title: The politics of sustainability in New Zealand: A critical evaluation of environmental policy, practice and prospects through a case study of the dairy industry

authors: Wright, Jeanette Marie

subjects: Sustainability

abstract: This thesis examines the politics of sustainability in New Zealand through a case study of the dairy industry. New Zealand’s ‘clean and green’ image was bolstered by the passing of the Resource Management Act (RMA) (1991) to much international acclaim. Yet, since its adoption, the country has seen a dramatic expansion and intensification of dairy farming which has resulted in significant environmental decline. The thesis seeks to answer why this has occurred despite the provisions of New Zealand’s apparent world-leading environmental sustainability legislation.

The thesis examines the history of agricultural practice and environmental legislation in New Zealand, contemporary environmental policy and its implementation, dairy industry responses to the challenge of sustainability, and a lakes restoration initiative.  Informed by a critical discourse analysis approach, the thesis developed a discourse analytic framework to identify technological, ecological modernisation and sustainable development discourses within environmental policies and processes and dairy industry practice and explore the implications of these discourses.  The framework is also applied to the analysis of stakeholder interviews, a Q-sort survey, and texts from a variety of governmental and nongovernmental organisations.  The analysis offers insights into the disjuncture between the intentions of the RMA and actual environmental outcomes. 

The thesis found that policy practice was dominated by the ecological modernisation discourse. Despite the RMA being underpinned by a sustainable development normative framework, in practice the ecological modernisation discourse has informed the implementation mechanisms and social processes required by government and the dairy industry to realise primarily economic goals.  The ecological modernisation discourse has enabled continued support for a productivist and utilitarian approach to the environment. 

The research also found there were small-scale instances of a different institutional approach, involving bottom-up initiatives and widespread community participation in decision processes, which offered an example of more environmentally sustainable policy and practice.  Specifically, in the Central North Island lakes catchments, where dairying has led to a sharp decline of lake water quality, the policy response has been normatively and institutionally shaped by the sustainable development discourse.  A critical outcome is that pastoral farmers within the lakes catchments are now required to farm within the limits of the carrying capacity of these regions. These comparative cases offer a powerful alternative, and a possible blueprint for the institutionalisation of sustainable agriculture into the rest of the country.

A comparison of the findings of the larger dairy industry study and the small-scale study of the lakes reveals that despite the Resource Management Act offering the same legislative context in both instances, the ecological modernisation discourse predominates in the first instance and the sustainable development discourse in the latter case. The contrasting outcomes may be explained by a range of factors such as the political will to act on environmental degradation, the importance of the lakes to the tourism industry and hence presenting an economic imperative, and the desire of the local community including Maori, most significantly, to ensure the survival of the lakes. Such factors are not evident in the more diffused national context of the dairy industry. The lakes study and the Q-survey results also reveal that a sustainable development approach has the potential to lead to better long-term environmental sustainability results. 

Ultimately, the thesis demonstrates that different sustainability discourses shape different sustainability outcomes. It illuminates how nature-society relationships in New Zealand continue to be marked by power relations and power struggles that are shaped by political ideologies. The study concludes that an overwhelming emphasis by the government and the dairy industry on economic productivism has trumped any concern about environmental sustainability enshrined in the Resource Management Act, although interventions driven by a sustainable development discourse remain possible on a local scale.

text: The politics of sustainability in New Zealand: A critical evaluation of environmental policy, practice and prospects through a case study of the dairy industry This thesis examines the politics of sustainability in New Zealand through a case study of the dairy industry. New Zealand’s ‘clean and green’ image was bolstered by the passing of the Resource Management Act (RMA) (1991) to much international acclaim. Yet, since its adoption, the country has seen a dramatic expansion and intensification of dairy farming which has resulted in significant environmental decline. The thesis seeks to answer why this has occurred despite the provisions of New Zealand’s apparent world-leading environmental sustainability legislation.

The thesis examines the history of agricultural practice and environmental legislation in New Zealand, contemporary environmental policy and its implementation, dairy industry responses to the challenge of sustainability, and a lakes restoration initiative.  Informed by a critical discourse analysis approach, the thesis developed a discourse analytic framework to identify technological, ecological modernisation and sustainable development discourses within environmental policies and processes and dairy industry practice and explore the implications of these discourses.  The framework is also applied to the analysis of stakeholder interviews, a Q-sort survey, and texts from a variety of governmental and nongovernmental organisations.  The analysis offers insights into the disjuncture between the intentions of the RMA and actual environmental outcomes. 

The thesis found that policy practice was dominated by the ecological modernisation discourse. Despite the RMA being underpinned by a sustainable development normative framework, in practice the ecological modernisation discourse has informed the implementation mechanisms and social processes required by government and the dairy industry to realise primarily economic goals.  The ecological modernisation discourse has enabled continued support for a productivist and utilitarian approach to the environment. 

The research also found there were small-scale instances of a different institutional approach, involving bottom-up initiatives and widespread community participation in decision processes, which offered an example of more environmentally sustainable policy and practice.  Specifically, in the Central North Island lakes catchments, where dairying has led to a sharp decline of lake water quality, the policy response has been normatively and institutionally shaped by the sustainable development discourse.  A critical outcome is that pastoral farmers within the lakes catchments are now required to farm within the limits of the carrying capacity of these regions. These comparative cases offer a powerful alternative, and a possible blueprint for the institutionalisation of sustainable agriculture into the rest of the country.

A comparison of the findings of the larger dairy industry study and the small-scale study of the lakes reveals that despite the Resource Management Act offering the same legislative context in both instances, the ecological modernisation discourse predominates in the first instance and the sustainable development discourse in the latter case. The contrasting outcomes may be explained by a range of factors such as the political will to act on environmental degradation, the importance of the lakes to the tourism industry and hence presenting an economic imperative, and the desire of the local community including Maori, most significantly, to ensure the survival of the lakes. Such factors are not evident in the more diffused national context of the dairy industry. The lakes study and the Q-survey results also reveal that a sustainable development approach has the potential to lead to better long-term environmental sustainability results. 

Ultimately, the thesis demonstrates that different sustainability discourses shape different sustainability outcomes. It illuminates how nature-society relationships in New Zealand continue to be marked by power relations and power struggles that are shaped by political ideologies. The study concludes that an overwhelming emphasis by the government and the dairy industry on economic productivism has trumped any concern about environmental sustainability enshrined in the Resource Management Act, although interventions driven by a sustainable development discourse remain possible on a local scale.

year: 2015

title: Contour segments in neverver: Synchronic justifications

authors: Barbour, Julie Renee

subjects: syllabication

abstract: The Neverver language of Vanuatu has been analysed as containing six prenasalised phonemes. Prenasalised phonemes can be described as contour segments, beginning their articulation with nasal airflow [+nasal], and ending their articulation with oral airflow [-nasal]. Syllabification in Neverver provides important evidence of the status of prenasalised phonemes as complex but unitary segments. In this paper, I examine the behaviour of prenasalised phonemes, showing how prenasalised segments behave in the same way as simple segments, and how they contrast clearly with heterogeneous and geminate consonant sequences through syllabification processes that shape the surface forms of inflected verbs. My analysis aligns with native-speaker intuitions about the psychological reality of complex segments in Neverver, and provides evidence against a recent claim that a universal No Contour Principle operates in language.

text: Contour segments in neverver: Synchronic justifications The Neverver language of Vanuatu has been analysed as containing six prenasalised phonemes. Prenasalised phonemes can be described as contour segments, beginning their articulation with nasal airflow [+nasal], and ending their articulation with oral airflow [-nasal]. Syllabification in Neverver provides important evidence of the status of prenasalised phonemes as complex but unitary segments. In this paper, I examine the behaviour of prenasalised phonemes, showing how prenasalised segments behave in the same way as simple segments, and how they contrast clearly with heterogeneous and geminate consonant sequences through syllabification processes that shape the surface forms of inflected verbs. My analysis aligns with native-speaker intuitions about the psychological reality of complex segments in Neverver, and provides evidence against a recent claim that a universal No Contour Principle operates in language.

year: 2011

title: Planning for the protection and enhancement of marine environments' wellbeing

authors: Barnsdall, Aaron

subjects: marine

abstract: The wellbeing of marine environments has a direct relationship with the types of whenua (land, placenta) use and management practices that go from the mountains to the sea. In Aotearoa, activities that are carried out in this land-marine interface, including those related to Nature-based Solutions (NbSs), are regulated by national, regional, and district policies (e.g., New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement, regional plans, and district plans). However, due to its novel character, not all current policies account for the realisation of NbSs nor are NbSs’ potential for addressing the wellbeing of our marine environments well understood.

This dissertation focuses on Tauranga Moana (the seas of Tauranga) as the chosen locality for the case study area, to:

i) investigate how the Ngapeke 7 Trust’s community participants in the Ngāti Pūkenga area of Tauranga Moana understand and value NbSs for addressing the wellbeing of their marine systems; and,
ii) review current planning policies and mechanisms to identify barriers, enablers, and gaps that support or hinder the implementation of NbSs in Tauranga Moana, observing through a Kaupapa Māori lens.

Findings emphasize that integrating mātauranga Māori and Māori Ecological Knowledge (MEK) with scientific knowledge offers a holistic approach to environmental management, enhancing decision-making, education, and policy. Key Māori values, including whakapapa, mauri, and kaitiakitanga, are central to this approach.

The research identifies gaps in policies regarding NbS realization and a need for greater understanding of NbS potential and Māori perspectives. Implications include the necessity of integrating MEK into environmental practices and policies, and the value of NbSs for effective and equitable environmental outcomes. Limitations include sample size and scope, which focused on the Ngapeke 7 block. This research contributes valuable insights for environmental planning and management by centring mātauranga Māori and values in NbS implementation for marine health.

text: Planning for the protection and enhancement of marine environments' wellbeing The wellbeing of marine environments has a direct relationship with the types of whenua (land, placenta) use and management practices that go from the mountains to the sea. In Aotearoa, activities that are carried out in this land-marine interface, including those related to Nature-based Solutions (NbSs), are regulated by national, regional, and district policies (e.g., New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement, regional plans, and district plans). However, due to its novel character, not all current policies account for the realisation of NbSs nor are NbSs’ potential for addressing the wellbeing of our marine environments well understood.

This dissertation focuses on Tauranga Moana (the seas of Tauranga) as the chosen locality for the case study area, to:

i) investigate how the Ngapeke 7 Trust’s community participants in the Ngāti Pūkenga area of Tauranga Moana understand and value NbSs for addressing the wellbeing of their marine systems; and,
ii) review current planning policies and mechanisms to identify barriers, enablers, and gaps that support or hinder the implementation of NbSs in Tauranga Moana, observing through a Kaupapa Māori lens.

Findings emphasize that integrating mātauranga Māori and Māori Ecological Knowledge (MEK) with scientific knowledge offers a holistic approach to environmental management, enhancing decision-making, education, and policy. Key Māori values, including whakapapa, mauri, and kaitiakitanga, are central to this approach.

The research identifies gaps in policies regarding NbS realization and a need for greater understanding of NbS potential and Māori perspectives. Implications include the necessity of integrating MEK into environmental practices and policies, and the value of NbSs for effective and equitable environmental outcomes. Limitations include sample size and scope, which focused on the Ngapeke 7 block. This research contributes valuable insights for environmental planning and management by centring mātauranga Māori and values in NbS implementation for marine health.

year: 2025-04-16