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: Physical activity experiences of mothers with young children: Barriers, practices, and the influence on children’s behaviours and attitudes

authors: Connolly, Natalie

abstract: Feminist research has long explored the various factors that shape women’s experiences of motherhood, including the multiple and competing discourse of ‘good’ motherhood. Increasingly. mothers are expected to quickly resume and pursue a physically active lifestyle for both their own health and that of their children and families. This research aims to explore how mothers navigate these pressures, as well as how they integrate physical activity into their routine and that of their children. 
Inspired by post-structuralist feminism, this study draws upon twelve interviews with New Zealand Aotearoa mothers with at least one child under the age of 10. All living in the Bay of Plenty (East Coast of the North Island, NZ) mothers ranged from early twenties to mid-thirties and most had re-entered employment. The group of mothers described an array of social pressures and expectations to achieve ‘good motherhood’.  A key element of this was achieving ‘yummy mummy’ status, by taking control of their bodies, specifically re- gaining pre- pregnancy physique, through exercise. Some mothers worked to achieve this unrealistic ideal. Other problematised such dominant discursive constructions of ‘good’ motherhood. These women developed an array of strategies to navigate these discourses in ways that felt appropriate for themselves and their families. 
Factors including employment, lack of time, fatigue, family support, and pressures from ‘other mothers’ were all key contributing factors influencing mothers’ physical activity practices and experiences. This study also explored mothers’ perceptions of their influence on their children’s physical activity practices. They all considered themselves important role models in their children’s lives and express a strong desire to increase physical activity time while decreasing technology use from an early age. Focusing on New Zealand mothers’ lived experiences of juggling motherhood and pressures to be physically active, for both their own health and as role models for their children, this study makes an original contribution to a growing body of literature on the complex relationship between motherhood, sport, and physical activity.

text: Physical activity experiences of mothers with young children: Barriers, practices, and the influence on children’s behaviours and attitudes Feminist research has long explored the various factors that shape women’s experiences of motherhood, including the multiple and competing discourse of ‘good’ motherhood. Increasingly. mothers are expected to quickly resume and pursue a physically active lifestyle for both their own health and that of their children and families. This research aims to explore how mothers navigate these pressures, as well as how they integrate physical activity into their routine and that of their children. 
Inspired by post-structuralist feminism, this study draws upon twelve interviews with New Zealand Aotearoa mothers with at least one child under the age of 10. All living in the Bay of Plenty (East Coast of the North Island, NZ) mothers ranged from early twenties to mid-thirties and most had re-entered employment. The group of mothers described an array of social pressures and expectations to achieve ‘good motherhood’.  A key element of this was achieving ‘yummy mummy’ status, by taking control of their bodies, specifically re- gaining pre- pregnancy physique, through exercise. Some mothers worked to achieve this unrealistic ideal. Other problematised such dominant discursive constructions of ‘good’ motherhood. These women developed an array of strategies to navigate these discourses in ways that felt appropriate for themselves and their families. 
Factors including employment, lack of time, fatigue, family support, and pressures from ‘other mothers’ were all key contributing factors influencing mothers’ physical activity practices and experiences. This study also explored mothers’ perceptions of their influence on their children’s physical activity practices. They all considered themselves important role models in their children’s lives and express a strong desire to increase physical activity time while decreasing technology use from an early age. Focusing on New Zealand mothers’ lived experiences of juggling motherhood and pressures to be physically active, for both their own health and as role models for their children, this study makes an original contribution to a growing body of literature on the complex relationship between motherhood, sport, and physical activity.

year: 2022

title: Understanding the construction of belonging in a for-profit ECE centre: An ethnographic study

authors: Westerbeke, Lynley Ann

subjects: Belonging

abstract: Participation in high quality early childhood education [ECE] is recognised as having long ranging academic and social benefits for children, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds (Mitchell, Wylie & Carr, 2008).   In 2010 the ECE Participation Programme was successfully introduced to increase enrolment in ECE for targeted groups, such as Māori, Pasifika, and low income families.  I argue that focusing on increased participation alone is limiting and participation requires being viewed alongside the notion of belonging.  With the majority of children participating in for-profit ECE centres in Aotearoa New Zealand (Ministry of Education, 2015) I suggest that what children are participating in merits greater investigation.    
In this thesis belonging is positioned as not simply obtaining membership, but utilising Rogoff’s (2003) understanding of participation, it is viewed as something which is highly influential, where core values are transmitted and transformed.
The research questions guiding this thesis are:
1.	What affordances and challenges to belonging are identified by stakeholders participating in a privately owned, for-profit, ECE centre?
2.	How is the ethical stewardship of Te Whāriki reflected in the leadership’s decision making?
This thesis used a critical ethnographic methodology, and was conducted over a nine month period in a for-profit ECE centre, with the researcher in the role of participant observer.  The centre is located in a lower socio-economic area of an inner city suburb and is accessed by families who at the time of the study had only 30% of its parents in paid employment.  The majority of children identified as Māori and lived in close proximity to the centre, and all teachers at the centre identified as Pākehā.  The stakeholders identified for this study were the children, their parents and the teachers.  Three teachers participated in the study and four children were selected for case study, aged between two and four and a half years.  Data was generated primarily through semi-structured interviews with the children, their parents and the teachers, and observation of the setting.  The data was viewed utilising Rogoff’s (2003) three foci of analysis, with three contributing factors to belonging identified by participants; values, relationships and leadership.
The thesis argues that belonging is complex and participation in for-profit ECE services is an ethical concern, not only for the children and their families but also for teachers.  To make sense of the aligned yet often contradicting perspectives of the stakeholders I propose a belonging framework, conceptualised to bring understanding to the construction of belonging within the centre.  It suggests that belonging to the centre can be viewed from three distinct viewpoints; it can be observed, lived, and framed.   The study evidenced that the day-to-day lived experiences of the children are not fully known by parents and, while also lived, belonging is primarily observed for this cohort.  Within the context of lived belonging the teachers’ and leadership’s philosophical and pedagogical approaches meet, and often collide.  The child is placed at the heart of the framework where belonging is lived and it is here that meaning for this group is primarily created, and cultural values are transmitted and transformed.  The third perspective is how belonging is framed, with the leaders’ operational decision making setting the parameters for the stakeholders’ participation.  It is in this space that the actual values guiding the setting are revealed.
My thesis aims to explain the impact on the stakeholders’ sense of belonging when a government funded centre is driven by agendas not fully aligned with the intentions of the democratic and bicultural curriculum, Te Whāriki.  This study adds to the literature on for-profit ECE services, participation in ECE in Aotearoa New Zealand, and leadership in ECE.

text: Understanding the construction of belonging in a for-profit ECE centre: An ethnographic study Participation in high quality early childhood education [ECE] is recognised as having long ranging academic and social benefits for children, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds (Mitchell, Wylie & Carr, 2008).   In 2010 the ECE Participation Programme was successfully introduced to increase enrolment in ECE for targeted groups, such as Māori, Pasifika, and low income families.  I argue that focusing on increased participation alone is limiting and participation requires being viewed alongside the notion of belonging.  With the majority of children participating in for-profit ECE centres in Aotearoa New Zealand (Ministry of Education, 2015) I suggest that what children are participating in merits greater investigation.    
In this thesis belonging is positioned as not simply obtaining membership, but utilising Rogoff’s (2003) understanding of participation, it is viewed as something which is highly influential, where core values are transmitted and transformed.
The research questions guiding this thesis are:
1.	What affordances and challenges to belonging are identified by stakeholders participating in a privately owned, for-profit, ECE centre?
2.	How is the ethical stewardship of Te Whāriki reflected in the leadership’s decision making?
This thesis used a critical ethnographic methodology, and was conducted over a nine month period in a for-profit ECE centre, with the researcher in the role of participant observer.  The centre is located in a lower socio-economic area of an inner city suburb and is accessed by families who at the time of the study had only 30% of its parents in paid employment.  The majority of children identified as Māori and lived in close proximity to the centre, and all teachers at the centre identified as Pākehā.  The stakeholders identified for this study were the children, their parents and the teachers.  Three teachers participated in the study and four children were selected for case study, aged between two and four and a half years.  Data was generated primarily through semi-structured interviews with the children, their parents and the teachers, and observation of the setting.  The data was viewed utilising Rogoff’s (2003) three foci of analysis, with three contributing factors to belonging identified by participants; values, relationships and leadership.
The thesis argues that belonging is complex and participation in for-profit ECE services is an ethical concern, not only for the children and their families but also for teachers.  To make sense of the aligned yet often contradicting perspectives of the stakeholders I propose a belonging framework, conceptualised to bring understanding to the construction of belonging within the centre.  It suggests that belonging to the centre can be viewed from three distinct viewpoints; it can be observed, lived, and framed.   The study evidenced that the day-to-day lived experiences of the children are not fully known by parents and, while also lived, belonging is primarily observed for this cohort.  Within the context of lived belonging the teachers’ and leadership’s philosophical and pedagogical approaches meet, and often collide.  The child is placed at the heart of the framework where belonging is lived and it is here that meaning for this group is primarily created, and cultural values are transmitted and transformed.  The third perspective is how belonging is framed, with the leaders’ operational decision making setting the parameters for the stakeholders’ participation.  It is in this space that the actual values guiding the setting are revealed.
My thesis aims to explain the impact on the stakeholders’ sense of belonging when a government funded centre is driven by agendas not fully aligned with the intentions of the democratic and bicultural curriculum, Te Whāriki.  This study adds to the literature on for-profit ECE services, participation in ECE in Aotearoa New Zealand, and leadership in ECE.

year: 2016