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    Pacific Island Labour programmes in New Zealand : an aid to Pacific Island development? : a critical lens on the Recognised Seasonal Employer policy : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2015) Rockell, Dennis Graham
    The New Zealand Recognised Employer (RSE) Policy was designed to remedy labour shortages in the horticulture/viticulture industry early in the twenty-first century. It was the first New Zealand contract labour migration programme to be designed with the explicit intent of the development of the source countries, consisting mainly of small Pacific Island States. This research sought to examine within a historical context whether the programme was beneficial to the source countries and communities, and whether the programme met the expectations of international labour conventions which New Zealand has signed. An attempt was made to discover whether, when compared with antecedent programmes in New Zealand and North America, the RSE represented a new paradigm in the design and implementation of a contract migrant labour programme. The field work was carried out for twenty months between December 2011 and August 2013, involved a grower survey and over 100 semi-structured interviews with Government officials, horticulturalists, migrant workers, pastoral care workers, and other interested parties. Time in southern Vanuatu was divided between interviewing migrant RSE workers in Port Vila and visiting 100 village communities on Tanna Island. Assessments were made of access to the programme for the rural and urban poor and of the positive and negative impacts of the programme. Positive features observed included the benefits of close government monitoring of worker accommodation, the transparency of the remuneration, the interest of many employers in assisting workers to remit funds to source communities, house building and infrastructural benefits gained by many workers, and the transfer of useful skills. Negative features included the powerlessness of the workers to negotiate their work conditions, the failure of some employers to address workers’ specific needs, the social dislocation of some workers leading to alcohol abuse, the frequency of work interruptions due particularly to weather conditions, the excessive work hours on some nightshifts at minimum wage, and a lack of connection between recruitment patterns and areas of greatest need. The RSE policy has come about in an era of migration optimism. Since the mid-1990s the total global flow of remittances has exceeded the level of official development assistance. However most literature regarding remittance flows and transnational communities is set within a context of diaspora. The RSE was carefully designed to prevent overstaying of visa entitlements, in order to prevent any growth of diaspora. Consequently the overall financial flows in the case of Vanuatu are small compared to such sectors as tourism, and the position of the RSE in the migration-development nexus is somewhat contradictory.
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    Civil society and development : Pacific Island case studies : a dissertation presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 1999) Swain, Peter Mervyn
    This enquiry set out to examine the role of civil society in economic and social development, and the relationship between the state, the market and civil society, in the island nations of the Pacific. The study also explored the notions of progress and development and identified the impact of the dominant development paradigm on traditional Pacific Island communities, cultures and economies. Case studies were undertaken of three segments of civil society in the Pacific Islands. A village community in Samoa, a non-government organisation in the Solomon Islands and a Pacific-wide social movement were the subjects of this enquiry. The study found that state-led and market-driven approaches to development have led to significant development failures in the Pacific Islands and a neglect of civil society. It is argued throughout this study, with supporting evidence from the three case studies, that civil society can and does make a significant contribution to the economic and social development of Pacific Island nations but that contribution has largely been neglected. This thesis argues that the state, the market and civil society all have important complementary roles to play in the development of a nation and, by working together in a coordinated manner, they have the capacity to improve the quality of life and create good change for people of the Pacific and their communities. It was concluded that civil society needs to assume a higher priority in development planning and practice, and that the participation of indigenous people, on their own terms, is central to good development practice. Furthermore, an explanatory model of the relationship between state, market and civil society was advanced. This model has the capacity to assist development education, policy formulation and programme planning. This study contributes to the discourse on civil society and alternative development and advances a range of proposals to improve development practice.
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    Agenda success? : The prospects for sub-regional human rights arrangements in the Pacific : a thesis presented in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Politics at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2011) Hay, Kathryn Susan
    Regional human rights institutions have been established in all United Nations (UN)-defined regions except for the Asia-Pacific. Although as a region the Asia-Pacific faces myriad human rights challenges, the diversity of countries and cultures and absence of a shared sense of regional identity inhibits momentum to form a regional mechanism for the promotion and protection of human rights. Within this region several sub-regional configurations exist. The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), whose members include fourteen small island states, Australia and New Zealand, is the primary political body in the Pacific section of the broader Asia-Pacific region. The vision of the PIF emphasises the promotion and protection of human rights in the Pacific. Human rights issues have, however, tended to be addressed within individual countries, and Pacific leaders have paid little attention to the idea of sub-regional human rights arrangements (SHRAs) as a means of supporting human rights objectives. Within the PIF complex political and institutional processes shape the work of the Pacific leaders and affect which ideas are focused on and advanced. Within the policy process agenda setting is a critical element as new ideas and policy solutions can only be implemented after they have been deliberately considered and agreed upon by the political decision-makers. Several elements shape the agenda setting process: the framing of issues and possible solutions by policy advocates, the availability of appropriate venues in which decisions can be made, and opportunities to have ideas presented to the decision-makers. If the political decision-makers, in this thesis the PIF leaders, agree to advance and implement a policy idea then agenda success has occurred. This thesis examines the prospects for agenda success of SHRAs in the Pacific. Twenty two semi-structured interviews were undertaken with selected experts from throughout the Pacific. These empirical materials were triangulated with secondary sources. Analysis of these materials highlighted that all components of the agenda setting process are evident in this case study of SHRAs in the Pacific. In particular, interrelationships between the framing of issues and alternative solutions, venues and policy advocates, previously understated in other agenda setting research, are able to be identified. Certain conditions, such as political instability, international obligations, environmental challenges, and the current scoping exercise, provide opportunities for policy advocates to push their ideas. Further, the results of the research identify several contextual factors that are shaping the agenda setting process in the PIF. These include historical, national, sub-regional, international, cultural, economic, and geo-political factors, and issues of sovereignty. Before Pacific leaders are likely to agree to the advancement of SHRAs in the Pacific they will also need to be convinced that the idea is both feasible and immediately important. Therefore, although there is moderate evidence of the preconditions for agenda success being in place, the receptivity and political will of the PIF leaders is critical, and will, in the final instance, determine agenda success for SHRAs in the Pacific.
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    The efficiency of the commercial banks in six Pacific Island countries : a dissertation in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor in Philosophy, Banking Studies, School of Economics and Finance, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2010) Maea, Samisoni Fotu
    This thesis explores the efficiency of the commercial banks in six Pacific Island Countries (PICs): Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu over the period 2000 to 2006 using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The use of DEA is justified primarily due to the small number of commercial banks operating in these small countries. This is the first detailed study of the relative efficiency and performance of banking firms in this selected group of small countries. The dominant feature of this research is to investigate the primary prudential tools commonly used by banking supervisors in regulating the local banking system. In our understanding, this is the first effort to investigate the link between individual prudential tools and bank efficiency. The small number of banks in this dataset further enables a structural investigation of the relative efficiency across commercial banks nationally and across countries, employs a series of explanatory variables to explain the possible sources of efficiency variation, and provides a series of practical measures to validate resulting efficiency scores from DEA. This comprehensive structural construct is also a new development in bank efficiency studies. The key research finding is the identification of liquidity requirements as the main source of bank inefficiency. Capital requirements are not only ineffective in promoting bank efficiency but in the absence of formal liquidity requirements, they become a contributing factor for causing asset deterioration. Hence, asset quality is inversely related to bank efficiency. Scale inefficiency is unusually large compared with reported scale inefficiency in the literature and in most countries, it dominates technical inefficiency. Finally, efficiency-based ratios should continue to supplement resulting efficiency scores, at least in the current measurement and development of bank efficiency in the context of smaller developing economies.
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    Rethinking Polynesian mobility: A new Polynesian Triangle?
    (2009-07-16T23:38:08Z) Barcham, Manuhuia; Scheyvens, Regina; Overton, John
    No abstract available