title: “Who wants to do something about rising prices?”: Consumer protest and the campaign against rising prices in Aotearoa New  Zealand, 1966-1981

authors: Wilkinson, Cameron J.

abstract: This thesis is a historical analysis of the Campaign Against Rising Prices (CARP), an organisation of women that fought against rising prices in Aotearoa New Zealand between 1966 and 1981. They were particularly distinguished by their use of targeted economic boycotts in the late 1960s and 1970s, and they were also prolific in their correspondence with governments of the day. Using archival records left by the two main branches in Auckland and Wellington, this thesis pieces together the story of CARP and its branches, and asks: Why did CARP emerge when it did, and why did it choose to take the actions it took? What was CARP able to achieve between 1966 and 1981, and to what extent was CARP successful in achieving its goals? Why did CARP dissolve in 1981? Where does CARP fit within the bigger picture of Aotearoa New Zealand in the 1960s and 1970s?
In answering these questions, this thesis will show that, during its time, CARP was a complex and flourishing site of protest, engaged in multiple different forms of protest and able to command attention, from the Government, the media, and the public. They cultivated strong ties with the trade union movement of the 1960s and 1970s, enabled by personal links between many of the women who led CARP and union leaders in Auckland and Wellington. They consistently maintained a rigid focus on ‘rising prices’, and attempted to position themselves as ‘non-political’ in the face of an antagonistic relationship with multiple governments, and accusations of being a front for Communist agitation. CARP were always an organisation led and supported by women, and initially collectively identified itself as a ‘housewives organisation’, but over time CARP de-emphasised gendered identity, and as such remained outside the larger ‘women’s movement’ of the 1970s. This thesis argues that we can understand the reasoning behind CARP’s formation, and decision-making, by understanding the background context of New Zealand’s socioeconomic conditions in the 1960s and 1970s, and the connections CARP had to growing domestic protest, the trade unions, and second-wave feminism. Understanding how CARP operated, and the context of the late 1970s, also allows us to understand why CARP dissolved in 1981, after several years of winding down. In the process, this thesis seeks to position CARP within the wider historiography on protest, labour, and gender in Aotearoa New Zealand, and bring it out of the obscurity it has had within New Zealand history since its dissolution in 1981.

text: “Who wants to do something about rising prices?”: Consumer protest and the campaign against rising prices in Aotearoa New  Zealand, 1966-1981 This thesis is a historical analysis of the Campaign Against Rising Prices (CARP), an organisation of women that fought against rising prices in Aotearoa New Zealand between 1966 and 1981. They were particularly distinguished by their use of targeted economic boycotts in the late 1960s and 1970s, and they were also prolific in their correspondence with governments of the day. Using archival records left by the two main branches in Auckland and Wellington, this thesis pieces together the story of CARP and its branches, and asks: Why did CARP emerge when it did, and why did it choose to take the actions it took? What was CARP able to achieve between 1966 and 1981, and to what extent was CARP successful in achieving its goals? Why did CARP dissolve in 1981? Where does CARP fit within the bigger picture of Aotearoa New Zealand in the 1960s and 1970s?
In answering these questions, this thesis will show that, during its time, CARP was a complex and flourishing site of protest, engaged in multiple different forms of protest and able to command attention, from the Government, the media, and the public. They cultivated strong ties with the trade union movement of the 1960s and 1970s, enabled by personal links between many of the women who led CARP and union leaders in Auckland and Wellington. They consistently maintained a rigid focus on ‘rising prices’, and attempted to position themselves as ‘non-political’ in the face of an antagonistic relationship with multiple governments, and accusations of being a front for Communist agitation. CARP were always an organisation led and supported by women, and initially collectively identified itself as a ‘housewives organisation’, but over time CARP de-emphasised gendered identity, and as such remained outside the larger ‘women’s movement’ of the 1970s. This thesis argues that we can understand the reasoning behind CARP’s formation, and decision-making, by understanding the background context of New Zealand’s socioeconomic conditions in the 1960s and 1970s, and the connections CARP had to growing domestic protest, the trade unions, and second-wave feminism. Understanding how CARP operated, and the context of the late 1970s, also allows us to understand why CARP dissolved in 1981, after several years of winding down. In the process, this thesis seeks to position CARP within the wider historiography on protest, labour, and gender in Aotearoa New Zealand, and bring it out of the obscurity it has had within New Zealand history since its dissolution in 1981.

year: 2024

title: Depuration of tetrodotoxin and changes in bacterial communities in Pleurobranchea maculata adults and egg masses maintained in captivity

authors: Wood, Susanna A.

subjects: chemical defense

abstract: Depuration of tetrodotoxin (TTX) was investigated in adult grey side-gilled sea slugs, Pleurobranchaea maculata, maintained in captivity on a TTX-free diet. Three adults were harvested every 21 days for 126 days, and TTX concentrations were measured in organs/tissues and egg masses. Automated rRNA intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA) was used to investigate bacterial community structure in selected samples. Linear modeling of adult data demonstrated a decline (P < 0.001) in average total TTX concentrations over time. Temporal data obtained from a wild population showed similar depuration rates, indicating that once adults reach a certain size, or sexual maturity, TTX is no longer produced or acquired substantially. Depuration rates differed among organs, with concentrations in the heart declining the fastest. The gonads had the slowest and least significant depuration rate indicating, at most, weak depuration of this tissue. There was a strong correlation (R (2) = 0.66) between TTX concentrations in the first-laid egg masses and total TTX in the corresponding adult. These data suggest that adult P. maculata transfer TTX to their offspring, and presumably that functions as a chemical defense. ARISA data showed a shift in bacterial community structure within 3 weeks of introduction to captivity. Based on the combined data, the exact origin of TTX in P. maculata is unclear, with evidence both in favor and against a dietary source, and endogenous or bacterial production.

text: Depuration of tetrodotoxin and changes in bacterial communities in Pleurobranchea maculata adults and egg masses maintained in captivity Depuration of tetrodotoxin (TTX) was investigated in adult grey side-gilled sea slugs, Pleurobranchaea maculata, maintained in captivity on a TTX-free diet. Three adults were harvested every 21 days for 126 days, and TTX concentrations were measured in organs/tissues and egg masses. Automated rRNA intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA) was used to investigate bacterial community structure in selected samples. Linear modeling of adult data demonstrated a decline (P < 0.001) in average total TTX concentrations over time. Temporal data obtained from a wild population showed similar depuration rates, indicating that once adults reach a certain size, or sexual maturity, TTX is no longer produced or acquired substantially. Depuration rates differed among organs, with concentrations in the heart declining the fastest. The gonads had the slowest and least significant depuration rate indicating, at most, weak depuration of this tissue. There was a strong correlation (R (2) = 0.66) between TTX concentrations in the first-laid egg masses and total TTX in the corresponding adult. These data suggest that adult P. maculata transfer TTX to their offspring, and presumably that functions as a chemical defense. ARISA data showed a shift in bacterial community structure within 3 weeks of introduction to captivity. Based on the combined data, the exact origin of TTX in P. maculata is unclear, with evidence both in favor and against a dietary source, and endogenous or bacterial production.

year: 2012

title: Decolonising legal research: Developing legal theory to articulate Māori and non-Māori legal research paradigms equitably

authors: Hasan-Stein, Linda

abstract: Māori and non-Māori legal research paradigms in Aotearoa New Zealand are separated by a considerable theoretical knowledge gap. Māori knowledge systems are generally not well known in a non-Māori context. In order to bridge this theoretical knowledge gap jurisprudential studies need to address this gap from Māori and non-Māori perspectives. Doing so enables the development of decolonised legal research paradigms which allow for the sharing of knowledge from positions of respect. In this work, a new theoretical interpretation of legal research paradigms in our jurisprudence is presented, relying on an interdisciplinary approach to support these interpretive strategies. 

Beginning with the understanding that knowledge is empowering for both Māori and non-Māori, I foreground the epistemological character of decolonising legal research that supports Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s call for research to be conceived differently and highlight the need for an integrated recognition of kaupapa Māori in the development of legal theory in Aotearoa New Zealand. Reimagining our laws as something more than ‘sovereignty’ is the first step in narrowing the current theoretical knowledge gap. I translate the broader language of colonialism into the more specific vocabulary of the criminal justice system, in order to make more visible the manner in which Eurocentrism permeates decolonising legal research and stifles the potential future social development of Māori. 

Since Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s call to decolonise research, significant progress has been made with regard to the inclusion of principles of tikanga Māori to guide legal research that includes Māori. However, transforming principles of tikanga Māori into our jurisprudential landscape is a complex task. It is increasingly recognised that understanding the key principles of tikanga Māori is not always sufficient and that a greater theoretical understanding of decolonising legal principles is needed. I will analyse theoretical features of research epistemologies with the goal of grasping the complex array of historically-specific practices through which particular dimensions of our socio-legal experience are produced. 

Finally, I will explore how an interdisciplinary approach enables us to link forms of subjectivity to forms of objectivity in a distinctively “cultural” way, by working through difference rather than against it, and by acknowledging as meaningful each law’s characteristic discursive formation. 

This work is written as an intervention in Eurocentrism, aimed at providing a fresh interpretation of decolonising legal research. On this level, the most important argumentative thread is the one that demonstrates how Eurocentrism can be read as a colonising tool, which deploys positions that marginalise Indigenous knowledge. By unpacking Eurocentrism’s complex meaning it is possible to refashion Eurocentrism to include the notions of “partnerships”, that value subjective experience over objective, and that, in reality, include “Indigenous cultural” qualities. 

This style of decolonising jurisprudence pushes strenuously for a legal paradigm shift towards a culturally safe space for all legal scholars, not just Māori; a shift that could encourage our legal theory to converge in a more holistic way. The most important argumentative threads are those centred on the inclusion of Indigenous arguments, and the emergent character of decolonising legal research categories such as whanaungatanga or relational accountability. This type of innovative legal interpretation offers the possibility for a new theoretical era for decolonising legal research.

text: Decolonising legal research: Developing legal theory to articulate Māori and non-Māori legal research paradigms equitably Māori and non-Māori legal research paradigms in Aotearoa New Zealand are separated by a considerable theoretical knowledge gap. Māori knowledge systems are generally not well known in a non-Māori context. In order to bridge this theoretical knowledge gap jurisprudential studies need to address this gap from Māori and non-Māori perspectives. Doing so enables the development of decolonised legal research paradigms which allow for the sharing of knowledge from positions of respect. In this work, a new theoretical interpretation of legal research paradigms in our jurisprudence is presented, relying on an interdisciplinary approach to support these interpretive strategies. 

Beginning with the understanding that knowledge is empowering for both Māori and non-Māori, I foreground the epistemological character of decolonising legal research that supports Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s call for research to be conceived differently and highlight the need for an integrated recognition of kaupapa Māori in the development of legal theory in Aotearoa New Zealand. Reimagining our laws as something more than ‘sovereignty’ is the first step in narrowing the current theoretical knowledge gap. I translate the broader language of colonialism into the more specific vocabulary of the criminal justice system, in order to make more visible the manner in which Eurocentrism permeates decolonising legal research and stifles the potential future social development of Māori. 

Since Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s call to decolonise research, significant progress has been made with regard to the inclusion of principles of tikanga Māori to guide legal research that includes Māori. However, transforming principles of tikanga Māori into our jurisprudential landscape is a complex task. It is increasingly recognised that understanding the key principles of tikanga Māori is not always sufficient and that a greater theoretical understanding of decolonising legal principles is needed. I will analyse theoretical features of research epistemologies with the goal of grasping the complex array of historically-specific practices through which particular dimensions of our socio-legal experience are produced. 

Finally, I will explore how an interdisciplinary approach enables us to link forms of subjectivity to forms of objectivity in a distinctively “cultural” way, by working through difference rather than against it, and by acknowledging as meaningful each law’s characteristic discursive formation. 

This work is written as an intervention in Eurocentrism, aimed at providing a fresh interpretation of decolonising legal research. On this level, the most important argumentative thread is the one that demonstrates how Eurocentrism can be read as a colonising tool, which deploys positions that marginalise Indigenous knowledge. By unpacking Eurocentrism’s complex meaning it is possible to refashion Eurocentrism to include the notions of “partnerships”, that value subjective experience over objective, and that, in reality, include “Indigenous cultural” qualities. 

This style of decolonising jurisprudence pushes strenuously for a legal paradigm shift towards a culturally safe space for all legal scholars, not just Māori; a shift that could encourage our legal theory to converge in a more holistic way. The most important argumentative threads are those centred on the inclusion of Indigenous arguments, and the emergent character of decolonising legal research categories such as whanaungatanga or relational accountability. This type of innovative legal interpretation offers the possibility for a new theoretical era for decolonising legal research.

year: 2026