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In 2010, the Electoral (Disqualification of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Bill marked a significant change in prisoner voting rights policies in New Zealand, disenfranchising all prisoners regardless of sentence length. A decade later in 2020, the Electoral (Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Bill re-enfranchised prisoners serving sentences of less than three years. Over this time, a Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry and a number of Māori politicians and public figures highlighted the disproportionate effects of prisoner disenfranchisement for Māori given over-representation of Māori in the prison population. However, less attention has focused on the specific effects of disenfranchisement for wāhine Māori (Māori women) in prison, and what this reflects about the relationship between wāhine Māori and the state. While women make up a significantly smaller percentage of the general prison population than men, wāhine Māori made up 61% of the women’s prison population in 2021 (Office of the Inspectorate, 2021). Additionally, wāhine Māori had a drastically different experience of colonisation to tāne Māori (Māori men). Colonial actions worked to destroy traditional Māori social organisation, which disrupted the balance between men and women and confined wāhine Māori to a social position that falls behind Pākehā men and women and Māori men. This thesis takes a Māori-centred, Mana Wahine lens to draw on the content of interviews with key informants and analysis of parliamentary readings of the 2010 and 2020 bills in order to explore how prisoner disenfranchisement in the 21st century reflects broader patterns regarding the treatment of wāhine Māori by the state. Disenfranchisement is likely to uniquely affect wāhine Māori due to their importance in te ao Māori as nurturers, the managers of households, and their centrality to the intergenerational transfer of knowledge. This not only presents barriers to voting and re-enrolment on the electoral roll post-release from prison, but also serves to practically disenfranchise the whānau and communities that wāhine Māori belong to. The lack of consideration of the needs and experiences of wāhine Māori in state discussions of prisoner voting rights mirrors the ongoing invisibility of wāhine Māori in state policy. The state has framed prisoner voting rights around male and tāne Māori norms, which cannot account for wāhine Māori. Moving forward, if prisoner voting rights policies are revisited in the future, an intersectional approach must be taken that effectively addresses the needs of wāhine Māori.
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The network of diplomatic posts operated by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (the Ministry) represent New Zealand on the international stage. Staffed by a combination of diplomatic and locally engaged staff, these posts are New Zealand’s face to the world. A small proportion of the diplomatic staff are Māori (indigenous). Māori art and imagery are used extensively throughout these posts. This research examines the use of Māori (people, images and practices) in New Zealand’s diplomacy. In particular, how specific aspects of New Zealand’s diplomatic practice draw on Māori cultural practices or imagery and what is intended or understood by the symbolism inherent in their use. In the context of the wider physical environment utilized by New Zealand’s offshore presence, these issues are considered through the theoretical lenses of diplomatic symbolism, architectural diplomacy, representation and the use of works of art as image building diplomacy. In addition to a series of semi-structured interviews with key Ministry staff and an analysis of relevant documents of interest, case studies are utilized. Two of these examine how New Zealand is physically represented in an overseas posting environment in two Pacific contexts. One, a long-standing diplomatic representation in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands (part of the Realm of New Zealand which is self-governing in free association with New Zealand – with close cultural ties with Māori in New Zealand), and the second in a newer relationship in Noumea, New Caledonia (an overseas territory of France). The final case study – Canberra- considers New Zealand’s close relationship with Australia. Key research findings illustrate the Ministry (and by extension New Zealand) uses various forms of bicultural symbolism (through the use or display of Māori taonga, objects and art forms) to represent New Zealand internationally. In addition, this use of bicultural symbolism does not adequately consider the disconnect between the outward face of the Ministry and the inward realities (specifically related to the position of Māori staff and the Ministry’s policy function). The research contribution will add to knowledge about New Zealand’s diplomatic thought and practice and address the gap in the literature of how New Zealand has used diplomatic symbolism in relation to Māori to express a collective identity as part of New Zealand’s diplomacy.
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Food sovereignty, the right of people to define and control their own food and agriculture systems (Patel, 2009), was a significant part of pre-colonial Māori economies as Māori practised mahinga kai where they lived off the land and were guardians of their resources. Today, after a long period during which Māori were stripped of many of their abilities to exercise sovereignty over their food worlds and food lives, Māori are working to rebuild their food sovereignty in a diverse economies framework (Bargh, 2011, 2012; Amoamo Ruwhiu & Carter, 2018; Bargh, Douglas & Te One, 2014; Fitzherbert, 2015). There is currently a limited amount of research examining Māori food sovereignty in these terms. In response to this research gap, this thesis examines how the relationships between iwi commercial food ventures and iwi food sovereignty are negotiated and developed using Whakatōhea Iwi as a case study. This research aims to map Whakatōhea’s food economy over time, document Whakatōhea’s loss of food sovereignty, investigate the relationship between the Whakatōhea mussel farm and Whakatōhea food sovereignty, and explore food sovereign futures for Whakatōhea. It develops four main arguments: 1. Over time Whakatōhea’s food economy has transitioned from a resource-rich diverse economy to an economy dominated by capitalist markets. 2. Whakatōhea has experienced a loss of food sovereignty since colonisation. 3. The complicated relationship between Whakatōhea’s mussel farm economy and Whakatōhea food sovereignty is continually being negotiated, but promises opportunities to build a new food sovereignty for whānau and hapū. 4. Several diverse economic initiatives can foster food sovereignty back into Whakatōhea’s food economy. This research makes several empirical, methodological, theoretical, and political contributions to foster new knowledge around Māori economies and Māori sovereignty.
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Topic
- colonisation (1)
- crown policy (1)
- crown violence (1)
- disenfranchisement (1)
- food sovereignty (1)
- intellectual property (1)
- international relations (1)
- mana motuhake (1)
- racism (1)
- rangatiratanga (1)
- voting rights (1)
- wāhine māori (1)