A Comparative Study of Two Small & Remote Urban Communities: Implications for Social Policy and Practice (A tale of Two Towns) Judith Rivlin MPhil 2010 1 A Comparative Study of Two Small & Remote Urban Communities: Implications for Social Policy and Practice (A tale of Two Towns) Judith Rivlin A thesis submitted to Auckland University of Technology in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy (MPhil) 2010 School of Languages and Social Sciences Primary Supervisor: Professor Charles Crothers 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures 6 List of Tables 6 Attestation of Authorship 7 Acknowledgements 8 Abstract 9 1. Introduction 11 2. Literature Review 12 2.1 Changes in Rural New Zealand 14 2.2 Results of Changing Economic Policy 16 2.3 Effects on Rural Communities 18 2.4 Rural Maori Population 19 2.5 Increasing Diversity and Decreasing Cohesion 20 2.6 Social Sustainability 21 2.7 Changes in Resource Communities 23 2.8 Diversification in Resource Cycles 24 2.9 The Role of Social Capital 25 2.10 Bonding, Bridging and Linking Social Capital 26 2.11 Social Capital and Civil Society 30 2.12 Civil Society as Associational Life 30 2.13 Cross-Cultural Perspectives 32 2.14 Civil Society as the Good Society 34 2.15 Civil Society as the Public Sphere 36 2.16 Social Capital, Deliberative Democracy and Sustained Dialogue 38 3. Approaches to Research 43 4. Methodology 50 4.1 Data Collection 50 4.1.1 Profiles 50 4.1.2 Interview 51 4.1.3 Participant Observation 55 3 4.1.4 Documents and Written Communication 56 4.2 Data Analysis 58 5. Research Findings 60 5.1 Profiles for Ohakune and Raetihi 60 5.2 Demographic and Socioeconomic Trends 63 5.2.1 Populations 63 5.2.2 Trends in Ethnicity 64 5.2.3 Trends in Age 66 5.2.4 Households 67 5.2.5 Income, Employment, Education Levels 69 5.2.6 Schooling 70 5.2.7 Crime Statistics 74 5.2.7 Civic Participation 75 5.2.8 Community Outcomes Process 76 5.2.9 Unpaid Work 77 5.2.10 Business Statistics 78 6. History of Ohakune and Raetihi 80 6.1 Governance 88 7. Recent History of Ohakune and Raetihi 89 7.1 Recent Changes and Developments in Ohakune 89 7.1.1 Decline of Railways and Introduction of Tourism 89 7.1.2 Town Festivals 95 7.1.3 Maori Developments 99 7.2 Recent Changes and Developments in Raetihi 101 7.2.1 Decline of Town 101 7.2.2 Changes to Farming 103 7.2.3 Council Amalgamation & Developments in Health Services 104 7.2.4 Schooling Changes 106 7.2.5 Developments in Maori Community 108 7.2.6 Wider Community Development Initiatives 110 7.2.6 Raetihi Promotions Group 113 4 8. Findings Using Civil Society Framework 115 8.1 Associational Life 115 8.2 Bridging, Bonding and Linking Social Capital 120 8.2.1 Ohakune 120 8.2.2 Raetihi 128 8.2.3 Bridging Social Capital between Ohakune and Raetihi 137 8.3 The Good Society 138 8.4 Public Sphere 149 8.4.1 Media 160 9. Analysis of Findings and Implications 161 9.1 Comparison of Town Profiles 161 9.2 Resource Community Cycles 163 9.3 Associated Regional Development Cycles 164 9.4 Analysis of Social Capital Networks 168 9.5 Combinations of Forms of Social Capital 169 9.6 Analysis of Associational Life 172 9.7 Cultural Implications on Associational Life 173 9.8 Analysis of Good Society 174 9.9 Analysis of Public Sphere 177 9.10 Role of Local Government 178 10. Conclusions 181 10.1 Limitations and Directions for Further Research 185 11. References 186 12. Glossary of Maori Terms 195 13. Appendices 197 13.1 List of Associations Represented in Research 197 13.2 Photographic Record of Profile of Towns 198 5 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: The Ruapehu District 61 Figure 2: Urban and Rural Categories for Manawatu-Wanganui Region62 Figure 3: Population Changes for Ohakune and Raetihi 63 Figure 4: Population Changes for Ruapehu District 64 Figure 5: Population Changes National New Zealand 64 Figure 6: Ethnicity Changes in Ohakune 66 Figure 7: Ethnicity Changes in Raetihi 66 Figure 8: Ethnicity Changes in Ruapehu District 66 Figure 9: Ethnicity Changes Nationally New Zealand 66 Figure 10: Peak Populations in the Ruapehu District 68 Figure 11: Occupations for Employed Aged 15 years plus 69 Figure 12: Ethnicity Trends at Raetihi Primary School 71 Figure 13: Ethnicity Trends at Ohakune Primary School 72 Figure 14: Ethnicity Trends at Ruapehu College 72 Figure 15: Recorded Crime Statistics from NZ Police 74 Figure 16: Recorded Crime Statistics from Ruapehu District Council 74 Figure 17: Number of Businesses in Ohakune and Raetihi 78 Figure 18: Agriculture Employee Count 79 Figure 19: Retail Employee Count 79 Figure 20: Accommodation & Food Service Industry Employee Count 79 Figure 21: Education & Training Industry Employee Count 79 Figure 22: Iwi Boundaries – Ngati Rangi and Te Atihaunui a Paparangi 80 Figure 23: Iwi Boundaries – Ngati Rangi 81 Figure 24: Iwi Boundaries – Te Atihaunui a Paparangi 82 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Election Council Members to Ruapehu District Council 75 Table 2: Election Waimarino-Waiouru Community Board to Ruapehu 76 District Council Table 3: Census Figures for Waimarino County from 1891-1956 86 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would sincerely like to thank the Social Policy Evaluation and Research Committee at the Ministry of Social Development for granting me a Social Research Scholarship as a contribution towards the cost of this research. I would also like to thank the Erin White Scholarship Fund, through Auckland University of Technology, for assisting me with tuition fees. Thank you to my supervisor, Professor Charles Crothers at the School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Applied Humanities, Auckland University of Technology. I would also like to acknowledge the Auckland University of Technology Ethics Committee, which granted ethics approval for the research on 3rd July 2009, AUTEC Reference number 09/96. Thank you to my mother, Joan Lardner, for her proof reading skills and wisdom gained from her extensive experience in community development: “It’s all about networks Judith!” I am humbled by and grateful to all the “community-minded” types of Raetihi and Ohakune, who shared their time, experiences and insights with me. A special thanks to Raetihi’s Lynne Pope for the ongoing discussions which provided valuable guidance in understanding the local communities. Thank you to my children, Eli and Siana for their patience and independence. Finally, I would like to thank Grant Nelson for his help with childcare, support and encouragement, without which I don’t believe I would ever have finished this thesis. 8 ABSTRACT Defined as resource communities and independent urban centres, Raetihi and Ohakune are two small and remote towns on the North Island of New Zealand’s Central Plateau. They have similar sized populations and are set approximately 12 kilometres apart, yet present as totally different communities. Raetihi is a declining farming service centre, with a majority Maori population and the statistics of a town facing relative disadvantage. In contrast, Ohakune is a bustling tourist town of predominantly Europeans, with a statistical profile that indicates relative prosperity. However, this is only a part of the picture. This research presents a more complete picture, including a historical review which details the stories of these towns, set within the context of the wider changes occurring throughout the country. The model of resource community cycles (Taylor and Fitzgerald, 1988) is used to provide an overview of the development of these towns, covering the eras of sawmilling, railways, farming, market gardening and more recently, tourism. Theories of civil society and social capital provide a framework for analysis of the internal dynamics of the communities. This analysis contributes to possible explanations for the existing disparities, as well as to strategies that address them. Indicated through this analysis, was a shortage of stocks of bridging social capital, both within and between the towns. These are the bridges between different social networks that enable communities to “get ahead” (Kozel and Parker 1998; Barr 1998; Narayan 1999). Strategies suggested to develop bridging social capital include: the development of networks of interest, such as a youth network; and activities that promote common interests, such as the arts, sports, shared celebrations and the importance of families. Also highlighted was a need for capacity building, particularly within the Raetihi community. This is in order to foster more effective processes for public engagement required for the development of strong bridging social capital, as well as linking social capital, i.e. the vertical links referring to the dimensions of social class and group power dynamics. A comparative approach has highlighted cultural differences between Maori and European based understandings of the concepts of family, community, voluntary work 9 and associational life, which has implications on theories of civil society. Cultural differences in values were also seen to be reflected by attitudes towards the mountain and rivers in the area. Europeans saw them as economic assets, whereas the Maori view was that they held a spiritual significance as respected ancestors. The dominance of the European view was promoted through the public sphere with an emphasis on tourism and economic development, and the exclusion of community development, representing a hegemony of values. There was a need identified for more inclusive processes for community decision making and a mandate that addresses the pervasive inequalities that exist. The communities' experiences of government agency initiatives highlighted a resulting shortage of sustainable community development outcomes. This was seen to be mainly due to the agencies being centrally located and controlled, with limited interagency communication.