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    A critical analysis of New Zealand's Psychoactive Substances Act 2013 and its implementation process : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2017) Rychert, Marta
    Introduction: In July 2013, the New Zealand Parliament passed the Psychoactive Substances Act (PSA), the world’s first law to regulate the availability of new psychoactive substances (NPS, “legal highs”, LH). Under the “interim PSA regime” 47 products were permitted to be sold subject to new retail and other regulations. In May 2014, the Government abruptly ended the interim regime following public protests. This thesis aims to critically evaluate the PSA and its implementation. Methods: A mixed methods approach combined qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis. Legal analysis of the PSA and related legislation, and content analysis of parliamentary debates and public submissions were completed. Semi-structured interviews were then conducted with key informants (KI) including politicians, government officials, health professionals, and LH industry actors (n=30). Questions about health perceptions and social acceptability of approved products were added to an annual survey of police arrestees (n=834). Analyses of primary data included thematic analysis of interview transcripts and statistical analysis of data from the arrestee survey. Results: The legal definition of “psychoactive substance” (s. 8, 9(1) PSA) overlaps with other regulatory regimes (e.g. medicines, dietary supplements) resulting in an unclear legal status for some products. Interviewed KIs identified a number of issues with the “interim regime”, including the safety of interim products, speed and efficiency of withdrawing problem products, the lack of regulations on price and retail opening hours, slowness of developing regulations for the full PSA regime, and the effectiveness of communicating the new policy to stakeholders and the public. As the market commercialised, the LH industry adopted business and lobbying strategies previously attributed to the alcohol and tobacco sectors, including targeting vulnerable customers. Surveyed police arrestees considered approved synthetic cannabis (SC) products higher health risk and less socially acceptable than alcohol, tobacco and many illegal drugs, reflecting problems with interim product approvals. The ban on animal testing of prospective products is likely to prevent further implementation of the PSA, unless a new political consensus is achieved. Conclusions: The issues experienced during PSA implementation highlight the significant challenges of establishing a legal market for psychoactive products. The time, resources and planning required to successfully implement the PSA may have been underestimated.
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    Are we failing them? : an analysis of the New Zealand criminal youth justice system : how can we further prevent youth offending and youth recidivism? : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Policy at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2015) Johnson, Charlotte
    Youth crime is a prominent social issue in New Zealand that causes emotional and physical harm and loss to the numerous victims. This research provides an analysis of the current youth criminal justice system in New Zealand, beginning with a timeline of the history and evolvement of the youth justice system to illustrate how New Zealand has arrived at the present system. The drivers of youth crime and youth involvement in criminal offending were found to be initially born from a lack of engagement with education; neurological disorders; learning difficulties and mental illness; as well as the impact of young people’s childhood, which can include exposure to family violence; drug and alcohol abuse. Comparative policy evaluation was applied with comparative methodology and comparative cross national research to undertake an analysis of the youth justice system in New Zealand. International comparisons were used to discover plausible and practical improvements to the current youth justice system in New Zealand. The OECD countries used in the comparative analysis included Canada, Scotland, England & Wales, United States and Austria, who between them have significantly diverse and contrasting youth justice models ranging from welfare, care and protection centred models, to community-based rehabilitation models; preventative education and support to punitive models in their response to youth crime. ii It was found that several aspects of New Zealand’s current youth justice system function well when compared internationally. However, the comparative analysis also highlighted that New Zealand’s youth justice system presents a problematic gap in both the sheer lack of preventative methods in response to youth offending as well as community support during the rehabilitation stage. A number of policy recommendations are included within this report in response to the present shortcomings of the existing youth justice system in New Zealand. These policy recommendations provide practical solutions; adopting a preventative policy focus with plausible improvement suggestions to the existing youth justice system. The objectives are to ameliorate the youth justice system to better support youth offending and youth recidivism.
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    Considerations for a collaborative approach to post-conflict development and transitional justice in Syria : a research report presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of International Development, Master in International Development, at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
    (The Author, 2014) Patterson, Amanda
    Neither transitional justice nor post-conflict development is possible without the other. Thinking about reconstruction, and development more generally, requires an understanding of core political issues of ownership, governance and participation which are similarly key concerns of transitional justice. Such issues also need to be informed by longer-term processes for development which includes strategies for rehabilitation, reform and reparation, all consequences of war which influence development outcomes. A consideration of how post-conflict development objectives can inform a transitional justice process for Syria identifies key areas of convergence and divergence between the two fields as well as debates pertaining to the prioritisation of justice versus peace, international law, and contextualising strategies to individual states and post-conflict situations. In Syria, where work is already under way by multiple organisations and activist groups to facilitate, gather and document evidence of human rights violations in preparation for a future transitional justice process: a 'good-enough' approach to governance (Grindle, 2004), the strengthening of civil society to provide national level support, and institutional reform are identified as key areas for development intervention. However, the success or otherwise of development interventions in these areas will rely upon a number of critical factors: the willingness of a transitional government to take ownership of post-conflict development and transitional justice processes, facilitate citizen participation by first addressing Syria's severe humanitarian crisis, and accept independent or international involvement where required; the capacity of Syrian civil society to provide national level support following an intense and prolonged period of conflict; the state of Syria's post-conflict physical and human resource; and the willingness of a divided Syrian society to accept cross-community human rights initiatives or a transitional government comprised of any one party where violations have been committed by both sides of the conflict.
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    Independence, access to justice, and the patriation of New Zealand's final Court of Appeal : an investigation into the legal and constitutional consequences of the replacement of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council with a Supreme Court : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Politics at Massey University, Manawatū Campus, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2014) Lyon, Robert Stanley
    This thesis was an investigation into the consequences of the Supreme Court Act 2003. The main purpose of the research was to assess the extent that the Supreme Court reform has achieved its objectives. In addition, the project explored the constitutional significance of the reform. Two main themes, based on the purposes of the Supreme Court legislation, were chosen as focal points for the research. These themes were a) whether the patriation of the final court has promoted New Zealand’s legal and constitutional independence and b) whether the Supreme Court reform has improved ‘access to justice’. The present study employed a mixed research design that combined both quantitative and qualitative data gathering and analysis techniques. The primary research method was the document analysis of the leave judgments and substantive judgments of the Privy Council and the New Zealand Supreme Court. Five document analyses were conducted during the course of the research. These analyses compared the two courts on, inter alia, the extent that they cite cases from various jurisdictions and on the range and volume of appeals that they heard. In addition, in-depth case studies were conducted on selected judgments in order to assess the approach of the Supreme Court to precedent. Finally, the current project drew on official sources and various secondary sources, especially the extra-judicial writings of senior judges from Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Three key findings emerged from this investigation. Firstly, it appears that patriation has improved ‘access to justice’. In terms of leave arrangements and jurisdiction, the new Supreme Court is more accessible than the Privy Council. It also hears a much higher volume and broader range of appeals. Secondly, the present study found evidence that patriation has led to changes in the legal sources that are cited by the final court. In particular, the Supreme Court cites more New Zealand jurisprudence and a broader range of overseas case law than the Judicial Committee. Moreover, the citation of English jurisprudence, although still substantial, has declined relative to the citation of cases from these other jurisdictions. Finally, in terms of its constitutional significance, the Supreme Court Act, when considered in the context of New Zealand’s overall constitutional development, can be viewed as completing the century-long process of updating, consolidating, and patriating the major elements of New Zealand’s constitution.