Abstract
There are few things that connect everyone who has ever lived, but the night sky is one of them. For most of Earth’s existence, the end of daylight heralded the appearance of thousands of stars every night, regardless of where someone lived. Unfortunately, the nightly appearance of thousands of stars no longer connects everyone on Earth due to light pollution. Indigenous people around the world still maintain a strong connection to the night sky, but their access to the night sky is under threat. Planning is typically ignorant of this connection and has largely ignored the cumulative effects of light pollution. There is a growing dark sky movement in New Zealand that is largely driven by localised community groups seeking to protect the quality of their night skies, which are still pristine. These groups have achieved protection for their areas' night sky by obtaining internationally recognised accreditations from DarkSky International. The process of obtaining accreditation from DarkSky International has required assistance from local councils and normally requires the provisions controlling light at night to be updated. These provisions are typically located in the district plan.
Under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Māori are ensured the ability to carry out their traditional practices, of which the health of the night sky is a vital part. This research aims to understand how New Zealand councils integrate Māori perspectives on the night sky into the planning system. Therefore, the question guiding this thesis is: How does planning in New Zealand integrate Māori perspectives on the night sky to reduce light pollution?
This study assessed the lighting provisions of every territorial authority in New Zealand through a Goal Achievement Matrix. The Goal Achievement Matrix was developed off findings from existing literature. Three territorial authorities were then compared further through case studies. The territorial authorities were chosen for further research because they were identified as having dark sky protections. These case studies centred around interviews with Kaiāwhina who were engaged in the development of the area's dark sky protections.
The findings generally showed that most of New Zealand’s territorial authorities do not consider Māori perspectives of the night sky, and do not recognise the night sky as needing to be protected. Some territorial authorities do state that protecting the night sky is an objective, but their reasoning for doing so is based on Western values. Central Otago District Council was the only territorial authority that demonstrated consideration for Māori values in its dark sky provisions. That case study showed that this council has a strong relationship with mana whenua, and because of this, worked with them directly when they first began developing the dark sky policies. As a result, the policies reflect Māori perspectives of the night sky.
This thesis recommends that local territorial authorities spend time building stronger relationships and assist in building up the engagement capacity of mana whenua. Also recommended is exploring the creation of a New Zealand Dark Sky advocacy group with Te Ao Māori at the centre of the organisation.