Abstract
This thesis is a critical analysis of cultural impact assessment (CIA) effectiveness in Aotearoa New Zealand. Māori have prepared their own impact assessments for three decades. However, there is yet to be a comprehensive evaluation of the efficacy of such efforts. How far do CIAs go to deliver outcomes Māori define as substantially positive?
The analysis is undertaken in three parts. The first part draws on Indigenous planning theory to theorise the purpose, priorities and aims of Indigenous impact assessment (Indigenous IA) in a way that is appropriate to Indigenous contexts. The second part explores Indigenous experiences with CIAs, as shared in conversational interviews with 27 contributors. The critical aims of Indigenous planning theory are then interwoven with Māori place-based reflections on the outcomes CIA delivers. Effectiveness is conceptualised by exploring the intersections between theory and practice to contemplate and discuss what it means, or could mean, to do Indigenous IA in Aotearoa New Zealand.
The results of the analysis show that CIA in Aotearoa New Zealand is consistent with some of the characteristics of Indigenous IA, but is constrained from realising the substantial aims of such theoretical positioning. While there is institutional space for Māori to generate their own assessments, implementation lags behind practice. CIAs are more peripheral than parallel, and constrained to managing cultural impacts rather than enabling co-production of impact assessment knowledge. Further, CIA outcomes are highly variable, and the tool is unreliable in terms of providing strategic value for achieving Māori aspirations.
In response to the findings, the thesis proposes a reconceptualisation of CIA as Indigenous IA, and reframing of IA to yield space for this. Nationally, the research demonstrates the potential for a uniquely Aotearoa New Zealand approach to IA. Internationally, it signals the potential of Indigenous planning theory to establish theoretical space for Indigenous IA, space that recognises the impact of structural forces on the transformative potential of Indigenous agency. Drawing on Indigenous experiences in Aotearoa New Zealand, the thesis aims to stimulate the development of Indigenous IA, set a course for the re-framing of Indigenous engagement in impact assessment, and conceive a legitimate path forward for both Indigenous groups and the wider impact assessment community in the 21st century.