Removing the occupiers from Parliament grounds was not the end of a protest. It was the end of an occupation, a congregation of reasonable people with a statement to make, and others just wanting to snub authority. The perpetrators of violence on 2 March 2022 were rioters, standing for nothing but the opportunity for violence.

There was genuine relief in the streets of Wellington the day after the violence subsided. In an unusually fine and still capital morning, with the rancid stench of a landfill wafting about, there was a sense we had our city back. Ordinary people could come and go again, without being abused or harangued for exercising their freedom of movement because others exercised their right to protest.

But the dispersal of a riot is not the resolution of a protest. They’re different things. And if the underlying issues at the heart of the latter go unaddressed, then protest will go on. These revolve around the segregation of our society – a state of affairs entirely unacceptable based on gender or race, but openly institutionalised on vaccination status. It seems the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is unleashed now. Those returning to New Zealand are more likely to catch it here than to bring it with them. How long do we keep this up? This is a reasonable question that many of us ponder.

The scientific evidence that vaccination reduces serious illness and death stacks up, so dissenters need to offer evidence-based alternatives. Protest all you like – but what is your answer for keeping New Zealander’s safe? I am not taking sides here – I am not telling you what to think. I am trying to prompt us all into thinking, critically, about everything.

This includes any mythmaking as the powerful seek to reclaim the peace – “this is not us.” Voices have emerged from the ‘righteous’ attempting to reassert their control of the protest with constant assertions that the violence was due to foreign influences, conspiracy theories, mis-information and of the Alt-Right. There have even been claims that the protests from the Springbok Tour weren’t this violent. Yet they were, and none of this is new.

This is us.

Amid the chaos of the Depression years, the 1951 waterfront strike, the Vietnam War period, the 1981 Springbok tour and others, those motivated by a perfectly reasonable desire to dissent and challenge the status quo created situations that attracted those far more violently disposed. The Springbok tour saw several protests turn to riots. One activist publicly admitted years later that he and others had turned up just to fight police. A number of protestors and police officers were seriously injured in the months of protest and rioting that occurred. Additionally, there were multiple death threats, bomb threats – a number of improvised explosive devices were located. A small number exploded. One exploded underneath a raised section of the Wellington urban motorway. If this wasn’t us, then who was it?

There was a noticeable reluctance by the Lange government to legislate against domestic terrorism after the Rainbow Warrior bombing in 1985, for fear it would leave uncomfortable questions about the protest tactics in 1981 that its key supporters had sympathised with.

Protest activity over the Vietnam War and Apartheid in South Africa did not start with New Zealand’s involvement with those countries. It started when protests began internationally, which inspired an emerging generation to emulate what our new television screens were showing happening overseas. Social media is having a similar effect now. By sanitising the uncomfortable aspects of these past events as we have done, we risk mainstream misinformation.

The Alt-Right appear to be the new bogeymen, an acceptable target of our prejudice who mainstream media, and other interest groups, are exhibiting a clear desire to pin the riot on. There’s evidence that individuals associated with identity-based groups were present, as were a mish-mash of others, many of whom had no particular ideology, some clearly anti-authority, and others simply keen to indulge in violence. The images of nonsensical signs asserting factual errors and people wearing tin foil hats suggests that most prevalent extremism in New Zealand currently is an uncritical acceptance of contestable information. 

How about less spin, less selective memory creating myth, the availability of more evidence-based information, and a critical questioning of everything – even our own views – by all of us.

Dr John Battersby is a Teaching Fellow in the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at Massey University, and a specialist on terrorism and counter-terrorism. He is Managing Editor of National Security Journal and Fellow of the Commonwealth Security Group, London. The opinion expressed here is his own and not necessarily that of any organisation he is associated with.

Dr Negar Partow.

By Dr Negar Partow

We are celebrating International Women’s Day in 2022 in a time when the lack of women’s presence in international negotiations on peace and security is more evident than ever.

In February 2022 the Russian military attacked Ukraine under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin. There was no report or image about any women being involved in the process of decision making or being allowed to object to Putin’s ambitious plans for Ukraine.

The decision to attack Ukraine was made exclusively by men. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine is also a male, and responded to Russia’s aggression with a typical everyday narrative of defence.

Both leaders are sensationalist in their speeches. In the three speeches that Putin held last week, emotional themes such as patriotism, loyalty, sacrifice, and brotherhood were regularly evoked. President Zlenskeyy speaks with the same emotional language – asking for more guns, military equipment, human resources, and financial resources, to respond to Russian military aggression with aggression. There is also no female voice in Ukraine leadership. There is not even a question about an alternative view. We live in a man’s world in which aggression is only responded to with aggression.

This exclusion of women‘s voices, and obsessively focusing on aggression as the only tool for security and liberation, is not limited to the discourses of the conflicting parties. The exclusion of women is a systematic process that not only results in the continuation of war, but also feeds into the competition over hegemony, and that is what we have witnessed in responses to Russian aggression.

Soon after the invasion, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) announced an emergency meeting. The leaders of all the permanent members of the UNSC are men - Xi Jinping (China), Emmanuel Macron (France), Vladimir Putin (Russia), Boris Johnson (UK), and Joe Biden (US). There are only two female representatives on the Council - Barbara Woodward from the UK and Linda Thomas-Greenfield from the US. According to the UNSC website, from 2015-2021 only 19.05 per cent of representatives on the Council were women, but even more disturbingly, only 14 per cent of chairs of committees and working groups in UNSC have been women. This percentage is much lower in chairing meeting and workshop groups that make vital decisions for global peace and security. This gender inequality is much the same for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

Both the UNSC and NATO claim to be “committed” to the inclusion of women in peace and security discussions, but this claim is far from reality. The UNSC unanimously signed resolution 1325 in the year 2000 (22 years ago) that committed the Council to three pillars of “protection, prevention and participation”, none of which have been prioritised or materialised except in minor changes in setting up United Nations (UN) refugee camps.

Twenty-two years after the signing of the resolution that was supposed to identify women as active agents rather than passive targets of wars, women are more than ever the passive recipients of war. During the last two weeks of attacks, over 1.5 million Ukrainians have been displaced, most of them women and children. The vital point of the resolution, to allow women’s voice and ideas for peace to be heard and taken seriously in international security environments, are institutionally undermined. The resolution of the UNSC on Russia’s aggression was vetoed by Russia, and the issue was silenced until it can come back to the Council. No Ukrainian women’s group, Russian women’s group or any international organisation that works for women was present in the meeting. Women were silenced by the system once again. This lack of attention is, however, not only an issue for the UNSC.

NATO is another major international organisation that has promised gender equality and inclusion of the voices of women in their decision-making process. In November 2021, NATO published a statement hailing the efforts of the organisation in including women’s voices in peace and security, and lauding the nine additional resolutions that the organisation has signed for promoting inclusiveness.

In the statement, NATO claimed to be integrating gender perspectives in its “three core tasks of collective defence, crisis management and cooperative security”. Although the initiatives are highly admirable on paper, NATO’s promise of integration is yet to occur. 0nly six out of 30 permanent representatives on NATO’s council are women. These are predominantly representatives from small liberal democracies in Europe, including Denmark, the Netherlands and Montenegro. Only very recently were there women representatives from France, the UK, and the US. None of these countries have a woman leader.

Producing the Acceptable Sex Worker discusses the
persistent influence of stereotypes about sex work.

New Zealand decriminalised sex work in 2003 with the Prostitution Reform Act. Almost 20 years later, how have ideas about the sex industry changed?

Dr Gwyn Easterbrook-Smith is a tutor at the School of Humanities, Media and Creative Communication on Massey University’s Wellington campus. Their new book Producing the Acceptable Sex Worker considers this question by looking at how sex workers have been discussed in the news media.

“I’m interested in looking at media representations because for a lot of people, that’s one of the main places they learn about the sex industry,” Dr Easterbrook-Smith says. “Most sex workers carefully manage who they tell about their jobs, because of the stigma which is still attached to the work. So, many people either don’t know, or don’t know that they know, a sex worker. That lack of personal knowledge or experience makes the media a really important site where ideas about the industry can be reproduced or challenged.”

Dr Easterbrook-Smith’s research found that post-decriminalisation, some sex workers were increasingly presented as acceptable or respectable, but that acceptability was highly contingent and not available to all sex workers.

“While obviously people of all genders do sex work, I found that women, both trans and cisgender, were vastly more likely to be discussed in coverage of sex work, which I think is important to note since a lot of the narratives around the work are quite gendered,” Dr Easterbrook-Smith says.

Sex worker rights organisations often focus on the idea that sex work is work, and this came through in some media coverage of sex work in Aotearoa New Zealand – although this was more likely to be the case if the women involved were cisgender, charged relatively higher prices, and worked indoors.

“When sex workers did have their work treated as a real job, this was often accompanied by an explicit or implicit comparison to other sex workers, suggesting the stigma of the job may just be shifted around rather than genuinely reduced.

“Sex workers who continued to be stigmatised in news media coverage were often those who were marginalised in other ways – transgender women, particularly those who do street-based sex work, and migrant sex workers, who are specifically excluded from the protections of the Prostitution Reform Act.

“The ways that they were stigmatised as sex workers were often linked to other groups which they were also a part of. This really highlights the importance of paying attention to the multifaceted nature of people’s identities, that is, taking an intersectional approach, to discussing sex work.”

Producing the Acceptable Sex Worker also discusses the persistent influence of stereotypes about sex work, which influence the sort of stories that are told about sex work, even when the stories are being refuted.

“One thing I found quite a lot in some of the older texts I analysed, dating from the earlier 2010s, was an emphasis on people not ‘looking like’ a sex worker. Well, what do you mean by that? What does a sex worker look like? And obviously the intention there is that the reader is going to understand this as a positive thing, but in doing that, you’re reinforcing the idea that ‘sex worker’ is this negative identity which people should distance themselves from. What you’re seeing there is the comparison between different kinds of sex workers, but also the issue where old stereotypes about the industry can be really limiting, shaping how it’s discussed, even in fairly positive coverage.” 

Producing the Acceptable Sex Worker, published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, is available on pre-order now from Amazon.

Implicit in this dominant framing is the “both sides” logic, with dialogue serving as a resource for developing mutual understanding between the two differing sides.

But what exactly is the middle ground when democracies are faced with viral disinformation campaigns, organised by powerful political and economic interests, leveraging the profiteering logics of platform capitalism?

What exactly are the registers of dialogue when dealing with a protest that is propelled and co-opted by disinformation and hate, deeply rooted in the ideological apparatus of white supremacy seeking to seed chaos and capture power by undermining democratic institutions? What message does the performance of dialogue with campaigns fed by white supremacy send out to Māori, Pacific, and ethnic communities who are the targets of the hate perpetuated by the far-right? In the backdrop of the Christchurch terror attack, what message does dialogue with a protest fuelled by white supremacy send to Muslims in Aotearoa New Zealand who continue to grapple with the trauma of the violence?

Antithetical to the idea of building social cohesion, superficial attempts at listening and dialogue mainstream the far-right, giving the far-right credibility and the opportunity to grow. The irony is profound that the reference to “listening to communities—all communities” in the calls for dialogue covering the statements by the Human Rights Commissioner refer to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Christchurch attack targeting Muslims and migrants.

Situate this irony in the backdrop of the voices of Muslims in Aotearoa New Zealand, who continue to highlight the erasure of Muslim voices and the unresponsiveness of the Crown structures to Muslim voices documenting and raising concerns about Islamophobic hate. In an Official Information Act response to Christchurch youth advocate Josiah Tualamali’i, Crown Law, the organisation responsible for drafting the terms of the Royal Commission inquiry, stated “in drafting the terms of reference Crown Law did not consult with Muslim community leaders, and or victims of the attacks.”

Whiteness and dialogue

The uncritical and celebratory view of dialogue as a human right reflects the whiteness of the mainstream approaches to dialogue, upholding as universal the values of the dominant white culture. Instead of building registers for justice that are attentive to the inequalities that constitute communicative spaces, the upholding of facile dialogue as panacea reproduces and magnifies the disinformation and hate perpetuated by white supremacists.

The protest is shaped by disinformation and hate that is being seeded and circulated by right-wing white supremacist hate infrastructures, connected to and imported from the Trump-aligned fascist communicative infrastructures in the United States. Note the convergence in strategies between #Convoy22NZ and the Capitol riots calling for citizen-led arrests of policymakers, jailing them, and carrying out executions.

Counterspin media, a platform that has been covering the protests and feeding  protestors with disinformation, is a key media resource in the mobilisation of the protest.

As observed by  digital activist Byron Clark, who  spent a week at  Massey’s Center for Culture-centered Approach to Research and Evaluation (CARE) last year as an Activist-in-residence, co-writing a white paper on resisting digital hate, Counterspin Media Limited is streamed on the Steve Bannon-led GTV network and is a key resource in organising and circulating disinformation and hate here in Aotearoa New Zealand. In spite of multiple early warning signs about the presence of this hate infrastructure, the Crown has largely been unresponsive, and digital platforms have continued to profit from the virality of hate content. This is particularly disappointing in the backdrop of the rhetoric of the Christchurch Call.

The host of the platform, Kelvyn Alp, has actively promoted disinformation and hate propaganda. He has called for the #Convoy22 protestors to storm parliament and arrest Members of Parliament, making multiple references to killing them. On Counterspin Media, he states on March 2, "Can you imagine if a few boys brought out of their boot a few AK-47s? Those muppets would have run for the hills. That's the problem. You disarm a population under a false flag so they can then come and eviscerate you."

He is joined by other white supremacists Brett Power, Philip Arps, Damien De Ment, and the white nationalist group Action Zealandia.

Consider the Christchurch conspiracy video circulated by Counterspin Media amidst the protest coverage claiming the falsehood that the Christchurch terrorist attack was a false flag.

White supremacists systematically target indigenous and other minority communities with disinformation and hate propaganda. White supremacist propaganda targeted at black, Indigenous people of colour (BIPOC) communities seeds chaos and catalyses the multiplication of disinformation and hate. Consider for instance the role of white supremacists in the US in co-opting #BlackLivesMatter protests and organising violence.

These propaganda infrastructures operate largely on digital platforms such as Telegram, Facebook and Twitter.

Simultaneously, they create and craft spectacles that draw mainstream media attention, further perpetuating the disinformation. The production of the spectacle therefore is a key strategy in placing onto the mainstream the discursive registers for disinformation and hate.

Communicative inequality and just dialogues at the margins

Communication is constituted by colonial, raced, classed, gendered inequalities.

Calls for dialogue that erase these inequalities uphold the power and control of the coloniser. A framework of dialogue rooted in justice recognises these communicative inequalities and seeks to build infrastructures for the voices of the margins.

Just dialogues would need to begin with developing culture-centered pedagogies for communities at the margins that challenge the disinformation and hate, created and led by communities at the margins.

Across digital platforms, I have witnessed a number of anti-racist Māori activists and leaders such as Tame Iti, Marise Lant, and Matthew Tukaki who have taken the leadership in countering the disinformation catalysing the protests. They have been doing this work continually, engaging communities in critical conversations.

They have simultaneously been doing the work of building critical pedagogy on an ongoing basis, exposing the underlying ideology of white supremacist hate driving the protests.

Respecting the commitments of Te Tiriti would put Māori leadership at the heart of any strategy of dialogue and social cohesion.

Respecting the voices of Muslims in Aotearoa New Zealand who have in recent years borne disproportionately the burden of violence emerging from white supremacy would centre the voices of Muslims, particularly Muslims at the intersectional margins in building solutions for social cohesion.

Moreover, the infrastructures for listening to the voices of the raced, classed, colonial margins in the context of the #Convoy22NZ protest would attend to the ways in which the whiteness of the Crown’s COVID-19 response has produced interpenetrating forms of marginalisation, seeking to build solutions that address the economic disenfranchisement resulting from policies.

Partnering with and supporting the leadership of communities at the margins as the drivers of solutions is going to be vital to countering the Trumpian infrastructure of disinformation and hate that has planted its roots in Aotearoa New Zealand. 

Professor Mohan Dutta is Dean's Chair Professor of Communication. He is the Director of the Center for Culture-Centered Approach to Research and Evaluation (CARE), developing culturally-centered, community-based projects of social change, advocacy, and activism that articulate health as a human right.

Chloe McMillan.

Six freeskiing and snowboarding athletes with Massey connections recently took part in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Bachelor of Business student Chloe McMillan, Ngāpuhi, represented New Zealand in the women’s freeski halfpipe. She says the atmosphere was amazing despite daily COVID-19 testing.

 “It was a dream come true and being able to be one of a select group of Kiwis who gets to wear the fern as an Olympian was a feeling I'll never forget.”

The ability to study as a distance student was exactly what Chloe needed as a full-time athlete.

“From what I had heard, Massey had the best distance programmes in the country. Flexibility and help for someone who is also training in high performance sport was the top of the priority list for me, and before even starting my first ever semester I have had bucketloads of help.

“I got onto things prior to the Games, met my lecturers via email, figured out my timetables, ordered stationery and got all the e-books I needed. The day I got off the plane from China I went straight into studying, so being ultra-prepared was a must. I have also had a tonne of support from Tamara from the Academy of Sport, who has made doing all of the above a breeze.”

Chloe says her family have been her biggest supporters throughout her Olympics journey.

“Being a completely self-funded athlete, I wouldn't have been able to make my dreams possible without them.”

Freeskier Ben Barclay is studying towards a Bachelor of Business and is a 2022 Massey University Elite Sports Bursary recipient. He says being in the finals during his first Olympic Games was incredible.

“The Olympic Games was like nothing else I’ve experienced before. It wasn’t until we walked into the opening ceremony that I realised the true magnitude of the event and how much it can bring people together. Being in the start-gate with so many of my childhood idols and wearing the Olympic rings on my bib was something I will cherish forever.” 

Ben gives credits to Massey for giving him the support and flexibility to juggle both study and a professional sport career.

“I just fit study in whenever I have free time, whether that’s in the afternoons post-training, or on a plane to the next event. It means you have to make a conscious effort to manage your time to fit in both aspects of student-athlete life.

“Massey has been great in helping me keep sport a top priority while still planning for a future post-sport. Their flexibility has allowed me to focus solely on skiing when I need to and then shift to focusing on study. 

“I have a very long-list of people I would like to thank. Without so many wonderful and supportive people in my life I would not be able to achieve these childhood dreams.”

Bachelor of Science student Cool Wakushima also represented New Zealand in the women’s snowboard slopestyle.

High Performance Coordinator Tamara Scott-Valath says it was amazing watching Massey student-athletes compete at such a large international event.

“I’m fully aware of the efforts they put in to balancing their academic study and their sporting commitments, and seeing them achieve a major life-time goal of competing at an Olympic Games shows just how dedicated they are.

 “It’s really nice to know that Massey has been able to play a part in ensuring these athletes are able to work towards a qualification while still competing at the highest level in their sport.”

Massey University also wishes past student Corey Peters who is heading off to the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing all the best.

Professor Bruce Glavovic

The Sixth Assessment Report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has just been released, and a Massey academic has made several key contributions.

Professor Bruce Glavovic from the School of People, Environment and Planning is co-lead author of the cross-chapter paper on Cities and Settlements by the Sea, and lead author of the chapter on Climate Resilient Development.

Professor Glavovic’s contributions conclude that rising sea levels means disruption to coastal livelihoods is inevitable, and that while we already have effective ways to prepare for these impacts and to cut emissions, there is a gap between knowledge and implementation.

“This depends on governments, civil society and the private sector making inclusive choices that prioritise risk reduction, equity and justice. International cooperation will be crucial, as will strong partnerships with traditionally marginalised groups including youth, Indigenous Peoples, local communities and ethnic minorities.”

Professor Glavovic adds that the report’s findings are particularly relevant for Aotearoa New Zealand. “Our people, the things we value, and our economies and livelihoods are concentrated along the shoreline. Resilient and sustainable coastal livelihoods depend on maintaining diverse, productive and healthy coastal ecosystems in the face of global change.”

Despite the impacts that are already being felt around the world, Professor Glavovic says there is still time to limit the damage, but action must be taken now.

“We are running out of time to avoid dangerous climate change. The IPCC is a unique and stellar example of an effective science-policy partnership. Science demonstrates that climate change is real. It is unfolding now. We need visionary political will. If political action is not taken in this decade, prospects will be dismal for us, our tamariki, and the other species we are privileged to share this planet with.”

The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres described the IPCC report as an atlas of human suffering and a damning indictment of failed climate leadership.

The report concludes with a call to action: “The cumulative scientific evidence is unequivocal: Climate change is a threat to human well-being and planetary health. Any further delay in concerted anticipatory global action on adaptation and mitigation will miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all.”

Background

The IPCC report builds on an earlier IPCC report about the world’s oceans and icescapes in which Professor Glavovic was coordinating lead author on the sea-level rise chapter. Five core conditions for coastal cities and settlements to fulfil their role in climate-resilient development are identified:

• Take a long-term perspective when making short-term decisions by keeping options open to adjust as sea-level rises and avoiding new development in high-risk locations
• Enable more effective coordination by establishing networks across different governance levels and policy domains to build trust and legitimise decisions
• Reduce social and climate injustice by taking historical conditions, including past emissions, and prevailing political realities into account and proactively reducing vulnerability and inequity
• Strengthen local democracy by facilitating participation, involving stakeholders early and consistently through to implementation, with particular attention to engaging indigenous people and marginalized and vulnerable groups
• Develop governance capabilities and tackle complex problems by drawing on multiple knowledge systems, including indigenous, local and scientific knowledge to co-design more acceptable and effective responses.

Professor Glavovic agrees, “As sentinels on the climate change frontline, coastal cities and settlements play a pivotal role in global and local efforts to adapt to unfolding climate change impacts and to navigate perilous times ahead.”

View the full report here.

Catherine and Juliet at the 2020 end of year celebration
for Pacific students and mentors.

Catherine and Alfred at a family wedding in 2019.

Catherine in Auckland after her deployment to Samoa.

Catherine Tu’akalau is Wellington’s first Pacific Nurse Practitioner and one of only a handful in Aotearoa New Zealand specialising in child health.

The 28-year-old graduated with her Postgraduate Diploma in Nursing in 2020 and recently completed a Master of Nursing. Until recently, Catherine was working on the children’s ward at Hutt Valley District Health Board but is preparing to move to a new role as a practitioner at Group Medical Chambers, a general practice in Palmerston North.

Pursuing a career in nursing was a very personal decision, she says.

“Witnessing a lot of my close relatives in hospital, dying from health conditions that are preventable, that’s what got me into nursing. I began to grow a strong passion for child health in the early stages of studying nursing as I loved the family-centered care approach.”

Catherine lives in Levin with her husband Alfred and four-year-old daughter Juliet. “My family, alongside my parents and siblings, have been my support system during my studies. After giving birth to my daughter, I was motivated to pursue postgraduate studies, and with the support of my husband, it has definitely been something special.”

Going the distance

Catherine was drawn to Massey due to the flexibility of learning via distance.

“I took on postgraduate study while working full-time as a registered nurse and being a busy wife and mother, so distance stood out to me. Massey also offers numerous scholarships, and I was the recipient of the Massey University Pacific Postgraduate Scholarship.

“I strongly encourage those deciding where to do their postgraduate studies to study with Massey. As I specialise in paediatrics, one of the lecturers for the child health course I did is a nurse practitioner in child health - Professor Karen Hoare. Karen was one of the reasons why I stayed with Massey to complete my Master of Nursing, as I knew she would be a great support for me going into the nurse practitioner course. Being able to establish a professional relationship with your lecturers, I believe, is vital, especially with studying towards a masters. Karen and her academic team have stuck by me through what I think has been the most difficult year to study with COVID-19.”

Catherine says the pandemic made studying challenging to do things face to face – an essential aspect of nursing.

“Because of COVID-19, the majority of our block course days were conducted via Zoom. In terms of work, there was a period of stress and uncertainty, with colleagues burnt out. Working on a children’s ward, not only were we dealing with the pandemic, but a Respiratory Syncytial Virus [RSV] surge during the winter period too. It took a toll on me because, at the same time, I would come home and have to try to find the energy and motivation to study and do assignments. Thankfully I had great support from my lecturers and the university.”

Raising awareness

Catherine says Nurse Practitioners and their work are not widely recognised.

“A lot of people ask me what we do, which is telling in itself. Before, I used to say it’s like being a doctor, without the Dr title, but now I say I am a nurse, working at the optimum scope of my practice. I have the same responsibilities as a doctor, for example, taking a health history, performing physical examinations, ordering pertinent tests, prescribing rights, formulating a meaningful plan of care and being a leader in my community, encompassing my years of nursing experience.

“I believe there are not enough registered nurses moving up into clinical or leadership roles such as being a nurse practitioner. We are frontline workers but are also advocates for our patients and families. Being a nurse practitioner allows you to be part of that decision making informing health guidelines or changing local policies,” she adds.

“I think we need more nurse practitioners, particularly Māori and Pacific nurses. The percentage of Māori and Pacific people in our health system extremely outweighs the percentage of Māori and Pacific health professionals. Inequity in health absolutely exists and the ultimate goal is to establish a health system that enables better access to healthcare services to improve health outcomes for all.”

Giving back

In early 2020, she was deployed to Samoa, alongside 14 other nurses, doctors, psychiatrists, and clinical specialists, to help respond to the country’s measles epidemic.

“To be given the opportunity to go back to the motherland and share my knowledge, and to work alongside Samoan nurses, was a humbling experience,” she says.

Catherine, who is of Samoan and Tongan descent, hopes to inspire young Pacific students.

“We all have and are on our own journey, but coming from a Pacific heritage, we never do things for ourselves. We carry our ancestors before us; we carry our family name, our children, friends, and our communities – these areas of my life, as well as my colleagues and supervisors, have played a significant part in my study journey thus far. To be a trailblazer is a significant milestone for me and my family. I hope this will encourage more pacific students to be trailblazers in their own discipline.

“My undergraduate degree was a conjoint health science and nursing degree. I had two degrees, so I could give one each to my parents. I dedicate my master’s to my daughter in the light of the six phases of Fonua, a Tongan health model ­– Kumi Fonua - search, explore, navigate new Fonua; Langa Fonua - form, build and construct; Tauhi Fonua - maintain and sustain; Tufunga Fonua - reform and re-construct; Tauhi Va - maintaining the relationship; Liliu - Change. Fonua accepts change as natural.”

Intersection of Illusory Digital and Tactilce Textiles,
Eve Ngamanu, 2020.

As part of the Threads festival, Ngā Pae Māhutonga Massey School of Design are exhibiting textile graduate work in a show called Whakatinana.

 For the exhibition, final-year students are asked to manifest their core aspirations. This request comes with both challenge and responsibility as the students learn to adapt to changing global situations. The resulting work embodies themes such as memory, identity, technology and process.

Senior Lecturer and exhibition curator Lisa Munnelly says, “This recent student work employs textiles as a mode of enquiry and includes projects employing jacquard knit and weave, to print, dye and quilting.”

Wellington’s public and dealer galleries are joining together for a third time to present the collaborative visual arts festival in March. Themed around textiles, the festival will shed light on contemporary and historical textile practices within the context of art in Aotearoa New Zealand, placing renewed emphasis on the medium.

A key event on the 2022 programme will be a one-day online symposium hosted by The Dowse Art Museum on Thursday 17 March in Lower Hutt. The symposium will provide a forum for artists, writers, curators, collectors and the general public to converge to share knowledge, network and engage in critical discussion and thought leadership.

Whakatinana exhibit details – 16-20 March

Participating designers:

Grace Carden-Horton

Gina Davey

Eva Ferguson-Rebenscheid

Eva Ngamanu

Phoebe Tims

Lauryn Tipper

Charlotte Wallis

Hours: 10am – 4pm

Location: Massey University, Level C, Te Ara Hihiko, Block 12, College of Creative Arts, Entrance C Wallace St, Wellington.

Dr Damion Sturm.

 

 

Sport in Aotearoa New Zealand investigates sporting traditions, successes, systems, terrains and contemporary issues that underpin sport in New Zealand. The new book which was edited by Dr Damion Sturm from Massey’s School of Management and Roslyn Kerr from Lincoln University, has recently been published by Routledge.

Exploring traditional sports such as rugby and cricket, indigenous Māori sport, outdoor recreation and contemporary lifestyle and adventure sports like marching and parkour, the book examines the contested and conflicting societal, geographical and managerial issues facing contemporary sport in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Dr Sturm says bringing the book together took approximately 18 months, with a few COVID-19 related delays along the way.

“Overall, co-editing the book was an enjoyable and rewarding experience, and it’s great to have a critical and contemporary, as well as Aotearoa New Zealand-specific, sport collection out there with a global publisher like Routledge., We were particularly pleased to have buy-in from the majority of New Zealand universities,and beyond, while having a spectrum of postgraduate students to professors amongst the 32 contributors.”

Alongside editorial duties, Dr Sturm also co-authored chapters on advertising, branding and corporate nationalism,the All Blacks and celebrity sports stars such as Sonny Bill Williams, Brendon McCullum and Lydia Ko.

The book also includes chapters by other Massey staff members and postgraduate students. A chapter looking at Māori (Indigenous) knowledge in sport and wellbeing contexts was written by Dr Bevan Erueti, Dr Farah Palmer, Angelique Reweti, Associate Professor Chrissy Severinsen and Dr Jeremy Hapeta.

Anotherchapter, entitled Symbolic Equality in Aotearoa New Zealand Sports Organisations, was contributed by Professor Sarah Leberman, PhD student Alida Shanks and Associate Professor Geoff Watson.

Dr Sturm says the book will be of interest to anyone with an interest in New Zealand sport. The publishers describe the book as "illuminating reading for anybody working in the sociology of sport, sport development, management, history or the wider history, politics and culture of Aotearoa New Zealand or the South Pacific.”

More about the book can be found here.

By Dr John Battersby

The occupation of Parliament’s grounds emerges from a fusion of discontent compounded over time and encouraged by overseas experience. Claims that protestors do not represent the majority of New Zealanders are irrelevant – protestors seldom do. We have MP’s belonging to political parties who do not represent the majority of New Zealanders, but we accept their occupation of seats in Parliament.

Protest and dissent have always been about minority voices, which likely fringe concerns many of us have, though we are less willing to act on them. Despite the diversity of the protestors, a core concern is the mandated restrictions currently in place. Change those, and the glue holding this plethora of protest groups together may well begin to dissolve. Why not change the restrictions? Other countries have. If this was an outcome of the protest – would it not represent the desires of many other New Zealanders?

There are calls for negotiation – but with whom? There is noticeable lack of cohesion and leadership among the protestors, a distinct feature that will confound rational approaches to resolve it. But there is no cohesion amongst authorities either – the police are marking time managing what is in front of them, the Wellington City Council seems reluctant to enforce by-laws, the Government will not talk to protestors, and the Speaker of the House is on his own tangent defying any logic. If the objectives of the protestors are unclear to us – the objective of authorities is equally so to them. If we just want the protestors to go away, this will treat a symptom but will not resolve the issues at the heart of the protest.

For negotiations to work there needs to be something to be gained by both parties cooperating, and a consequence for the parties not doing so. As things stand the protestors have the upper hand here – they are creating a frustrating and ongoing inconvenience at little cost to themselves. If they do not achieve their objectives, they can simply remain as other occupiers at Ihumatao and Shelly Bay have done.

Authorities should be at an advantage with the ability to impose a consequence on those unwilling to cooperate via their lawful monopoly on the use of force – as they have done in Australia and Canada. But in the recent past New Zealand Police have proved reluctant to use force, creating a reasonable assumption they will not use it here either. Herein lies the legacy of past decisions. All the same, using force just to make the protestors go away will not stop them coming back, or going somewhere else. The cause of the protestors discontent needs to be the focus of attempts at resolution.

Then there are those who do not agree with the protest method, regardless of whether it is the irrational Left or the irrational Right, or this combination of all-comers at Parliament now. Why are those who block public streets, park and camp illegally, and who curtail the freedoms of those living and working around Parliament not being punished? Where is the reward for being a good citizen when offending ones are sought out to be negotiated with, offered free parking elsewhere and effectively rewarded for their illegal behaviour? Any negotiated solution needs to consider the reasonable folk and be palatable to those who have paid the heaviest price for other people’s right to protest. So often we walk over the silent and well-behaved as if they are irrelevant. A reluctance to use force will disenchant those who reasonably expect it to be used when the law is broken.

The Prime Minister has called for a review of the rules of protest at Parliament. Treatment of another symptom. A review nationally of what protests may legally consist of everywhere is surely due – not just where it inconveniences MP’s the most. In recent years police action against protest occupations has been reluctant, or if assertive has been reversed by the Courts, which have often forgiven flag burning, intentional and criminal damage, assaulting and resisting police and trespass. Protests where incidents of violence or threats create fear among people trying to do their daily activities clearly depart from the realm of peaceful protest. They occur more often than we think and should be dealt with consistently everywhere – not just because they mess up the front lawn at Parliament.

Dr John Battersby is a Teaching Fellow in the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at Massey University, and a specialist on terrorism and counter-terrorism. He is Managing Editor of National Security Journal and Fellow of the Commonwealth Security Group, London.

Light rail investment has become a new arena of global competition to make the most liveable cities in the world. There are more than 35 cities in Australia, Canada and the United States alone that have built or are in the process of building light rail in their cities. Therefore, Government announcements on spending more than $14 billion on the Auckland Light Rail are not surprising. 

Light rail is popular among politicians, as it has been associated with the “cool/modern image” of the 21st-century city and is considered a silver bullet to solve a range of problems such as environmental problems  like carbon emissions related to transport, air quality, and urban sprawl, health problems such as physical activity and its ability to combat obesity, heart diseases and blood pressure, and mental health issues such as depression and isolation,  economic problems such as regenerating cities/corridors for housing, retail and offices and  transport problems such as congestion and the related energy usage.  

However, very few studies have considered the huge investment into light rail from a transport justice perspective. Transport justice, as an extension of social justice, can be divided into process (inclusion in the decision-making process) and distributive (allocation of benefits and costs) justices. 

Transport “process” justice will engage Māori, provide Māori with the opportunity to be involved in project governance and management roles, acknowledge and use their knowledge of the environmental health of Manukau Harbour, apply a Māori-inspired urban design framework in station design and conduct consultations as per the formal and informal planning practices in Auckland. 

However, the real question is the issue of transport “distributive” justice: whether over 700,000 (46 per cent of the total population) Māori, Pacific and other ethnic communities living in Auckland will get benefit from the $14 billion investment into light rail.  

The Māori population is mainly concentrated in southern and western suburbs such as Manurewa, Henderson–Massey, Papakura, Ōtara–Papatoetoe, Māngere–Ōtāhuhu and Franklin. Māori living in the south, especially Māngere, will get access to the light rail system, whereas Māori living in the northwest will have to wait until other light rail projects are planned in those areas.

Ethnic communities, especially Asian and Indian people, use nearly double the public transport in Auckland compared with the metropolitan average. The light rail route passing through Mt Roskill and Mt Albert provides an opportunity for these ethnic populations to transform an automobile-dependent city to a much more public-transport friendly city. 

Light rail will connect two major employment hubs (the CBD and the Airport). However, the majority of Māori work all over the city and travel during non-peak periods, so might have limited use of the light rail system for job purposes. In contrast, the majority of the ethnic population is mainly involved in part-time work, and need good connections and off-peak services. Integrating light rail with other public transport services and frequency will determine the usage of services by ethnic minority communities. 

Māori families are disproportionately dependent on cars because of their large family structures, health needs, the affordability of cars and the need to travel to meet cultural obligations. There is limited research available on Māori and public transport usage, but research on Māori and cycling shows that socio-economic inequities such as inflexible work conditions and lack of access to places of importance to Māori are creating barriers to cycling that might be relevant to light rail route and feeder design. Therefore, it is unlikely light rail will be well used by Māori. Although most ethnic communities consider cars as a status symbol, they are also excited to welcome “cool light rail” for social status reasons as well.  

Auckland Council has advanced the light rail project as an urban development project to regenerate housing, retail and office buildings alongside the route, and have a larger impact on the overall city. On the one hand, it will be good for future urban development and for generating economic activities within the city. On the other hand, it may displace the low socio-economic population of Māori, Pacific and immigrants living near the light rail route. The Tāmaki Regeneration project and City Rail Link project show the complex interactions among authorities, community organisations and displaced population and businesses during the construction and regeneration period. Therefore, it is important to devise collaborative co-design and co-creation strategies that make light rail a tool for affordable housing, especially for transitioning Māori and ethnic populations to homeownership and small businesses. 

The Māori, Pacific and immigrant-descent population in Tāmaki Makaurau is youthful. Therefore, the regeneration process should be carefully designed to involve youth, women and children to make a more equitable and secure future for them.

“Inclusive transport access” – enabling all people to participate in society through access to social and economic opportunities – is a key objective of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Government Policy Statements on transport produced by Labour in 2018 and 2021. However, there is limited research on how these aspirational goals will be achieved in the light rail project in Auckland. 

As a public transport advocate, I am excited about the Government’s announcement of building a light rail system in Auckland, however light rail will be a fragile investment if the everyday travel needs of Māori, Pacific and ethnic communities will not be accommodated and the benefits of $14 billion will not be redistributive. Fostering this ethic of care for diverse people living in Auckland is key for academics and activists to continue reminding the Government and Auckland Council of their responsibility for social and transport justice.  

Dr Muhammad teaches transport and urban planning at the School of People, Environment and Planning at Massey University.

School of Sport, Exercise and Nutrition Professor Andrew Martin was invited to contribute two chapters. The first, in collaboration with Dr Jenny Fleming (Head of Academic Partnerships at Auckland University of Technology, and President of Work-Integrated Learning NZ) entitled ‘Enhancing professional competencies through work-integrated learning (WIL): Professional practice and partnership’.

Dr Martin, who chairs Massey’s Work-integrated learning (WIL) committee, has coordinated a WIL programme focused on Sport Management Education for more than 25 years. In 2021, he received a prestigious principal fellow award from the Higher Education Academy in the United Kingdom in recognition of his teaching, scholarship and leadership in the field of WIL.

His second chapter, ‘Community event management in New Zealand: Participation, partnership, and practice’, was written in conjunction with Associate Professor Geoff Watson (School of Humanities, Media and Creative Communication) and Dr Andrew Grainger (School of Sport, Exercise and Nutrition). This documented insights and research related to a successful series of community triathlon events that he has managed in the Manawatū region in the last 20 years. 

Dr Martin says these chapters provide real-world examples of how students have enhanced their learning through a range of work and experiential opportunities.

“Such professional practice-based partnerships initiatives enable students to develop a range of desirable graduate attributes that support and strengthen future employability.”

Dr Grainger contributed to another chapter in the book, entitled ‘Developing, Designing, and Delivering a High-Impact Short-Term, Faculty-Led Study Abroad for Sport Management Students: Going Global’, that draws on his experiences teaching courses in the United Kingdom, the United States and New Zealand.

“While study-abroad opportunities are likely to be limited in the short term due to COVID-19 restrictions, it is one thing to learn about sports in other countries, it is entirely different to experience them directly, in-person and in-context.”

Hardback and e-version copies of the book are available here.

Tell us a bit about yourself and why you chose to study at Massey.

I am Pavinee Watson, a third year Animal Science PhD candidate. I originally enrolled in the pre-vet programme at Massey, with little intention of getting into veterinary science. This simply allowed me to try out the vet selection and have time to consider what I may want to do without taking a gap year.

Tell us about your journey at Massey so far.

After completing the initial pre-vet semester, I went on to study a Bachelor of Food Technology majoring in Food Product Technology. As part of this degree, you do an Honours project in your final year. Mine involved developing a pet food supplement which was very interesting. I travelled around the country to do summer practicums and ended up continuing with pet food research by completing a Master of Food Technology, which was funded through the Dick and Mary Earle Scholarship in Technology along with industry support from a New Zealand pet food company.

The question investigated in my Master’s project has been dissected further in my PhD, which is a project funded by Callaghan Innovation, AgResearch and a New Zealand-based pet food company. It’s great to see the importance of pet food research not only in academia but in the industry itself.

How would you describe your PhD and why you chose this area?

In my PhD project, I am looking to determine what is driving the preference for various meat ingredients in commercial cat food. This includes pulling apart a commercial diet and examining on a fundamental level, what may be responsible for cat food preference.

I chose this area of study because the New Zealand pet food industry utilises a large amount of meat by-products. As an agricultural nation, we produce a lot of lean meat for humans but compared to other countries, the consumption of organ meats is not considered the norm in New Zealand. Meat by-products can in fact make up a large portion of a carcass that would otherwise go to waste, but such ingredients are considered a great source of protein with high nutrient bioavailability, so its use in pet food not only provides quality nutrition but is also great in terms of palatability.

What do you love about studying at Massey?

I love receiving support from different experts for my PhD project. Although they specialise in different areas such as animal science, meat science, food technology, added value foods and bio-based products, it is exciting to see all the fields coming together and enabling my research to flourish.

Where do you see yourself after studying?

Just like at the start of my Massey journey, I am not sure what I will do after I finish studying. There are many options available such as doing a post-doctorate, working for a research company or going into the pet food industry and creating new products. At the moment, I will keep chipping away at my PhD.

Do you have any advice for other PhD students? 

PhD students can easily get tunnel vision and just want to keep going but it is important to take breaks, go for a walk, and look at those results after getting some fresh air. If you finish a trial that has been running for eight weeks, take a couple of days off. I remember after my first trial, I was so burnt out and felt immense guilt for taking a week to recover. Then I realised that I was working flat out for so long and needed to remember to look after myself. There is life outside of your project, just make sure you plan your project time wisely and always have time in there to do what you enjoy. That will help you focus in the office, lab, or out in the field.

Senior Clinical Psychologist and Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology Dr Kirsty Ross.

If you are not in a relationship, please also remember that taking time to show love and appreciation for others in your life can also be a great goal for Valentine’s Day. I have seen many new greeting cards designed for friendships which are lovely. Going for a walk or out to dinner with some good friends can be a lovely way to spend the day and celebrate those who are important in your life. Spending time with your children can also be a great way to celebrate those you love in your life. In these difficult times, support from those we love, and those who understand and care for us is crucial and worth putting some time into saying ‘thank you for what you bring to my life’. Relationships come in many forms and whatever form they take in your life, being grateful and expressing that is powerful for not just you but also the recipient – whether parents, partner, friends, children or even if they are of the four legged variety.

Dr Germana Nicklin.

Dee McDonald.

By Dr Germana Nicklin and Dee McDonald

On Thursday 3 February 2022, the Government announced the phased reopening of our borders.

Dr Germana Nicklin, Senior Lecturer in the Security Studies programme at Massey University, and Teaching Fellow Dee McDonald discuss the potential biosecurity implications of reopening.

“Since COVID-19, biosecurity has also become for the first time in modern history, since the 1918 influenza outbreak, about securing human lives from harmful pathogens, in this case viral infections,” Ms McDonald says. “We know in biosecurity that pathogens [viruses and bacteria] travel with hosts such as plants and animals, but this time humans are included in that risk profile.”

When things go wrong, and they do, as we’ve seen with COVID-19, governments will use their border control capabilities to secure their population, their economy or their environment from harm.

Aotearoa New Zealand is very good at biosecurity and those learnings have enabled it to bring biosecurity knowledge and practice to managing (and even eliminating for a sustained period) COVID-19.

Today, every country’s economy and social fabric depends on trade and in goods and people movement. Aotearoa is physically distant from most other countries.  Because our internal economy is small, we have to trade internationally. Any disruptions to that trade has big consequences, as we have been seeing with COVID-19.

Dr Nicklin says opening the border is a matter of trade-offs between the cost of possible risks and the benefit of keeping international trade and travel flowing. “This is not new. It happens all the time. The good news is that border agencies are used to managing this trade-off and adapting as new risks arise.”

She believes the biggest risk is the erosion of trust in government arising from uncertainty and fake information. “With COVID-19, the ground keeps shifting. It is very difficult for governments to provide certainty to their people about rules for crossing borders when the virus keeps mutating, and when other countries keep adapting their controls in response.

“One of the things that kept the pre-pandemic systems working was the use of international standards and practices for the movement of goods and people. COVID-19 has disrupted the bases on which these rules and practices operated. As a result, we are seeing different countries introducing different rules; not only that, these rules keep changing, removing the certainty that once existed,” Dr Nicklin says. 

Ms McDonald adds: “An obvious risk is that COVID-19 will become wide spread in the population, which will put the health care system under strain that it might not be able to bear – especially hard on the heels of two years’ of pandemic pressure with resourcing challenges, isolating staff etc.”

While there are risks to the borders reopening, there are also advantages, both say.

“Opening up of the border will allow more skilled workers to arrive, for the health care sector and for primary industries, which would be a positive change,” Ms McDonald says.

Another positive is that with border restrictions easing globally, the ‘just in time’ supply chain model that has resulted delays on goods and shortages in supermarkets might start to run more smoothly again.

Both Dr Nicklin and Ms McDonald acknowledge that people will have concerns about the borders reopening.

“It is difficult not to be worried,” Dr Nicklin says. “Delta came from overseas; Omicron came from overseas. Borders are clearly gateways for unwelcome visitors. Opening the border will inevitably see an increase in positive cases entering New Zealand. And we could see another variant – remember, we were getting on top of Delta just as Omicron came along. We can only hope the high proportion of vaccinated population will carry us through.

“We used to not think about our border very much, right? That was because the risks were managed pretty well. Now we are thinking about it much more. The difference now is that the border controls here and elsewhere are not as predictable as they once were. And that makes it hard not to be worried. Rather than being worried, it may be more helpful to accept that we just have to be more cautious now.”

Ms McDonald says everyone has their own level of comfort around risk. “For some there will be other imperatives that mean the border opening outweighs public health concerns. Others will be more fearful about the Omicron variant becoming widespread in the community. What we can and should do is practice good biosecurity as a society: get vaccinated, wear quality masks, work at home if you can, avoid public transport and large gatherings, sanitise hands, scan in.”

Both experts agree that biosecurity and border security management will need to be flexible and responsive to current and future changes.

“The Government’s announcement is designed to provide some certainty for businesses and people, but there is no guarantee this is the last word. If circumstances change, and they will, the Government may have to change the dates and the conditions for opening the border again,” Dr Nicklin says.

“With the border restrictions easing in phases, the biosecurity awareness around COVID-19 variants and the management of population health will need to remain flexible and responsive. The World Health Organization has not ruled out the possibility of further variants emerging around the world. The situation will be fluid for some time,” Ms McDonald adds.

“From a biosecurity perspective, a key concern remains the ability of zoonotic diseases to mutate into humans and travel quickly. This concern centres around illegal trade in wild animals, food markets involving wild animals and the intermingling of different animals in bio-insecure and stressful environments. These practices remain a global concern,” she says.

Dr Germana Nicklin is a Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at Massey University, where she teaches and researches border and maritime security.

Dee McDonald is a Teaching Fellow situated in the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at Massey University. Her area of expertise is biosecurity and she teaches introductory and advanced biosecurity courses from a social science perspective.

Soochi's founders Margie, Naz and Tina.

Growing up on a dairy farm, food technology alumna Margie Hunt originally enrolled in a forensic science degree at Auckland University before realising her true passion.

“I started studying and actually didn’t enjoy the degree. It wasn’t until I did a biochemistry paper that I realised food science and food technology was this huge world of science, analytics, everything that I wanted but way more hands-on, way more exciting and way more focused.”

After transferring to Massey, working for a food technology start-up company and graduating with a Bachelor of Food Technology with Honours, the COVID-19 disruption brought Margie an opportunity to start her own company Soochi.

“Soochi started because I was contacted by Tina, Soochi’s Chief Executive, who knew people in my network that was looking for a food technologist. She wanted to create a product from a plant that grows really well here in New Zealand, is very nutritious but doesn’t taste great. It was a huge risk to take on.” 

Margie says the idea of creating a drink was based on a product she created during her study at Massey, a collagen drink.

“Soochi’s founding team included Tina, Naz and I. We all worked on improving the drink. We also added the gut health element because that was what the whole business stemmed from. What came out of it was a functional drink that doesn’t compromise on taste. Our products merge the science of nature, taste and innovation to deliver on functional benefits for skin, body and mind.

We started with drinks first instead of collagen powder as they are more accessible and mainstream for people who don’t have the mean to buy premium products.” 

Not only did her Massey degree offer practical knowledge and skills that she can apply in her business, but it also presented networking opportunities, she adds.

“This is a very practical degree. A lot of what I learned in my fourth year about product development has really helped now.

 I also really liked the fact that we had people who work in the food technology sector coming into class as guest speakers. As this is a small industry, it was a great opportunity to chat with them and ask them for help.”

Apart from Soochi, Margie is a member of the Asia NZ Foundation network. Established in 1994, the Foundation is a non-partisan and non-profit organisation dedicated to building New Zealanders’ knowledge and understanding of Asia. 

“It is all volunteer based. The point of this network is creating connections and bringing people together. I can see people in other countries who also work in the food technology space and connect with them. There are a few of us and we help each other out. I’m surrounded by some incredible people in that network.”

Margie’s best advice for food students would be finding networking opportunities while you still study.

“Get to know people in the industry as much as possible while you’re studying, get involved in organisations such as the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology because it’s such a small industry. If you need help with anything, everyone is so lovely and wants to help you out. It’s a really neat group.

At the end of the day, it’s not about how perfect your work is or how diligent you are, it’s about how you interact with others and network so that you can ask for help when you need it. You don’t have to have all the answers because you can’t be a specialist in every area. Just ask for help!”

Reducing plastic pollution around the globe is something that needs a unified approach in order to bring change, and Associate Professor Trisia Farrelly from the School of People, Environment and Planning is one of a handful of scientists at the forefront of this work.

Associate Professor Farrelly has been working with plastic pollution scientists around the world to develop a Scientists’ Declaration on the Governance of Plastics. The aim of this piece of work is to amplify a consensus statement from the global scientific community at the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) 5.2 this month. The Assembly has a focus on strengthening actions for nature to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, one of which focuses on responsible consumption and production.

The declaration calls on governments to support the establishment of a new global treaty based on independently peer-reviewed scientific consensus and local and Traditional Knowledge Innovations and Practices (TKIP) of indigenous peoples and local communities to meet the global scale of the plastics crisis.

As a member of the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) for Marine Litter and Microplastics, Associate Professor Farrelly says the declaration includes the following clear messages from the global scientific community which reflect the content of the October 2021 SAC report From Pollution To Solution: A Global Assessment of Marine Litter and Plastic Pollution:

- There is more than enough evidence to know that pollution caused by plastics throughout their life cycles is profoundly impacting biodiversity, including ecosystem health, species and habitat loss, human health (including fertility and cancers), climate, sustainable livelihoods, cultural diversity and, therefore, human rights worldwide.

- Plastic pollution is transboundary, and its impacts are intergenerational. Approaches currently proposed for addressing plastics, which focus primarily on waste management and marine litter, do not reflect the findings of the UNEP's SAC for Marine Litter and Microplastics. A full life-cycle approach with responses focussed on dramatically reducing global plastic production are urgently needed.

- Restricting plastic production and designing product and delivery systems that support reuse and repair infrastructure, traditional solutions and consumer reuse options, or new delivery models that avoid plastics, are the most promising routes towards plastic pollution prevention.

The declaration calls on governments to support the establishment of a new treaty to take action towards the global plastics crisis.

The declaration will be launched on 16 February, and Associate Professor Farrelly will be presenting on the topic, with particular focus on the social science of plastic pollution from her perspective as an environmental anthropologist.

Associate Professor Farrelly is one of twelve scientists involved in drafting the declaration, including two other Aotearoa New Zealand scientists, Dr Stephanie Borrelle (Birdlife International and UNEP’s SAC) and Tina Ngata (Ngāti Porou).

The scientists were also supported by environmental lawyers  from the Environmental Investigation Agency and Centre for International Environmental Law.

Associate Professor Farrelly will also be presenting at the United Nations Development Programme’s Let’s Talk Plastics webinar series on 16 March, where she will speak to the paper published in Science late last year and report on the launch of the declaration.

Sport practicum coordinator Professor Andy Martin says that for more than 30 years WIL experiences have enhanced many students’ employability in the sport and exercise industry and provided a graduate point of difference that employers value.

"The sport and exercise practicum provides students with a great opportunity to enhance their networks, gain significant industry experience, and integrate theory to practice in areas such as sport development, sport event management, sport coaching and sport coordination, as well as exercise prescription and athlete conditioning."

Keegan Bremner has been appointed as the Community Partnership Advisor for Active Recreation. His sport practicum experience was as the volunteer coordinator for the 2020 Under 18 Men’s Softball World Cup held in Palmerston North.

"It was an unreal experience in a role that I never thought would be given to me at the start of my practicum. I was able to see what goes into creating such a positive experience for the consumers of this global event. My confidence, communication and human resource management skills have really grown since."

Sarah Munn’s new role is as the Green Prescription Advisor. She says it was a great experience meeting staff from Sport Manawatū and learning from them.

"I learnt a lot of practical skills being in a gym environment and created great relationships with those attending the programme. My public speaking confidence grew hugely due to the amount of interactions I had with my volunteers and with teams and their supporters."

Joel Gordon is now employed as a Healthy Active Learning Advisor after completing his masters degree in sport and exercise, which focused on developing game-based learning activities for generalist teachers in primary schools.  

Exercise practicum coordinator Dr Lynette Hodges also noted that a number of students have been employed by other organisations such as Manawatū Golf Club, Hockey Manawatū and local gyms.

Massey’s Bachelor of Sport and Exercise, offered internally on the Manawatū campus and by distance, prepares students for work in the varied and growing areas of sport and exercise. The practicum provides important industry partnerships, enabling students and staff to connect, collaborate and contribute to their community of practice. 

The extensive sport and recreation facilities on the Manawatū campus provide an attractive point of difference through student and staff participation and community engagement initiatives. The Massey Academy of Sport also provides attractive opportunities for high-performance student-athletes.

Sam was awarded the Whāea Ephra Garrett Award last year.

Sam and daughter Charli, 2021. Credit: Poihakena Portraits.

Holidaying in Whitianga, with husband Sale and Charli.

Sam with son Jarome and Charli at a Riding for Autism
Acceptance at Himatangi in 2018.

Some examples of Sams weaving works, under the tutelage of
Whāea Juanita Davis.

Growing up on Waiheke Island and being the only teen pregnancy there at the age of 16, Sam Davis, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa, Ngāti Kauwhata, Ngāti Raukawa, chose to study social work after seeing first-hand the impacts it can have on whānau.

Last year, Sam was awarded the Whāea Ephra Garrett Award – an award which recognises outstanding leadership from a Māori fourth-year Bachelor of Social Work student. Awardees are provided with financial support, personal development and networking opportunities.

Dr Garrett was appointed as a lecturer at Massey University in 1968. She ran the university’s first Women’s Studies course in 1978 and, with Dr Merv Hancock, founded the Bachelor of Social Work programme in 1987. She built a Māori dimension into teaching and research in the Departments of Social Work and Psychology.

Sam says her degree has been life-changing.

“It has helped me to re-indigenise my mind and reclaim my identity as wāhine Māori. It hasn’t been easy. This has been one of the most challenging journeys I’ve been on, but it has been worth every late night and every tear.

“The personal growth that I have gained from the Bachelor of Social Work is beyond what I could have ever imagined. I walked in thinking I knew myself and walked out a whole other person,” she adds.

Sam is described by both her peers and lecturers as wāhine toa, embodying mana wāhine. Her nominees all mentioned her having strong leadership qualities, a voice for tangata whenua in class discussions, and is a key support to her peers, willing to share her knowledge and at times her own vulnerability.

Empowering dreams

Sam graduated with her Bachelor of Social Work last year. “I chose this career path largely because of my personal experiences growing up as a teen mother, being Māori and the impact different systems have had on my whānau. I want to challenge systems and empower the dreams and aspirations of people, whānau and the community. I am also highly motivated by Māori and community development and social justice.”

She says the Bachelor of Social Work programme provides a safe space to be who you are, to challenge your own worldview, and to challenge others. “By the end of the four years, you become like a whānau. The connections you make are very special. If you’ve ever considered social work, I cannot recommend Massey more highly.”

Sam was supported through Massey’s Te Rau Puawai programme. “In my fourth year I received a partial scholarship and was provided a social work mentor. When I was having a hard time completing my scholarship application Te Rau Puawai sent someone to my home to help me in person. Being a member of the Te Rau Puawai whānau gave me opportunities and access to network with other students, faculty, and members from the Māori community in mental health and health from all over Aotearoa.”

As an adult student, Sam says it was really important to find an education provider that would accommodate her, as a working mother.

“The option to complete the degree extramurally was the greatest draw for me. Also the fact that it is internationally recognised meant I would be able take this degree anywhere should I wish.”

Study placement led to work

After previously volunteering at the Whanganui City Mission, focusing on feeding the community and providing food parcels for those in need, Sam did a placement in her third year at Whanganui Hospital.

“Health was not initially the area of social work I wanted to be in, however I learned a great deal from the many different health professionals. I remember thinking a physiotherapist was someone who rubbed down rugby players' muscles, but I quickly learned how important and life changing their role is in the hospital.”

Sam, 33, got hired straight out of her final study placement at Cancer Society Whanganui-Rangitikei- Waimarino. “I was able to implement the knowledge I had gained throughout my degree to further develop my practice. I have seen the pain and destruction cancer can cause. But I have also seen the beauty in cancer and the way in which it can bring people and communities together. Through these placements I have grown a true understanding of the importance of social work in health and a confidence in myself to deliver purposeful mahi in this space.”

She’s currently part of the Cancer prevention team, focusing on survivorship and prevention. “I am based in the community and am working to delivery equitable services to people and their whānau experiencing cancer and beyond. That may be one-to-one support, group facilitation, education or health promotion.”

Reconnecting with Māori

In her spare time, Sam is a keen weaver. “I have taken an interest in raranga, a plaiting technique used to weave baskets and mats. I attend weekend workshops when I can and have joined a Facebook group to learn contemporary kākahu [traditional cloak] and the art of whatu [main technique for cloak making]. I am reconnecting with my taha Māori [Māori side/perspective] and am on a journey to further my knowledge in mātauranga Māori through mahi toi [craft], te reo and Rongoa [traditional healing].

“I am also a keen photographer and enjoy being creative, be it making candles, refurbishing old furniture, or creating bespoke gifts for my friends and whānau,” she adds.

Sam is proud to be named after her grandfather Hamiora Te Waru Rewiri (Samuel Davis) on her father's side. “My grandmother on my mother's side migrated to Aotearoa from England with her parents as a teenager. I am my whānau and my whānau is me. My mother has endured many hardships in her life, she has taught me resilience and strength. My children are what drive me. They inspire me to follow my dreams, and in return, I hope that I can do the same for them.

“My husband and I have been married for almost nine years. We have two children – Jarome, 16 and Charli, seven. We also have a beautiful moko, Maleia-Rose.”

And her dream job? “ I would love to have my own practice, and offer a range of holistic therapies, workshops and advocacy support with a community hub for people to share resources and knowledge.”