Society and environment

Since the British settlement of New Zealand in the 1800’s, development of urban and rural areas have sprung up and intensified to what we see today. During this period the industrial revolution enabled the production of vast amounts of commodities. Exponential growth enabled by the expansion of machinery for transport and processing raw materials brought innovation feeding greater developments. Along with this growth came challenges to managing demands on resources. The clearing of native forests for pasture and draining of wetlands has reduced the area of native flora by about 75%. Over time people came to realise that the environmental effects from human activity would further degrade the environment and have negative effects on natural cycles. Early conservationists saw the intrinsic values of New Zealand’s flora, fauna and waterways and made their opinions clear by lobbying through parliament to protect areas of surviving native bush which provide habitat for a multitude of ...

The Beehive, Wellington 2016. Source: Rod Barker. It would be difficult to determine an accurate level of public awareness of political party relationships in New Zealand. This is not because there's lack of information available on the subject, it's probably because the public feel alienated from political processes.  Polls and surveys are ways to establish public awareness, however, when looking at a recent Colmar BruntonPoll (February 2018), the information sought pertains to: preferred Prime Minister, key political events, preferred party vote, economic outlook and parliamentary seat entitlement. Surveys such as this capture a snapshot view of public opinion, however, do not generate public awareness of current political party relationships. There seems to be little interest from the public on political party relationships due to societal beliefs that politicians have ulterior motives and have a tendency of catering to corporate interests. According to Bryce Edw...

Freedom camping is one of many issues facing the Tasman region and impacts many communities nationwide. In 2011, central government introduced the Freedom Camping Act as a way to regulate growing issues around freedom camping. National figures according to Motueka newspaper The Guardian (2018) suggest that over the past ten years the number of freedom campers have increased from around 30,000 to 115,000 annually. Freedom campers at Decks Reserve. Source: The Guardian (2018). In August 2017, Tasman District Council (TDC) sought public submissions on their proposed Freedom Camping Bylaw and enacted this in December 2017. This was an opportunity for residents of the region to offer their input to find workable solutions to a local problem. As a result of this process TDC identified areas where freedom camping would be permissible. The purpose of the local bylaw according to the TDC (2018) was to: ensure access to local areas were maintained and protected; maintain public...

Somehow gambling became a social issue in New Zealand. How did this come about? When I was growing up (1970s and 80s) large scale gambling was mostly on horses and greyhounds. From the onset of New Zealand’s colonisation early settlers gambled on sports, card games, billiards, boat races and even greasy pole fights.  According to  Casino Slots NZ , “gambling is a very big and essential part of the culture of New Zealand”. I guess this means that if gambling organisations think it to be essential to our culture and our government backs these institutions, gambling must be a social necessity. The question is, does culture evolve naturally or can culture be designed by influencing human desires through extravagant marketing?    In 1987 the NZ government initiated the Lotteries Commission to run Lotto and unleashed Lotto on the nation. In 1991 gambling ‘gaming’ machines where introduced and became known as pokies. Their name supposedly comes from poker mac...

Quite often a mayor's role involves influencing the public and acting as promoter of local government ideals and projects. The celebrity appeal of a mayor gives them a rock-star like aura which often provides god like powers of authority. According to Local Government NZ 2015, " Mayors often find that the range of issues they are asked to respond to extends well beyond their council’s range of responsibilities, yet even though they may not have a formal responsibility they can, by using their “bully pulpit” role, achieve quite a lot". The term “bully pulpit” has become synonymous with positions of influence especially within political spheres. Mayors have power to influence and can use this in various ways. For example, in the Tasman region, Tasman District Council (TDC) Mayor Richard Kempthorne conveys his opinion (where beneficial) in the local and national media regarding the proposed Waimea dam project. The TDC Newsline is their monthly propaganda pamphlet   whi...