Abstract
For New Zealand reducing emissions across sectors including transport emissions is critical to meet its climate targets and contribute to global efforts to mitigate climate change. However, emission reduction efforts must be balanced across sectors and society. Accessible transportation is vital for wellbeing, enabling access to healthcare, education, work, and basic goods. It is fundamental to societal participation, as it allows individuals to access critical resources and opportunities. This research explores the approach to low-carbon energy transitions taken by the Sixth Labour Government, which governed New Zealand between 2017 and 2023. This research examines the potential of transportation policy to enhance wellbeing. It analyses frameworks related to health and wellbeing and explores the insights they provide to understand different policy approaches and the underlying causes of inequalities. Additionally, the research investigates how integrating the Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) framework into policy development can promote more equitable policies. Critical theory and pragmatism are employed in this research to analyse power dynamics in policy development and to develop practical solutions to advocate for change. The research methods consist of a literature review, policy document reviews and semi-structured interviews. The research shows that transport-disadvantaged communities are often excluded from decision-making processes. Under the current system of governance and the way society is structured, existing systems, rules and processes tend to benefit groups of higher socioeconomic standing. This leads to persistent disparities in power, wealth and opportunities. There is a need to shine a light on these issues and engage with normative ethics and political values. By doing so, decision-makers can be held more accountable for the impacts of their decisions on equity. The research findings reveal that there are inconsistencies with the integration of health and equity considerations into transport policy development in New Zealand, particularly in addressing the needs of marginalised communities. Barriers to addressing health and wellbeing include inadequate community engagement, institutional silos, fragmented policies, weak evaluations and monitoring, and insufficient political commitment to reduce inequalities. Traditional policy development frameworks that prioritise quantitative data are seen as inadequate for evaluating the social implications of policies and projects, as well as social inequalities. The research advocates for broader frameworks to be incorporated into policy development and decision-making processes. Frameworks like the Capability Approach and the CSDH framework illuminate the underlying drivers on inequalities. The CSDH framework is considered an important framework for informing policy development. This research emphasises the crucial role planners and analysts can play in advocating for more informed and equitable decisions given their unique positions that provide them access to decision makers.