title: Affordable Housing, Democratic Erosion, and the inevitability of Capitalism

authors: McLeay, Colin

subjects: neoliberalism

abstract: Recent New Zealand governments have sought to increase the provision of affordable housing by introducing legislative initiatives designed to encourage ownership among first-home buyers. State-directed efforts around affordable housing focused on increasing the supply of land for housing and encouraging builders to include affordable housing in their developments. Evidence from New Zealand Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) shows the Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas Act 2013 introduced by a National-led Government and the Housing Legislation Amendment Act 2016 introduced by a Labour-led Government reinforced the inevitably of the mechanisms of neoliberal capitalism. Members of Parliament tacitly accepted the worth of market mechanisms and the centrality of capitalism to the provision of affordable housing. This paper identifies ways in which recent state intervention in the affordable housing market was expressive of neoliberal capture of the political process. The hegemony of neoliberal capitalism, and associated democratic narrowing, are manifestations of post-politics. When viewed through a post-political lens, Parliamentary debates associated with recent housing legislation expose the potential for the erosion of democracy.

text: Affordable Housing, Democratic Erosion, and the inevitability of Capitalism Recent New Zealand governments have sought to increase the provision of affordable housing by introducing legislative initiatives designed to encourage ownership among first-home buyers. State-directed efforts around affordable housing focused on increasing the supply of land for housing and encouraging builders to include affordable housing in their developments. Evidence from New Zealand Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) shows the Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas Act 2013 introduced by a National-led Government and the Housing Legislation Amendment Act 2016 introduced by a Labour-led Government reinforced the inevitably of the mechanisms of neoliberal capitalism. Members of Parliament tacitly accepted the worth of market mechanisms and the centrality of capitalism to the provision of affordable housing. This paper identifies ways in which recent state intervention in the affordable housing market was expressive of neoliberal capture of the political process. The hegemony of neoliberal capitalism, and associated democratic narrowing, are manifestations of post-politics. When viewed through a post-political lens, Parliamentary debates associated with recent housing legislation expose the potential for the erosion of democracy.

year: 2022

title: The tale of two virtual teacher professional development modules

authors: Keown, Paul Ashley

subjects: teacher professional development

abstract: Virtual communities of practice (VCoP) have been advocated for some time as a promising means of taking professional development to teachers in widely distributed locations. However, geography, and indeed education literature as a whole, contains very few examples where this has been achieved. This paper reports on two VCoP professional development modules for New Zealand geography and social studies teachers. The first module focused on perspectives in geography and the second on values in social studies. The paper describes the design of the modules and tells the story of each module in practice as two “tales” or narratives. The second tale tells a much happier story than the first, and the reasons for this are explored. The paper concludes by discussing what can be learned about implementing successful professional development for geography teachers through VCoPs as indicated by the results reported through the two tales.

text: The tale of two virtual teacher professional development modules Virtual communities of practice (VCoP) have been advocated for some time as a promising means of taking professional development to teachers in widely distributed locations. However, geography, and indeed education literature as a whole, contains very few examples where this has been achieved. This paper reports on two VCoP professional development modules for New Zealand geography and social studies teachers. The first module focused on perspectives in geography and the second on values in social studies. The paper describes the design of the modules and tells the story of each module in practice as two “tales” or narratives. The second tale tells a much happier story than the first, and the reasons for this are explored. The paper concludes by discussing what can be learned about implementing successful professional development for geography teachers through VCoPs as indicated by the results reported through the two tales.

year: 2009

title: The cultural and ecological health of the Tokaanu Stream

authors: Eastwood, Kevin

abstract: Freshwater ecosystems worldwide face increasing threats from human activities like land development and altered flow regimes. These pressures, along with climate change, jeopardize water quality and quantity. Despite these challenges, effective management can improve water quality and habitat, thus sustaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Lake Taupō, Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest freshwater lake, holds immense significance for the local iwi, Ngāti Tūwharetoa. The Tokaanu Stream is a tributary of Lake Taupō that was once considered a premier fly-fishing spot. However, the stream has been severely impacted by the Tongariro Power Scheme, which required it to be bisected and channelized to accommodate the Tokaanu tailrace. Coupled with land-use changes in the catchment, these alterations have caused the local hapū, Ngāti Kurauia, who have mana whenua over the lower stream, to raise concerns about its ecological and cultural degradation. To address this problem, I developed a cultural monitoring framework (CMF) in collaboration with Ngāti Kurauia, alongside conventional stream monitoring, at six sites in the lower Tokaanu Stream.
The bespoke CMF was developed through kōrero and wānanga (discussions and workshops) with Ngāti Kurauia. This participatory approach resulted in a CMF with 16 attributes covering vegetation, birdlife, water quality, pollution, engineering, and substrate. Regular assessments revealed a longitudinal decline in stream condition from the most upstream site (Site 1) to the most downstream (Site 6). The state of Site 3 was identified as the most desirable, whilst Site 5 was the most degraded.
Alongside the CMF, I assessed stream health using conventional scientific measures. This monitoring also showed a longitudinal decline in stream ecosystem health moving downstream. Water quality worsened, with indicator bacteria increasing from 45 to 190 CFU/100 ml and total ammoniacal nitrogen from 0.029 to 0.125 g/m3 over the 4 km segment. Deposited fine sediment cover was high, increasing from 69% cover at Site 1 to 83% at Site 6. Cellulose degradation rates (a functional indicator) were diminished at Sites 5 and 6 in both years, even with warming from geothermal springs. Macroinvertebrate communities, monitored in 2023 and 2024, initially showed a linear decline moving downstream in 2023. However, in-stream remediation in early 2024, undertaken by a private contractor, significantly improved macroinvertebrate indicators at impacted sites (Sites 4-6).
The challenges facing the Tokaanu Stream are complex, stemming from geothermal inputs, urbanisation, upstream agriculture, and channelization. Declining water quality may be linked to faulty sewage infrastructure in Tokaanu Village. The stream's diversion includes a tailrace spillway that prevents larger downstream flows, potentially reducing scouring events crucial for natural sediment dynamics. These changes have significant ecological and cultural ramifications for Ngāti Kurauia.
To better understand and address these issues, I argue for an additional downstream State of the Environment (SOE) monitoring site. The current site, near the upstream spring, fails to capture the full impact of catchment inputs, including diffuse pollution from Tokaanu Village and altered sediment dynamics from the diversion. An additional SOE site, coupled with the findings of my thesis, would provide crucial knowledge to support efforts in restoring the Tokaanu Stream's ecological health and the mana of Ngāti Kurauia.

text: The cultural and ecological health of the Tokaanu Stream Freshwater ecosystems worldwide face increasing threats from human activities like land development and altered flow regimes. These pressures, along with climate change, jeopardize water quality and quantity. Despite these challenges, effective management can improve water quality and habitat, thus sustaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Lake Taupō, Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest freshwater lake, holds immense significance for the local iwi, Ngāti Tūwharetoa. The Tokaanu Stream is a tributary of Lake Taupō that was once considered a premier fly-fishing spot. However, the stream has been severely impacted by the Tongariro Power Scheme, which required it to be bisected and channelized to accommodate the Tokaanu tailrace. Coupled with land-use changes in the catchment, these alterations have caused the local hapū, Ngāti Kurauia, who have mana whenua over the lower stream, to raise concerns about its ecological and cultural degradation. To address this problem, I developed a cultural monitoring framework (CMF) in collaboration with Ngāti Kurauia, alongside conventional stream monitoring, at six sites in the lower Tokaanu Stream.
The bespoke CMF was developed through kōrero and wānanga (discussions and workshops) with Ngāti Kurauia. This participatory approach resulted in a CMF with 16 attributes covering vegetation, birdlife, water quality, pollution, engineering, and substrate. Regular assessments revealed a longitudinal decline in stream condition from the most upstream site (Site 1) to the most downstream (Site 6). The state of Site 3 was identified as the most desirable, whilst Site 5 was the most degraded.
Alongside the CMF, I assessed stream health using conventional scientific measures. This monitoring also showed a longitudinal decline in stream ecosystem health moving downstream. Water quality worsened, with indicator bacteria increasing from 45 to 190 CFU/100 ml and total ammoniacal nitrogen from 0.029 to 0.125 g/m3 over the 4 km segment. Deposited fine sediment cover was high, increasing from 69% cover at Site 1 to 83% at Site 6. Cellulose degradation rates (a functional indicator) were diminished at Sites 5 and 6 in both years, even with warming from geothermal springs. Macroinvertebrate communities, monitored in 2023 and 2024, initially showed a linear decline moving downstream in 2023. However, in-stream remediation in early 2024, undertaken by a private contractor, significantly improved macroinvertebrate indicators at impacted sites (Sites 4-6).
The challenges facing the Tokaanu Stream are complex, stemming from geothermal inputs, urbanisation, upstream agriculture, and channelization. Declining water quality may be linked to faulty sewage infrastructure in Tokaanu Village. The stream's diversion includes a tailrace spillway that prevents larger downstream flows, potentially reducing scouring events crucial for natural sediment dynamics. These changes have significant ecological and cultural ramifications for Ngāti Kurauia.
To better understand and address these issues, I argue for an additional downstream State of the Environment (SOE) monitoring site. The current site, near the upstream spring, fails to capture the full impact of catchment inputs, including diffuse pollution from Tokaanu Village and altered sediment dynamics from the diversion. An additional SOE site, coupled with the findings of my thesis, would provide crucial knowledge to support efforts in restoring the Tokaanu Stream's ecological health and the mana of Ngāti Kurauia.

year: 2025