </p></li>
<li><p>What are the infrastructural investment priorities?</p></li>
<li><p>How should it sequence its responses? </p></li>
<li><p>And how will we pay for these measures?</p></li>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/landslides-and-law-cyclone-gabrielle-raises-serious-questions-about-where-weve-been-allowed-to-build-200250">Landslides and law: Cyclone Gabrielle raises serious questions about where we've been allowed to build</a>
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<h2>Political agreement in theory</h2>
<p>Failing to ask – let alone answer – those questions means New Zealand can’t plan, can’t build and can’t budget.</p>
<p>In October 2016, the National-led government’s environment minister Paula Bennett <a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/nz-ratifies-paris-agreement-climate-change">announced the ratification</a> of the Paris Climate Accord. The treaty became <a href="https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/environment/climate-change/working-with-the-world/building-international-collaboration/#bookmark3">legally enforceable in New Zealand</a> in 2020 while Jacinda Ardern was prime minister. </p>
<p>Fundamentally, the commitment to addressing climate change is a point of agreement across the political spectrum. </p>
<p>Having ratified the Paris Accord, cuts to the country’s emissions are legally enforceable and time-bound. But New Zealand’s infrastructural planning, investments and commitments remain vague. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/massive-outages-caused-by-cyclone-gabrielle-strengthen-the-case-for-burying-power-lines-199949">Massive outages caused by Cyclone Gabrielle strengthen the case for burying power lines</a>
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<p>The Ardern government produced “<a href="https://environment.govt.nz/publications/adapt-and-thrive-building-a-climate-resilient-aotearoa-new-zealand-consultation-document/">Adapt and Thrive: Building a climate-resilient Aotearoa New Zealand</a>” in August 2022. There was little coverage of this consultation document at the time or since, and the general public is largely unaware of it.</p>
<p>Adapt and Thrive advocates multiple strategies in response to climate change, including “avoid, protect, accommodate, retreat”. All elements of this plan have planning, legislative and resource implications. </p>
<p>But central to the report is the idea of “managed retreat” from flood-prone areas. The report indicates 300,000 dwellings will be directly affected by adverse weather events in the future. At least NZ$100 billion worth of property has been flagged as directly at risk, affecting 72,000 New Zealanders.</p>
<p>It is fair to say that the cost of new housing and infrastructure designed to protect at-risk communities, as well as service relocated ones, will be spectacularly expensive. </p>
<h2>Can NZ ‘adapt and thrive’?</h2>
<p>It is now time for New Zealand to decide to what degree it wishes to ameliorate the effects of climate change. </p>
<p>If this is a national priority, then planning, budgeting and sequencing need to be committed to. Hundreds of billions of dollars will be needed over a multi-decade, integrated programme of planning, compulsory purchase and infrastructure construction.</p>
<p>With the change of government, however, will that plan be put into action? There are aspects of it that make this questionable.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://environment.govt.nz/publications/aotearoa-new-zealands-first-national-adaptation-plan/executive-summary/">different treatment of stakeholder groups</a> around compensation during “managed retreat” will be problematic for the new governing coalition.</p>
<p>For example, Adapt and Thrive proposes 50% compensation for businesses and rental property owners, with zero compensation for bach or second home owners. Relocated communities’ resilience in terms of jobs, economic activity and housing will become contentious. </p>
<p>Adapt and Thrive also proposes limiting of rights of appeal for affected communities. The extensive planning and procurement processes involved make it hard to imagine the right to appeal being entirely quashed. Inevitably, the process of planning, financial commitments and appeals will be drawn out. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nz-cities-urgently-need-to-become-spongier-but-system-change-will-be-expensive-200061">NZ cities urgently need to become 'spongier' – but system change will be expensive</a>
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<h2>Time for big decisions</h2>
<p>To say Adapt and Thrive will be challenging to put into effect is an understatement. If the policy is going to be reconsidered, so be it. </p>
<p>But New Zealand has pressing infrastructural investment needs to facilitate growth and sustainability. The planning and procurement needed to implement such policy is time-consuming and costly. Irrespective of political orientation, there is an absolute need to prioritise it. </p>
<p>Given the huge financial consequences, and inevitable trade-offs in social programmes, education, defence and other budget priorities, a time frame for making big decisions is essential. </p>
<p>Failure to do so will inhibit future growth and housing provision, reduce cost-effectiveness, as well as threaten the sustainability of communities in vulnerable areas. Cyclone Gabrielle made it clear that kicking this particular can down the road is not acceptable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221864/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Tookey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Labour’s ‘Adapt and Thrive’ plan for climate resilience is unlikely to survive the new government’s priorities. But the country cannot avoid addressing its urgent infrastructural deficit.John Tookey, Professor of Construction Management, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2219732024-02-01T19:05:21Z2024-02-01T19:05:21ZWaitangi Day 2024: 5 myths and misconceptions that confuse the Treaty debate<p>When it comes to grappling with the <a href="https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/treaty-of-waitangi">Treaty of Waitangi</a>/Te Tiriti o Waitangi, one of the commonest responses is that it’s a matter of interpretation. It seems to be a perfectly fair reaction, except that historical interpretation generally requires adherence to rules of evidence.</p>
<p>It is not a licence to make any claims whatsoever about the Treaty, and then to assert their truth by appealing to the authority of personal interpretation.</p>
<p>Yet since the 1970s we’ve been faced with the paradoxical situation of a growing body of Treaty scholarship that has led to less consensus about its meaning and purpose.</p>
<p>It is therefore worthwhile to investigate some of the more common misconceptions about the Treaty that have accrued over recent decades. This will not lead to a definitive interpretation of the Treaty. But it might remove a few obstacles currently in the way of understanding it better.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/history-and-myth-why-the-treaty-of-waitangi-remains-such-a-bloody-difficult-subject-202038">History and myth: why the Treaty of Waitangi remains such a ‘bloody difficult subject’</a>
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<h2>1. The Treaty or Te Tiriti?</h2>
<p>A common view persists that the English and Māori versions of the Treaty are fundamentally at odds with each other, especially over the central issue of sovereignty.</p>
<p>But research over the past two decades on <a href="https://waitangitribunal.govt.nz/assets/WT-Part-2-Report-on-stage-1-of-the-Te-Paparahi-o-Te-Raki-inquiry.pdf">British colonial policy prior to 1840</a> has revealed that Britain wanted a treaty to enable it to extend its jurisdiction to its subjects living in New Zealand. </p>
<p>It had no intention to govern Māori or usurp Māori sovereignty. On this critical point, the two versions are essentially in agreement.</p>
<h2>2. The Treaty is not a contract</h2>
<p>The principle of <em>contra proferentem</em> – appropriated from contract law – refers to ambiguous provisions that can be interpreted in a way that works against the drafter of the contract.</p>
<p>However, there are several problems in applying this principle to the Treaty. Firstly, treaties are <a href="https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/byrint11&div=8&id=&page=">different legal instruments from contracts</a>. This explains why there are correspondingly few examples of this principle being used in international law for interpreting treaties.</p>
<p>Secondly, as there are no major material differences between the English and Māori versions of the Treaty when it comes to Māori retaining sovereignty, there is no need to apply such a principle.</p>
<p>And thirdly, under international law, treaties are not to be interpreted in an adversarial manner, but in good faith (the principle of <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2203309"><em>pacta sunt servanda</em></a>). Thus, rather than the parties fighting over the Treaty’s meaning, the requirement is for them to work <em>with</em> rather than against each other.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/learning-to-live-with-the-messy-complicated-history-of-how-aotearoa-new-zealand-was-colonised-172219">Learning to live with the 'messy, complicated history' of how Aotearoa New Zealand was colonised</a>
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<h2>3. Relationships evolve over time</h2>
<p>No rangatira (chief) ceded sovereignty over their own people through the Treaty. Nor was that Britain’s intention – hence Britain’s recognition in August 1839 of hapū (kinship group) sovereignty and the guarantee in the Treaty that rangatiratanga (the powers of the chiefs) would be protected.</p>
<p>Britain simply wanted jurisdiction over its own subjects in the colony. This is what is known as an “originalist” interpretation – one that follows the Treaty’s meaning as it was understood in 1840.</p>
<p>This has several limitations: it precludes the emergence of Treaty principles; it wrongly presumes that all involved at the time of the Treaty’s signing had an identical view on its meaning; and, crucially, it ignores all subsequent historical developments.</p>
<p>Treaty relationships evolve over time in numerous ways. Originalist interpretations fail to take that into account.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-significance-of-the-treaty-of-waitangi-110982">Explainer: the significance of the Treaty of Waitangi</a>
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<h2>4. Questions of motive</h2>
<p>British motives for the Treaty were made explicit in 1839, yet in the following 185 years false motives have entered into the historical bloodstream, where they have continued circulating.</p>
<p>What Britain wanted was the right to apply its laws to its people living in New Zealand. It also intended to “civilise” Māori (through creating the short-lived Office of Protector of Aborigines) and protect Māori land from unethical purchases (the pre-emption provision in Article Two of the Treaty).</p>
<p>And Britain wanted to afford Māori the same rights as British subjects in cases where one group’s actions impinged on the other’s (as in the 1842 <a href="https://ojs.aut.ac.nz/te-kaharoa/index.php/tekaharoa/article/view/61/58">Maketū case</a>, involving the conviction for murder and execution of a young Māori man).</p>
<p>The Treaty was not a response to a <a href="https://h-france.net/rude/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/vol5_11_Jennings_Marists_Colonial_Policy_final.pdf">French threat to New Zealand</a>. And it was not an attempt to conquer Māori, nor to deceive them through subterfuge.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-pebble-in-the-shoe-to-future-power-broker-the-rise-and-rise-of-te-pati-maori-212089">From 'pebble in the shoe' to future power broker – the rise and rise of te Pāti Māori</a>
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<h2>5. Myths of a ‘real’ Treaty and 4th article</h2>
<p>Over the past two decades, some have alleged there is a “real” Treaty – the so-called “<a href="https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/stout-centre/research-and-publications2/research-units/towru/publications/The-Littlewood-Treaty.pdf">Littlewood Treaty</a>” – that has been concealed because it contains a different set of provisions. Such conspiratorial claims are easily dispelled.</p>
<p>The text of the Littlewood Treaty is known and it is merely a handwritten copy of the actual Treaty. And, most obviously, it cannot be regarded as a treaty on the basis that no one signed it.</p>
<p>Another popular myth is that there is a fourth article of the Treaty, which purportedly guarantees religious freedom. This article <a href="https://www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz/treaty-of-waitangi/meaning-of-the-treaty/">does not appear</a> in either the Māori or English texts of the Treaty, and there is no evidence the signatories regarded it as a provision of the agreement. It is a suggestion that emerged in the 1990s, but lacks any evidential or legal basis.</p>
<p>Finally, there is the argument that the Treaty <a href="https://theconversation.com/waitangi-2024-how-the-treaty-strengthens-democracy-and-provides-a-check-on-unbridled-power-221723">supports the democratic process</a>. In fact, the Treaty ushered in a non-representative regime in the colony. It was the <a href="https://nzhistory.govt.nz/proclamation-of-1852-constitution-act">1852 New Zealand Constitution Act</a> that gave the country a democratic government – a statute that incidentally made no reference to the Treaty’s provisions.</p>
<p>This list is not exhaustive. But in dispensing with areas of poor interpretation, we can improve the chances of a more informed and productive discussion about the Treaty.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-idea-of-sovereignty-is-central-to-the-treaty-debate-why-is-it-so-hard-to-define-220201">The idea of ‘sovereignty’ is central to the Treaty debate – why is it so hard to define?</a>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Moon does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Decades of Treaty scholarship have failed to arrive at a consensus about its meaning and purpose. Dispensing with various mistaken interpretations would improve the chances of productive discussion.Paul Moon, Professor of History, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2194832023-12-31T20:25:57Z2023-12-31T20:25:57ZFrom Blue Pacific to Indo-Pacific: how politics and language define our ‘Indigenous ocean’<p><em>This is an edited extract from An Indigenous Ocean: Pacific Essays by Damon Salesa (Bridget Williams Books)</em></p>
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<p>In September 2017, at the 48th meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum, the political leaders of the Pacific agreed a <a href="https://www.forumsec.org/2050strategy/">new regional approach</a>. They announced the way forward as the “Blue Pacific – Our Sea of Islands, Our Livelihoods, Our Oceania”. It was a remarkable moment of solidarity and ambition, charting a vision towards 2050. </p>
<p>Powering the vision was – as most Pacific Studies undergraduates would have noticed – a seminal essay by the Tongan scholar <a href="https://globalsocialtheory.org/thinkers/hauofa-epeli/">Epeli Hau‘ofa</a>, Our Sea of Islands, from 1993. Stock reading for Pacific Studies students, the essay is remarkable in its prescience (most readers find it compelling, decades after its publication) and now it had been elevated to the headlines of regional geopolitics. It’s a revealing example of how the study of the Pacific and the practice of Pacific politics often intersect.</p>
<p>In the wake of Hau‘ofa, Pacific politicians waxed lyrical about the “Sea of Islands”. “The Ocean is our cultural identity”, one politician riffed. “It is a cornerstone of our social cohesion. It is also the foundation of our economy and it is our road to prosperity.” </p>
<p>In opening the meeting, the host leader from Sāmoa spoke of the “Samoan Blue Pacific Identity”; that the ocean was the “fundamental essence of the region”; and that “the sheer fact of our geography, such as trends associated with shifts in the centres of global power […] places the Pacific at the centre of contemporary global geopolitics”. Of all the tools available to advocate for the Pacific and consolidate the region, the one chosen was story.</p>
<p>The “Blue Pacific” had already figured earlier that year, in June, at the United Nations Ocean Conference in New York. There, the efforts to implement UN Sustainable Development Goal 14, “Life Below Water”, had given rise to concrete solutions, a point that was particularly important to Pacific nations, which consider themselves the co-authors of that goal. </p>
<p>Rapidly, the Blue Pacific – a story about a place – had become a new place. Regional organisations connected through the Blue Pacific, and it became a cornerstone of diplomatic and national language. There were speeches, of course, and journalism, academic articles, music, debates and conferences. </p>
<p>At the 25th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP25, in 2019, the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme called its pavilion “The Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion”. A sure sign of the story’s reach was that the “Blue Pacific” was appearing in the prosaic communications of the US State Department, which noted that “The Big Blue Pacific Continent Is a Force”. Which meant that it was.</p>
<h2>New names, old stories</h2>
<p>Holding together the new movement – which was launched at a moment of considerable difficulty for the region – was an old story. The Forum leaders and others around it explicitly referred to the Blue Pacific as a narrative. As the Samoan Prime Minister put it, “[t]he Blue Pacific provides a new narrative for Pacific Regionalism and how the Forum engages with the world”. </p>
<p>The Pacific was using the narrative to engage the world and address the climate emergency. The art of storytelling was enmeshed with political and geopolitical arts. The strategy was based in realpolitik – attempting to shore up the deals that leaders would and could make – but it also drew on both the deep Pacific past, millennia of voyaging around the Ocean, and more recent developments. </p>
<p>These included the cooperative regional approach developed politically from the 1960s, and key thinking and writing on the regional theme, which became embedded in Pacific discourse in the second half of the 20th century. The regional leaders frequently quoted the Tongan anthropologist and artist Epeli Hau‘ofa; they cited the writings and words of the politician scholar <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/collections/nff-fiji/kamisese-mara">Ratu Mara</a>; they held up of the idea of a New Oceania developed by the Samoan scholar, artist and writer <a href="https://www.anzliterature.com/member/albert-wendt/">Maualaivao Albert Wendt</a>.</p>
<p>I am aware that describing the Pacific as constituted through layers of stories, narrative and naming risks being seen as ethereal, untethered from supposed “concrete” realities. This is the opposite of what I believe.</p>
<p>In a very deep and powerful way, a central struggle of the Pacific in the future will be, as it has been in the past and is today, the contest over names and the stories they hold. Indigenous communities have shown that while sovereignty and political control may be wrested from local peoples (though typically not for long), their ability to control language, culture, names, stories and histories has made for ongoing and deep reservoirs of contest.</p>
<h2>The Indo-Pacific as geopolitical construct</h2>
<p>In the past decade we have seen two powerful conjurings of name and place essential to the future of the Pacific. The “Indo-Pacific” is a pseudo-geographic term used to gesture towards political groupings. Rarely used before, in the 21st century it has come to be used by the United States and its allies to describe a hitherto unknown place, one that is obviously a counter to the influence of China in the region. </p>
<p>The Indo-Pacific is now a geopolitical construct said to encompass the Indian Ocean, the South China Sea, and shifting, unspecified parts of the Pacific Ocean. In other words, it both marginalises and co-opts the Indigenous Pacific of which I write. </p>
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<p>The Indo-Pacific has gone from something no one had ever heard of, to being about the most important thing in the world. Indeed, as the US president writes, “the future of each of our nations – and indeed the world – depends on a free and open Indo-Pacific enduring and flourishing in the decades ahead”. It seems almost flippant to note that the Indo-Pacific, too, is a story; a narrative told about the world that has called a new place into being.</p>
<p>The Indo-Pacific narrative is material: it has already ordered and structured activity in the world. Such is the power of this particular narrative and construct that it is central to many of the most vital geopolitical discourses and activities globally. In particular, it is crucial to <a href="https://www.defense.gov/Spotlights/AUKUS/">AUKUS</a>, the new security pact formed by Australia, the United Kingdom and the US in September 2021. </p>
<p>The AUKUS alliance involves as its centrepiece the acquisition by Australia of nuclear-powered submarines, as well as some other technology transfers, and the explicit object of the AUKUS agreement is to “sustain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific”. Which is to say that without the Indo-Pacific story, AUKUS would have no clear object or domain. </p>
<p>The Indo-Pacific thus arrives as an explicit counter to other narratives, but with weight and consequence – nuclear, military, political and economic (it is projected to cost Australia between A$268 and $368 billion, in a field famed for cost overruns) – unavailable to Pacific nations. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/approach-with-caution-why-nz-should-be-wary-of-buying-into-the-aukus-security-pact-203915">Approach with caution: why NZ should be wary of buying into the AUKUS security pact</a>
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<p>The Indo-Pacific now has its own experts, managers and agents – and, perhaps most ominously, its own generals and admirals, foreign policies, armies and navies: not least “USINDOPACOM” (US Indo-Pacific Command), which has fully subsumed what was once Pacific Command, including the expropriation of its URL.</p>
<p>The Indo-Pacific carries a different understanding of the world, and it is one that puts what I have called the Indigenous Pacific at the margins. It also reveals the different ways of seeing of, on the one hand Australia, New Zealand and the US, who are retelling the Indo-Pacific AUKUS story; and on the other, the peoples of the Independent Pacific, who are critical of it, particularly its nuclear dimensions and its potential to create and escalate political tensions.</p>
<h2>An unequal ocean</h2>
<p>The materiality of different narratives about the Pacific makes clear not only their differences and complexity, but the inequality of circumstances. Though there is a vibrancy to Indigenous traditions and narration, they do not have the same access and circulation; the Pacific remains an unequal ocean. </p>
<p>The profound inequalities that were a hallmark of colonised experience in the past inflect the disadvantages of the present, and the two dimensions are intimately connected. </p>
<p>These material inequalities speak to the deep connections between present and past in the postcolonial Pacific. In very few areas is this not apparent, but I wish to draw attention to one specific way in which the colonial, and particularly the decolonising experience, shaped the unequal oceanscapes of the present: mobility. </p>
<p>The conditions of decolonising, or – in places not yet decolonised – the ongoing conditions, determine the ability of Pacific peoples to move, visit and especially to work in wealthier societies. An American Samoan is entitled to visit and work in the US; a Samoan from independent Sāmoa is not. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nz-wants-more-seasonal-workers-but-pacific-nations-no-longer-want-to-be-the-outposts-that-grow-them-217790">NZ wants more seasonal workers – but Pacific nations no longer want to be the ‘outposts’ that ‘grow’ them</a>
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<p>At its closest point, Papua New Guinea is less than four kilometres from its former colonial ruler, Australia; but it is separated not just by a small gap of water, but a border of regulation and immigration control. There are three times as many Samoans in Australia as Papua New Guineans, and most of the Samoans have come via New Zealand – further away, but administratively much closer, and with free access on a New Zealand passport. </p>
<p>This means that both the pathways (which have typically been airways) to present economic conditions, as well as those to future economic opportunities, were chiefly forged under conditions of colonialism and empire. </p>
<p>The terms and conditions of formal decolonisation – what I think of as the decolonising bargain – was a bargain struck in profoundly unequal times and in unequal ways, where much of the power lay with former colonial rulers and international players. This decolonising bargain continues to structure mobility and other accommodations, as well as much else about present relationships, and it is rare that the Indigenous Pacific gets the better part of these deals.</p>
<h2>‘New blackbirds’</h2>
<p>These inequalities are evident at the national level for the Indigenous Pacific, but also in larger transnational and smaller, more local ways. The Pacific diaspora, so deeply conditioned by the decolonising bargain, has not mattered equally to Pacific nations recently. </p>
<p>In Melanesia, where the majority of Pacific people live, avenues of mobility are deeply restricted; in Polynesia and Micronesia, a majority of nations have some protected pathways to metropolitan nations. In smaller islands and nations these opportunities have seen mobility on remarkable scales; Niue is perhaps the most striking. Since the 1970s the number of Niueans in Niue has declined by around two-thirds, falling from over 5,000 to less than 2,000. The rest have “Gone Niu Silani”.</p>
<p>The new approach of Australia and New Zealand to exploiting Pacific labour has changed things: until the 2010s, to get Pacific peoples’ labour one had to allow them to be able to live, work and access education in at least semi-permanent ways. Since then, New Zealand, followed by Australia, has pursued a seasonal model that circumvents this, with Pacific people framed solely as workers, and forced home after a season. </p>
<p>This has been an economic boon for employers, but has had mixed, and increasingly deleterious, effects on Pacific peoples and their communities. The predicament of these Pacific people has even been likened to those recruited or kidnapped to work on sugar plantations over a century ago, in calling them the “New Blackbirds”.</p>
<p>The inequalities are unmistakable at the national scale: the independent Pacific nations are among the poorest nations in the world, but neighbours like the US, Australia and New Zealand are at the other end of the wealth scale. </p>
<p>Coarse indicators can tell the story because it is coarse: Australia has ten times the GDP per person of its former colony, Papua New Guinea, as does France compared with its territory Wallis and Futuna, and the US with its former colonies in the Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia; New Zealand’s GDP per capita is seven-and-a-half times that of Sāmoa, which it governed until 1962. </p>
<p>Behind those numbers are powerful differences in healthcare, education and social provision, and they are reflected in almost every social statistic that is measured. As elsewhere in the former (or, as some might contend, currently) colonised world, the visible benefits of colonialism are not readily evident.</p>
<h2>Mobility and sovereignty</h2>
<p>Economic and educational opportunity sit at the heart of the Pacific diaspora, but there, too, the inequalities are unmistakable. In New Zealand, Australia, Hawai‘i and the US, in the blunt statistics of wellbeing and quality of life – health, education, housing – Indigenous peoples face worse outcomes than their non-Indigenous neighbours. </p>
<p>In each of these places, Indigenous Pacific migrants experience outcomes that more closely match their Indigenous neighbours than those of Pākehā/Papālagi/white populations. </p>
<p>Such an unassailable truth is this in New Zealand that not only are social statistics typically reported at different population levels, but a statistical category of non-Māori/non-Pacific is often used by government agencies. This is because Māori and Pacific outcomes are so much poorer than those of other New Zealanders, and the populations of both are so significant, that they distort both the analysis of these numbers and the numbers overall. </p>
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Read more:
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<p>The same approach is taken in parts of Australia, too, and a similar impetus sat behind the disaggregation of a US population category and a recomposition (in censuses from 2010) of “Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander”.</p>
<p>The Pacific nations and populations with higher standards of living – by traditional economic and social measures – are typically those with the closest relationship to former colonial powers, the least independence and the greatest political investment from their former governors. </p>
<p>The standards of living experienced in Hawai‘i, Guam and French Polynesia sit at another end of the spectrum from those of the Solomon Islands or Vanuatu. The trouble is, however, that these overall numbers hide domestic inequalities, particu¬larly in the Pacific settler colonies. </p>
<p>In those wealthier places we see locally the kind of powerful expressions of inequality that echo those of the wider Pacific: whether they are high rates of poverty and homelessness amongst Native Hawaiians in Hawai‘i or vastly differing standards of living between the majority of Kanaks and the Caldoche (French settlers) of New Caledonia. There are also other costs that these Indigenous Pacific people confront — paid in language, culture, well-being, identity, independence and sovereignty. </p>
<p>The transnational dimensions wrought by those Indigenous folks afforded mobility are profound. As Epeli Hau‘ofa so powerfully put it, these Pacific peoples can craft lives that resonate with the mobility of the ancestors. But the majority of Pacific peoples do not have access to transnational mobility. Few things are so absolute as lack of access to a passport, entry rights and an immigration visa. </p>
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Read more:
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<p>Those of us in the Pacific diaspora who grew up dependent on these things know the force of them in our lives and the lives of our families. Some Pacific people are more mobile, assigned a citizenship or nationality that gives passports and paths to move that are denied – often strenuously – to others. </p>
<p>So it is that French Polynesians and Uveans may move around to other French territories, including France (and Europe); or Niueans to New Zealand; or Chamorros from Guam to the US. The opportunities can be life-changing, but so can the costs: the loss of sovereignty in most cases, but manifold other negative effects, from nuclear testing to military bases, from mining to profound assaults on and undermining of culture and language.</p>
<p>I have shared this thumbnail portrait of Pacific inequalities – geopolitical, national, transnational and domestic – not for its own sake, but because of the bearing these conditions have on our present understanding of the Pacific. These conditions shape Pacific research, scholarship and analysis, as they do those who are undertaking this work. They do so in powerful ways, and not all of them have attracted attention in the way they should.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219483/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Damon Salesa does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The author of a major new essay collection reflects on the shifting cultural and political realities in the Pacific, and why it remains an ‘unequal ocean’.Damon Salesa, Vice-Chancellor, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2170802023-12-25T21:08:27Z2023-12-25T21:08:27ZOlder workers still struggle with work-life balance – and there’s no one-size-fits-all remedy<p>The idea that we can comfortably manage all the different facets of life – work, family, other responsibilities – is certainly appealing. But in reality, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alankohll/2018/03/27/the-evolving-definition-of-work-life-balance/?sh=331a3c429ed3">work-life balance</a> – especially for older workers.</p>
<p>Making up a third of the New Zealand workforce, older workers (<a href="https://www.oecd.org/els/emp/Brochure%20OW%2028-08.pdf">aged 55 and older</a>) are a growing cohort in the economy. </p>
<p>There is the temptation to treat everyone in this age bracket as the same. But <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJM-04-2022-0181/full/html">our new research</a> shows this is a mistake. In fact, the support older workers want in order to achieve better work-life balance can <a href="https://www.aarp.org/pri/topics/work-finances-retirement/employers-workforce/multicultural-work-jobs-study-2023.htm">differ as they age</a>.</p>
<p>Indeed, the lives of older workers can vary greatly when it comes to employment, family structure, financial resources, time and wellbeing.</p>
<p>As the number of older employees in the economy grows, it’s important to understand what will help keep them satisfied in their work as they move towards and beyond retirement age.</p>
<h2>Anxiety, depression and older workers</h2>
<p>The goal of our research was to better understand the effects of work-life balance on anxiety and depression caused by job stress among older workers. </p>
<p>We asked two key questions: what effect does work-life balance have on older employees? And are there differences between groups of workers?</p>
<p>We surveyed 512 New Zealand employees in three age groups: 55-59 years, 60-64, and 65-plus. Respondents had been in their current jobs for an average of 12.6 years. </p>
<p>Some 58.2% were in the private sector, 31.6% were in the public/government sector, and 10.2% were in the not-for-profit sector.</p>
<p>In terms of age, 43.8% of respondents fell into the 55–59 age group. Those close to retirement age (60–64) made up 31.3% of respondents, and a further 25% were 65 and older – still working despite being eligible for superannuation.</p>
<h2>Work-life balance at different ages</h2>
<p>The average levels of work-life balance among the older workers we studied were high, comparing well with <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09585192.2017.1314311">similar studies looking at other age groups</a>. Those reporting high levels of work-life balance said they were able to comfortably manage their work, family and other responsibilities.</p>
<p>Job stress (when the demands of work exceed the resources of the employee), job anxiety (when the job is mentally stimulating but not enjoyable), and job depression (when there is little mental stimulation or enjoyment), can all affect wellbeing at work. </p>
<p>The 55–59 year-olds reported higher levels of job stress than older respondents. These younger older workers reported juggling stress that was fuelled by high job demands. Workers in this group were also managing the needs of younger families, often including children in their teenage years. </p>
<p>But respondents reported they experienced less stress in their jobs when their work-life balance was high. They subsequently had lower levels of anxiety and depression.</p>
<p>The younger cohort (55–59 years) reported the strongest benefits of having work-life balance. This effect reduced but remained significant as employees aged.</p>
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<p>Respondents who were 65 and older reported a reduction in job stress, and at levels significantly higher than the younger cohort with greater work-life balance.</p>
<p>Our analysis also showed the “retirement” group (those aged 65 and older) had the highest work-life balance, perhaps highlighting the strength of being “retired” (and receiving government income) while also being in paid employment.</p>
<p>At low levels of work-life balance, there was a significant difference in levels of job stress. Those in the younger age group (55–59 years) reported higher levels of job stress than respondents in the older age group.</p>
<p>When we compared this with respondents with high work-life balance, these differences were reversed, with respondents in the younger age group (55–59 years) reporting significantly lower job stress than the older age group.</p>
<p>Overall we found age – and proximity to the traditional retirement age – are important factors in how workers respond to work-life balance. Workers in the 55-59 age group still have a relatively long career ahead. For them, balancing work and life is especially beneficial.</p>
<h2>Employers need to think differently</h2>
<p>Managers need to understand that older workers are not a uniform group. It is important to develop age-relevant approaches to support the work-life balance of older employees.</p>
<p>Employers also need to consider how to allocate resources to support employee work-life balance across their lifespan.</p>
<p>These measures could include discussing interventions for managing job stress, as well as wellbeing resources that position ageing as positive. For example, using older managers as speakers in organisational wellness initiatives.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-driving-current-labour-market-shortages-and-how-older-workers-could-help-200873">What is driving current labour market shortages and how older workers could help</a>
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<p>By encouraging work-life balance, companies can foster lower levels of anxiety and depression and help staff find lasting job satisfaction.</p>
<p>Older people are often <a href="https://www.tepou.co.nz/initiatives/working-with-older-people">invisible in conversations about mental health</a>. However, having <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/onemind/2022/08/04/the-decade-of-healthy-aging-cannot-ignore-mental-health-of-older-workers/?sh=4b071e296b87">older workers who are mentally strong</a>, healthy and productive is increasingly essential for businesses.</p>
<p>Older workers themselves should also seek to understand what drives and diminishes their own work-life balance. It is an <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09585192.2021.1961161">important predictor of wellbeing</a> – especially as workers 55 and over could be an “older” worker for decades to come.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217080/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Older workers can struggle as much with work-life balance as their younger counterparts. But employers need to avoid treating them as a single group – their needs are surprisingly diverse.Candice Harris, Professor of Management, Auckland University of TechnologyBarbara Myers, Associate Professor, Auckland University of TechnologyJarrod Haar, Dean's Chair in Management and Māori Business, Massey UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2175572023-12-19T01:44:07Z2023-12-19T01:44:07ZNZ’s new government is getting tough on gangs – but all the necessary laws already exist<p>The new coalition government has made its campaign promise to crack down on gangs a priority in its <a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/coalition-government-unveils-100-day-plan">100-day action plan</a>. But whether the new “get tough” policy genuinely plugs gaps in existing legislation is very much open to question.</p>
<p>The policy was laid out in a <a href="https://www.publicservice.govt.nz/publications/government-expectations-of-commissioner-of-police/">letter of expectations</a> to the police commissioner from new police minister Mark Mitchell in early December, including: banning gang patches in public, stopping public gang meetings, and preventing gang members communicating with each other.</p>
<p>The government also promises extra police powers to search for guns, and to make gang membership an aggravating feature at sentencing. </p>
<p>We all have a right to be safe from harm, including harm by gangs. But there are already many relevant offences in the law that exist to protect the general public. </p>
<h2>No need for new law</h2>
<p>First, it is already an offence to be in a criminal gang. Section 98A of the <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1961/0043/latest/DLM327382.html">Crimes Act 1961</a> allows up to ten years’ imprisonment for participating in an “organised criminal group”. This involves three or more people who aim to commit serious violence, or who benefit from offending, liable for at least four years’ imprisonment. </p>
<p>As with most serious criminal offences, a guilty mind is required: you have to know it is a criminal group, realise your involvement might contribute to criminal activity, and also be aware the criminal activity might help the criminal group.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealand-needs-a-new-gang-strategy-political-consensus-would-be-a-good-start-185677">New Zealand needs a new gang strategy – political consensus would be a good start</a>
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<p>It is also a criminal conspiracy to agree to commit offences. And our “joint enterprise” law in section 66(2) of the Crimes Act means those who agree to commit one offence are also guilty of other foreseeable offences committed by the group.</p>
<p>There are also many offences against public order in the <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1981/0113/latest/whole.html">Summary Offences Act 1981</a>, including disorderly or offensive behaviour, and associating with those convicted of theft, violence or drugs offending. </p>
<p>As well, there is the <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2013/0056/latest/DLM4301602.html">Prohibition of Gang Insignia in Government Premises Act 2013</a>. This bans gang insignia in or on premises operated by central and local government, including schools, hospitals and swimming pools, but not Kāinga Ora housing.</p>
<h2>Guns and gangs</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1983/0044/latest/DLM72622.html">Arms Act 1983</a> makes the privilege of obtaining a firearms licence dependent on being a “fit and proper person”; gang membership and convictions already mean this test is not met. </p>
<p>Section 18 of the <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2012/0024/latest/DLM2136536.html">Search and Surveillance Act 2012</a> allows the police to search any person or place if they reasonably suspect a breach of the Arms Act.</p>
<p>And when it comes to sentencing, section 9(1) of the <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2002/0009/latest/DLM135342.html">Sentencing Act 2002</a> already requires judges to consider an offence to be worse if committed as part of organised criminal activity. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2009/0008/latest/whole.html">Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009</a> allows the seizure of criminal gains even if there has not been a conviction.</p>
<p>In short, if arresting our way out of a problem works, there are already many criminal justice tools. We should also note that the <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/the-whole-truth/132478912/national-says-gang-membership-is-rising-is-it">apparent growth</a> in gang membership has occurred despite these various offences and powers.</p>
<h2>Rights and their limits</h2>
<p>We also need to ask whether the new anti-gang measures breach fundamental principles such as human rights. These are part of New Zealand law, through the <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1990/0109/latest/DLM224792.html">New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990</a> and the common law. They also reflect international standards that New Zealand has agreed to respect. </p>
<p>Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, which includes proclaiming gang affiliation. There is also the right to associate with others, and to assemble peacefully. </p>
<p>But all of these rights have to be balanced against other interests. The Bill of Rights Act sums this up by allowing “reasonable limits” that “can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society”. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/policing-by-consent-is-not-woke-it-is-fundamental-to-a-democratic-society-155866">Policing by consent is not ‘woke’ — it is fundamental to a democratic society</a>
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<p>Essentially, legislation that restricts rights requires a legitimate purpose. This is usually easy to show. But it is also necessary to consider whether such restrictions work and do so in a way that is proportionate to the breach of rights. </p>
<p>We have an idea what the courts might say. For example, in <a href="https://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/assets/cases/2011/sc-10-2010-valerie-morse-v-the-police.pdf">Morse v Police</a>, the Supreme Court decided burning the New Zealand flag during an Anzac Day parade to protest New Zealand involvement in Afghanistan was not offensive behaviour, because it did not go beyond what people should be expected to tolerate in a democracy. </p>
<p>And in <a href="https://nz.vlex.com/vid/schubert-v-wanganui-district-793834781">Schubert v Wanganui District Council</a>, the High Court decided the ban on gang patches in all public places in the district went too far; the evidence did not show that something more tailored would have been as effective.</p>
<h2>Tackling membership is the challenge</h2>
<p>The government might suggest its main aim is to extend the 2013 legislation banning gang patches in government premises to all public places. But that legislation is probably acceptable because it has limits. </p>
<p>The Bill of Rights Act also protects against discrimination. Here we have to recall that Māori are disproportionately imprisoned, and disproportionately affected by socioeconomic factors (including abuse in state care and incarceration) that seem linked to gang recruitment. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/despite-claims-nzs-policing-is-too-woke-crime-rates-are-largely-static-and-even-declining-156103">Despite claims NZ's policing is too 'woke', crime rates are largely static — and even declining</a>
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<p>Since it is likely that action against gangs will affect Māori to a greater extent, a <a href="https://www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz/">Waitangi Tribunal</a> claim may be expected.</p>
<p>To abide by existing human rights provisions in the law, the government will need to craft various exceptions to the ban on gang patches, or to people meeting or communicating with each other. </p>
<p>Alternatively, if it is comfortable with breaches of human rights, it can make that clear. This is possible because the Bill of Rights Act can be sidestepped by parliament using legislative language that precludes consistency with such rights. </p>
<p>This would still leave the law in breach of New Zealand’s international obligations, with resulting reputational damage.</p>
<p>But we should also be mindful that criminal justice powers represent an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. People’s right to be safe is more likely to be secured by other steps that turn people away from gang membership in the first place.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217557/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kris Gledhill is currently working on a project relating to the Sentencing Act 2002 the expenses for which are funded by the Borrin Foundation. He is also a co-opted member of the Criminal Bar Association's Executive Committee. The views expressed in this article are his own.</span></em></p>The government’s promised crack-down on gangs may have to work around existing legislation – and human rights provisions.Kris Gledhill, Professor of Law, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2177722023-12-18T19:09:19Z2023-12-18T19:09:19ZPlanting pine or native forest for carbon capture isn’t the only choice – NZ can have the best of both<p>New Zealand’s <a href="https://environment.govt.nz/publications/new-zealands-greenhouse-gas-inventory-1990-2020-snapshot/#how-new-zealand-compares-to-other-countries">per-capita</a> contribution to carbon emissions is very high by international comparison. But so too is its potential to mitigate climate change by planting forests to quickly sequester large amounts of carbon.</p>
<p>There is sometimes passionate debate about how best to do this. Should we continue establishing radiata pine plantations, or focus instead on planting New Zealand native trees?</p>
<p>Arguments for and against each option exist – but there is also a third way that could achieve the best of both worlds: planting radiata pine forests that are not harvested, but instead transitioned over time into native forests through targeted management.</p>
<p>We need to cut emissions drastically. But we also need to remove as much CO₂ from the atmosphere as possible, especially over the next 20 years. A transitional forest model is a powerful way to help achieve this.</p>
<h2>Farming carbon using trees</h2>
<p>As trees grow they absorb CO₂ from the atmosphere and lock the carbon into wood, leaves, roots and soil. </p>
<p>The New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (<a href="https://environment.govt.nz/what-government-is-doing/areas-of-work/climate-change/ets/about-nz-ets/">ETS</a>) provides income from growing trees to store carbon. It is a key tool for meeting domestic and international climate change targets, including the 2050 target set by the Climate Change Response Act 2002.</p>
<p>A newly planted native forest will absorb approximately 40 tonnes of atmospheric CO₂ per hectare over ten years. By contrast, an exotic radiata pine forest will achieve <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2022/0266/latest/LMS709973.html">five to ten times this amount</a> over the same period. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/meeting-the-long-term-climate-threat-takes-more-than-private-investment-10-ways-nz-can-be-smart-and-strategic-211100">Meeting the long-term climate threat takes more than private investment – 10 ways NZ can be smart and strategic</a>
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<p>In other words, to absorb a given quantity of carbon during the early stages of reforestation, it will take five to ten times more farmland using natives. Because of this enormous advantage of exotics over natives, there is a place for exotic carbon farming. </p>
<p>Some object to pine planting on purely aesthetic grounds – they just don’t like the look of radiata forests. And we agree there are some places where pine is just not appropriate for the landscape. But the urgency to mitigate climate change means we need to turn as much unprofitable pasture into forest as possible.</p>
<p>Radiata forests are also criticised for being monocultures that lack biodiversity. But the pasture they replace is also a monoculture that contains even less biodiversity. Planting trees on pasture also reduces gross emissions by reducing animal stock and therefore methane emissions.</p>
<h2>We can’t plant too many trees</h2>
<p>A year of emissions in Aotearoa New Zealand equals 78.8 million tonnes CO₂ equivalent, based on 2020 figures. To offset this for a ten-year period would require planting roughly 20 million hectares of pasture in native trees, then waiting ten years for them to grow. </p>
<p>The total area of Aotearoa is 26.9 million hectares, with 3 million of those being mountains. Therefore, another treeless country of a similar size would be required to fully offset its emissions using native trees alone. Using radiata pine would require 2 to 4 million hectares. </p>
<p>At an individual level, just one return trip from Auckland to London for one person will produce approximately 11 tonnes of CO₂ emissions. To offset this would require planting over a quarter of a hectare (almost an acre) of native trees, and waiting ten years for them to grow. </p>
<p>On current projections, Aotearoa will need to purchase 100 million tonnes of offshore carbon credits to meet its international commitments. According to <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/498515/the-multibillion-dollar-climate-hole-faced-by-both-labour-and-national#:%7E:text=Treasury%20had%20previously%20put%20the,around%20%24500%20million%20a%20year">Treasury calculations</a>, this will cost between NZ$3.3 billion to $23 billion between now and 2030.</p>
<p>Obviously, the country cannot offset all its emissions by planting trees, native or exotic. Reducing emissions in the first place is the priority. But from a climate perspective, we cannot plant too many trees of any kind. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/were-burning-too-much-fossil-fuel-to-fix-by-planting-trees-making-net-zero-emissions-impossible-with-offsets-217437">We're burning too much fossil fuel to fix by planting trees – making 'net zero' emissions impossible with offsets</a>
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<h2>Restoring biodiversity over time</h2>
<p>One of the criticisms levelled at exotic carbon forests is that the carbon storage is not permanent because of the shorter lifespan of pine. But pine plantations in New Zealand can <a href="https://academic.oup.com/forestry/article/85/1/79/644814?login=true">keep accumulating carbon</a> for at least a century if they’re not harvested.</p>
<p>Also, the carbon storage is permanent if exotic forests are transitioned into self-sustaining native forests. This process occurs naturally, but can and should be accelerated by targeted management. </p>
<p>Because radiata pine needs a lot of light to grow, its own seedlings will not establish beneath its canopy. Therefore, pine will naturally decline over time and
gradually be replaced by native forest, a process that occurs naturally but takes many decades. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cyclone-gabrielle-triggered-more-destructive-forestry-slash-nz-must-change-how-it-grows-trees-on-fragile-land-200059">Cyclone Gabrielle triggered more destructive forestry 'slash' – NZ must change how it grows trees on fragile land</a>
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<p>To provide crucial structural and species diversity, and to expedite the transition process, native trees requiring plenty of light need to be planted, and pine trees need to be thinned. This is nothing like commercial harvesting, so the problems associated with forestry “<a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/updated-forestry-regulations-increase-council-controls-and-require-large-slash-removal">slash</a>” do not arise.</p>
<p>Fruiting natives will attract birds and enhance seed dispersal. At the same time, the income from carbon credits through the ETS can be used for further plantings, and also to fund intensive animal pest control – a critical step towards rebuilding native forests.</p>
<p>Eventually, this strategy will provide both permanent carbon storage and carbon capture that continue way beyond a century. But within decades we would also see the return of large areas of highly biodiverse native forests.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217772/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sebastian Leuzinger is a professor of ecology at Auckland University of Technology and occasionally consults for New Zealand Carbon Farming. He has received funding from the Royal Society in the past.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Len Gillman is co-chair of the Waitakere Ranges Pest free Alliance. He has acted as an independent consultant for local government and carbon farmers on climate change mitigation, climate effects mitigation and native forest restoration ecology.</span></em></p>Pine grows faster and sequesters more carbon. But native forest is better for biodiversity in the long run. Transitioning between the two offers a win-win solution.Sebastian Leuzinger, Professor of Environmental Science, Auckland University of TechnologyLen Gillman, Professor of Biogeography, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.