5.7  The Role of Government in New Zealand in Fostering the Evolution of Social Norms

As noted in Section 3 above, the role of government in fostering the evolution of social norms is controversial. Against this background, avenues tentatively suggested in this paper for further investigation in New Zealand are the content of the education curriculum; exploring ways to reduce the current polarization of views across different groups in New Zealand on issues relating to Maori rights and the Treaty; and the design of the legal framework regulating family relationships.

One mechanism the government has to directly influence the formation of social norms and values is through the key role it plays in education as a regulator, funder and provider. Government can influence both how the curriculum is delivered (e.g. developing the capacity for effective inter-personal cooperation and team work), and the content of the curriculum. Recognition of the value and unique position of Maori has for some time been part of the curriculum, as has respect for the variety of cultures that make up New Zealand society. The curriculum, through its practices and procedures, also aims to reinforce values of individual and collective responsibility that underpin New Zealand’s democratic society. [59] It would be worth considering, however, whether an enhanced “civics” component, specifically covering the functioning of key democratic institutions and the core elements of New Zealand’s institutional heritage may also have a place.

Beyond the longer term mechanism of the education curriculum, active consideration should be given to more immediate ways in which the government might act to try to reduce the current polarization of views in the community over “Maori rights” issues. The resolution of historical Treaty claims, and clarifying the role of the Treaty in contemporary society are areas of central importance in New Zealand. As noted in Section 4, the New Zealand Survey of Values has revealed deep divisions of view in New Zealand on these issues, and Webster has illustrated how these divisions are closely correlated with self-reported ethnic identity.

The Treaty settlements process is both an important opportunity to build social cohesion and, if mishandled, a risk of exacerbating existing social tensions or creating new social divisions. Given the current conjuncture, however, it is not an issue that can be avoided. Exploration of ways in which the current polarization of views might be reduced should, therefore, be seen as an area of strategic importance. Relevant issues here are the “framing” of the issues by the government, the pace and time-frame of the settlements process, and the quality of governance of iwi organisations receiving Treaty settlement assets.

Perhaps the most important social institution in the formation of social norms and values is the family. In addition to its critically important roles in physical and emotional nurturing and human capital formation, it is one of the main means through which values and social norms are transmitted and maintained.

The importance of the family for the functioning of society is widely acknowledged in public discourse in New Zealand. However, relatively little emphasis appears to have been given to analysis of the potential effects on family functioning - including the acquisition of instrumentally important social norms - of different legal frameworks for the regulation of family formation and dissolution. Recent debates on the law regulating de facto and legal marriages appear to have focused on the rights of the adults, with less attention to the possible effects of different legal rules on other outcomes of interest.

Such outcomes include the life chances of children of separated partners. Family law (and other interventions such as the social welfare system) can have unintended

consequences for the well-being both of adults and their children. [60] Further investigation of family law in New Zealand from both a rights-based and an outcomes-based perspective is warranted.