"The principle guide to the political context, institutions and processesz of government in New Zealand. It provides readers with a clear and comprehensive introduction to the history, theory and knowledge required to understand the New Zealand political system."--Publisher's description.

By any measure, New Zealand must confront monumental issues in the years ahead. From the future of work to climate change, wealth inequality to new populism – these challenges are complex and even unprecedented. Yet why does New Zealand’s political discussion seem so diminished, and our political imagination unequal to the enormity of these issues? And why is this gulf particularly apparent to young New Zealanders? These questions sit at the centre of Max Harris’s ‘New Zealand project’. This book represents, from the perspective of a brilliant young New Zealander, a vision for confronting the challenges ahead. Unashamedly idealistic, The New Zealand Project arrives at a time of global upheaval that demands new conversations about our shared future.

The ‘spectre of populism’ might be an apt description for what is happening in different parts of the world, but does it apply to New Zealand? Immediately after New Zealand’s 2017 general election, populist party New Zealand First gained a pivotal role in a coalition with the Labour Party, leading some international observers to suggest it represented a populist capture of the government. The leader of New Zealand First, Winston Peters, justified his support for Labour as necessary to allow capitalism to ‘regain … its human face’. The new prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, spoke of a kinder, inclusive politics. This book draws on the 2017 New Zealand Election Study to uncover New Zealanders’ political attitudes and preferences post-election. Its authors ask: is New Zealand now A Populist Exception? Through detailed empirical analyses of how populism and authoritarianism affected vote choice, opinions about immigration, satisfaction with democracy and the relevance of gender and indigeneity to these issues, this book finds that New Zealand politics today does not reflect the international trend toward ideological polarisation and electoral volatility. The authors argue that inclusive forms of populism can be pluralist if a leader’s rhetorical approach recognises ‘the people’ as diverse and encompassing. A Populist Exception? concludes that although populism has long been a strong current in New Zealand history, contemporary New Zealand exhibits a moderate form of populism, with liberal and pluralist values in balance with a strong commitment to majoritarian democracy.

New Zealand Government and Politics , now in its fourth edition, is the leading undergraduate textbook for students of New Zealand political science. It provides an overview of the context, key institutions and processes, written by leading academics and non-academics. This fully revised and refreshed edition has 22 new chapters including an anlysis of the 2005 election.

In Australia and New Zealand, many public projects, programs and services perform well. But these cases are consistently underexposed and understudied. We cannot properly ‘see’—let alone recognise and explain—variations in government performance when media, political and academic discourses are saturated with accounts of their shortcomings and failures, but are next to silent on their achievements. Successful Public Policy: Lessons from Australia and New Zealand helps to turn that tide. It aims to reset the agenda for teaching, research and dialogue on public policy performance. This is done through a series of close-up, in-depth and carefully chosen case study accounts of the genesis and evolution of stand-out public policy achievements, across a range of sectors within Australia and New Zealand. Through these accounts, written by experts from both countries, we engage with the conceptual, methodological and theoretical challenges that have plagued extant research seeking to evaluate, explain and design successful public policy. Studies of public policy successes are rare—not just in Australia and New Zealand, but the world over. This book is embedded in a broader project exploring policy successes globally; its companion volume, Great Policy Successes (edited by Paul ‘t Hart and Mallory Compton), is published by Oxford University Press (2019).

Environmental Politics and Policy in Aotearoa New Zealand is a comprehensive introduction to confronting some of today's most urgent challenges.Global warming, threats to biodiversity, contamination of waterways and other environmental issues confront today's citizens with critical challenges that are fundamentally political. Power, authority and state action enable current practices - and through politics and policy that power can be harnessed to create a more ecologically sustainable planet. In this book, leading scholars from around Aotearoa introduce students to environmental politics and policy based in this country's unique institutional, cultural and resource context.The text focuses on the key importance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the characteristics of the natural environment in Aotearoa and the role of gender dynamics in the distribution of power, before turning to how this unique setting informs and is, in turn, informed by the global context of environmental politics. The authors take a systemic view of environmental politics and governance in New Zealand, addressing the philosophical and ideational debates about who and what matters (both human and non-human), the political institutions that embed and enact these ideas, and how these ideas then manifest in particular arenas - from climate and freshwater to energy and farming. Practical tips - how to make a submission, organise a protest, write a policy brief or a press release - are woven throughout.

Introduction: investing in the early years. 1. Psychology of freedom: Understanding children. Benefits of play. Free play at kindergarten. I play and I grow at playcentre. Teaching mothers and motherly teachers. Playway at school. Permissive messages to mothers. Parent campaigns -- 2. Psychology of disorder: (Dys)functional families. Working mothers and maternal deprivation. The backyard growth of childcare. Regulating childcare. Blaming mothers. Illegitimate solutions -- 3. Getting ahead: The problem with education for Maori children. Sylvia-Ashton Warner: the little ones . Maori children at preschool. Combating disadvantage with a head start. Revolution in learning. Te Kohanga: a chance to be equal Pt. 2. Challenge and constraint 1960s-1980s. 4. Politics of early childhood: The end of the feminine mystique. Children have rights too. Who gets to preschool? Liberating preschoolers. National constituency for early childhood. The year of the child: the world of the child -- 5. Demanding childcare: Campaign tactics. Attachment and separation. Activism and advocacy. Working women. Story of a recommendation -- 6. Working with children: Rocking the cradle. Career at playcentre. Brought to mind in family daycare. To teach in kindergarten. To work in childcare -- 7. Indigenous rights and minority issues: Maori self-determination. Te Kohanga Reo: outside the mainstream. Kura Kaupapa: transition to school. Early childhood responses. Pacific Islands early childhood centres Pt. 3. State interest and devolution 1980s-1990s. 8. Winds of reform: Political shifts. Against the odds. A foot in the door. Implementing before five. National directions. Parents as first teachers. The kindergarten flagship -- 9. Measures of quality: Quality discources. Who gets to preschool now? Weaving TE Whariki. Qualified to teach. After before five. Psychology of freedom -- Psychology of disorder -- Getting ahead -- Politics of early childhood -- Demanding childcare -- Working with children -- Indigenous rights & minority issues -- Winds of reform -- Measures of quality.

The aim of this book is to provide the reader with an overview of New Zealand's international relations. It is a country that has often shown an international presence that is out of proportion to the modest spectrum of national economic, military and diplomatic capabilities at its disposal.In this volume, the editors have called upon a range of specialists representing a range of views drawn from the worlds of academia, policy-making, and civil society. It is an attempt to present a rounded picture of New Zealand's place in the world, one that does not rely exclusively on any particular perspective. The book does not claim to be exhaustive. But it does seek to present a more wide-ranging treatment of New Zealand's foreign relations than has generally been the case in the past.Five broad themes help shape and organize the contributions to the text:

This book tells the story of how revolutionary ideas imported from Germany that suggested children would unfold through play were adopted, adapted, and thrived in New Zealand.