This research aims to assess the existing relationship and characteristics between Maori health providers (MHPs) and pharmacy services in New Zealand and to provide future direction, pathways and strategies for collaboration, planning and improving health outcomes for Maori within the primary health care environment. The characteristics of the relationship were identified and discussed before exploring strategies to strengthen the relationship and to improve Māori health outcomes. The assessment and analysis of the characteristics required an exploration of MHPs current knowledge of pharmacy services, the expectations of MHPs of pharmacy services and the current knowledge of pharmacists of MHP services and Maori health. Themes identified that characterised the relationship were related to knowledge, health philosophies, interaction, service and capacity issues. Knowledge issues incorporated themes of group dynamics, historical context, participant knowledge, pharmacy participant knowledge, MHP participant knowledge, solutions/ outcome knowledge, consideration of Maori. Health philosophies related to themes of paradigms/worldviews, kaupapa Maori, capacity, culture and delivery of services, Treaty of Waitangi, knowledge of culture, communication and te reo, rongoa Maori, environmental culture, access, tino rangatiratanga. Interaction issues discussed the themes of collaboration and communication, extent of collaboration, contact with Maori, community relationships, cost, benefits and opportunities. The pharmacy environment, cost and health service delivery were identified as themes relating to service issues. Capacity issues included themes of mana, direct workforce development (education, employment, promotion), indirect workforce development (education, environment, relationship building, funding), and the Maori Pharmacists Association. This research attempted to follow kaupapa Maori qualitative research methodology, methods and the epistemology of kaupapa Maori throughout the research and design process. One to one semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants from each group. The sample size was established based on the purposeful sampling strategy of maximum variation sampling (7 MHP participants, 8 pharmacy participants. Responses were directly related to differences in world-views and the historical context of the two health provider groups with respect to their roles in health. Variations within each group were related to knowledge, location and previous experience working with their counterparts. Recommendations were associated with themes/issues of environment, knowledge, communication, cultural awareness, collaboration, services and the increased awareness of the roles and responsibilities with respect to each health provider group. This dissertation also highlighted a number of key components that formed a collaborative, empowerment model of health created between organisations with different world-views, which can be adapted to a number of environments where there are different or opposing world-views within the overall same patient population. It is anticipated that the results and outcomes from this research will help develop Maori responsive pharmacy services based on health promotion and wellness to Maori locally, regionally, nationally and have a positive impact on Maori health in collaboration with MHPs. Areas of pharmaceutical care are highlighted which may encourage projects or initiatives in collaboration with MHPs to enhance health gains for Maori, while increasing professional practice roles and scope for pharmacy.

The consequences of drug use and benefits of methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) were investigated in a random sample of Maori and non- Maori injecting drug users in Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand. Eighty- five injecting drug users (IDUs) who had been on MMT for a mean time of 57 months were interviewed and followed up over an average 18 month period. Markov models were used to model cohorts of IDUs, changes in their health states and the effects of MMT and anti-viral therapy on morbidity and mortality. The savings in life from reductions in drug overdoses were used as the main outcome measure in cost-effectiveness analysis. Cost-utility and cost-benefit analysis were also used to provide additional information on the costs and outcomes of treatment. Comparisons were made between: (a) MMT alone; (b) MMT provided with conventional combination therapy for hepatitis C virus (HCV); and (c) MMT provided with anti-viral therapy with pegylated interferon. The monetary costs of drug use and benefits of MMT were similar for Maori and non-Maori. However, Markov modelling indicated that MMT is associated with greater savings in life for Maori than for non-Maori. Further, Maori IDUs identified the main personal costs of drug use as being loss of their children and loss of marriage or partners. Large reductions in use of opioids and benzodiazipines were reported at interview, compared with before starting MMT. The participants also reported large reductions in crime and stabilisation of their lifestyles. Improvements in the general health of IDUs om MMT were reported. However, 89% were positive for HCV infection, which was identified as the major physical health problem affecting IDUs in New Zealand. Few IDUs had received anti-viral therapy for HCV infections, despite having stabilised on MMT. This study investigated the benefits of providing anti-viral therapy for HCV to all patients meeting treatment criteria. The cost-effectiveness of MMT alone was estimated at $25,397 per life year saved (LYS) for non- Maori men and $25,035 for non-Maori women IDUs (costs and benefits discounted at 3%). The incremental effects of providing anti-viral therapy for HCV to all eligible patients were to save extra years of life, as well as to involve additional costs. The net effect was that anti-viral therapy could be provided, at a similar level of cost-effectiveness, to all patients who meet HCV treatment criteria. Cost-effectiveness could be improved if IDUs could be stabilised on MMT five years earlier at an average age of 26 instead of the current age of 31 years. The cost-effectiveness of treatment with pegylated interferon was similar to that for conventional combination therapy because there were incremental savings in life as well as increased treatment costs. Costs per LYS were estimated to be lower for Maori than for non-Maori, reflecting ethnic differences in mortality. Sensitivity analysis revealed that provision of MMT with anti-viral treatment remained cost-effective under varying assumptions of mortality, disease progression and compliance with treatment. the main problems that were not improved during MMT were continuing use of tobacco and cannabis, low participation in paid employment, only three participants had received specific treatment for their HCV infections. Cost-benefit analysis using a conservative approach showed a ratio of the benefits to the costs of MMT of 8:1. Benefits were demonstrated in terms of large reductions in crime. Benefit to cost ratios were similar for the different policy examined, as well as for both Maori and non-Maori IDUs.

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms (AAA) are amongst the top ten most common cause of death in those over 55 years of age. The disease is usually asymptomatic, often being diagnosed incidentally. Once diagnosed, elective repair of an AAA results in excellent long-term survival with a 3-5% operative mortality. However, up to one half of patients present with ruptured aneurysms, a complication that carries an 80% mortality in the community, and of those reaching hospital, a 50% mortality. Clearly early diagnosis and treatment results in improved survival. Screening for AAA, with ultrasound, would detect aneurysms early, prior to rupture. However, debate continues over the cost effectiveness of population based screening programmes. The identification of a sub-population at a higher risk of developing AAA would increase the yield of a screening prograrmne. A number of populations have been examined, none of which have received international acceptance. About 20% of patients with an AAA have a family history of an aneurysm. The disease is also considered to be a disease of Caucasians, both facts suggesting a strong genetic component to the disease. Perhaps a genetically identified sub-population at a high risk of developing an AAA would prove to be an ideal population for screening. This thesis examines the incidence of aneurysms and the family histories of patients with AAA in the Otago region of New Zealand. Almost twenty percent of the population has a family history of AAA. DNA was collected from each of these patients for genetic analysis. The population was divided into familial AAA and non-familial AAA for the purpose of genetic analysis and compared to a control population. AAA is believed to be a disease of Caucasians; a non-Caucasian population with a low incidence of AAA may prove to be a good control population for genetic studies. A literature review demonstrated a higher incidence of AAA in Caucasians than other ethnic groups and within Caucasians a higher incidence in patients of Northern European origin. The incidence was low in Asian communities, even in studies involving of migrant Asian populations. The New Zealand Maori are believed to have originated from South East Asia, therefore could be expected to have a low incidence of AAA and would make an ideal control population for genetic studies. A pilot study was undertaken to examine the incidence of AAA in the New Zealand Maori. The age standardised incidence of AAA proved to be at least equal in Maori to non-Maori, with a more aggressive form of the disease in Maori, manifesting with a younger age at presentation and a higher incidence of ruptured aneurysms at diagnosis. It is well known that at the time of surgery, an AAA is at the end stage in its life. At this time, inflammation and matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) enzymes are prevalent within the aneurysm wall and have destroyed the wall of the aorta. One of the most important genetic pathways regulating these enzymes is the plasminogen activator inhibiter 1-Tissue plasminogen activator-plasmin pathway. Genetic analysis of this pathway demonstrated an association of the 4G5G polymorphism in the promoter of the PAl-1 gene with familial AAA. In this insertion:deletion polymorphism, the 5G variant binds an activator and repressor, resulting in reduced PAI-1 expression and ultimately increased MMP activation. This allele was associated with familial aneurysms, 47% versus 62% non-familial AAA and 61% controls (p=0.024). A polymorphism within the tissue plasminogen activator gene was also examined and no association was found with AAA. Another way the MMPs expression could be increased is from mutations or polymorphisms in their own genetic structure. Stromelysin 3 is itself a MMP capable of destroying the aortic wall and it has a role in activating other MMPs. A 5A6A insertion:deletion polymorphism exists in the promoter of this gene. The 5A allele variant results in increased stromelysin expression and is associated with AAA 46% versus 33% in controls p=0. 0006. The actions of the MMPs are themselves inhibited by the tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases. The TIMP genes have been sequenced; two polymorphisms have been identified in the non-coding promoter area of the TIMP 1 gene. Further studies are necessary to examine the effect of these polymorphisms. Inflammation has been implicated in aneurysm progression. One of the roles of the inflammatory cells found in an aneurysm is to deliver the MMP�s to the AAA. The HLA system is integral in controlling this inflammation and was therefore examined. From this series of studies it is concluded that there is a genetic component to AAA. This thesis presents the first genetic polymorphism associated with familial AAA and explores the role of a genetic pathway in the formation of AAA.

Having reviewed an example of environmental degradation (the effect of gold mining related activities on the acquatic ecosystems in Te Tai Poutini) from varying Maori and Pakeha perspectives I have developed a framework to find combine these perspectives into a working analytical tool kit. The tool kit is intended to better define the problems to ensure that they take into account the widely differing views of Maori and Pakeha and is able to promote solutions that will be appropriate and safe for both Maori and Pakeha. I have sought to collect and present a comprehensive analysis of both perspectives. I have focussed more heavily however on the Maori paradigms as they are less well reported in the literature on environmental health and less influence on the way we seek to protect people from the negative effects of environmental degradation. This is despite the fact that as Maori are more likely to be exposed to environmental damage in that they are on average poorer and therefore have less choice about where they may live and are more likely to eat foods taken directly from the environment. I will also show that the damage to the Arahura is far more than physical and will show the concern of kaumatua and their psychological anguish they have felt over the damage to this most tapu river. For this reason I have chosen to present this thesis, in the form of a powhiri model. This model allows me to present different aspects of the problem from a Maori perspective including the views of kaumatua as well as recorded traditions. I have then followed these sections with a response from a Pakeha perspective. This includes reviewing the different underlying world, view as well as some attempt to review the damage in Pakeha terms by reviewing the literature and undertaking some tests to establish procedures for a more comprehensive testing of the enviroment that surrounds the Arahura. The thesis will conclude with a section summarising both strands of information and attempt to develop a framework for a health tool kit - he kete hauora. This kete will utilise Whare Tapa Wha as a way of placing the information in a context that can be presented in a reasonably coherent form. Finally I will make a number of recommendations that I called a place mat - he whariki. These recommendations are presented in a framework from Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This reflects the primacy of the Treaty when considering the ways in which Maori are to be protected by the Crown. These recommendations seek to respond to the principle barriers that are currently preventing local Maori from achieving a full sense of well being but, if implemented, these recommendations will ensure the protection of the health of all peoples of Te Tai Poutini.

Since the introduction of tobacco into New Zealand, smoking and smoking related illnesses have become more prevalent in the Maori population than New Zealand's general population. The aim of the present research was to investigate smoking from a Maori perspective. It was hoped this information would provide a better understanding of how Maori can become smokefree. The present research also investigated a number of possible benefits that could be obtained by Maori through becoming smokefree. These benefits were analysed through Mason Durie's Whare Tapa Wha model, a Maori holistic health model. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with four Maori people, two of whom were current smokers and two who were ex-smokers. Common themes emerged from these interviews including the social aspect of smoking for Maori and the influence of the enviroment on smoking behaviour. Suggestions were given to illustrate how the social aspect of smoking and the cycle that subsequently develops can be broken. Using the Whare Tapa Wha model and the personal accounts given, the benefits of breaking such a cycle were discussed. Lastly, the importance of nurturing smokefree environments, especially Maori environments, was outlined. The notion of being positive about becoming smokefree and the need to celebrate giving up smoking were highlighted throughout this research.

Health is determined by the past as well as the present; the health status of indigenous peoples has been strongly influnced by the experience of colonisation and their subsequent efforts to participate as minorities in contemporary society while retaining their own ethnic and cultural identities. Colonial journays may have led to innovation and adaptation for Maori, but they have also created pain and suffering from which full recovery has yet to be felt (Durie, 2001). The oral health area can be described as having considerable and unacceptable disparities between Maori and non-Maori (Broughton 1995; Thomson, Ayers and Broughton 2003). Few reports have been conducted concerning Maori and patterns of oral health service utilisation, however a lower service utilisation among Maori than non-Maori has been noted (TPK 1996; Broughton and Koopu 1996). Overall, Maori oral health is largely unknown due to a paucity of appropriate research. This research aims to provide new information by describing Maori oral health outcomes over the life course, within a Kaupapa Maori Research (KMR) methodology. In general, the basic tenets presented for KMR are: (1) to prioritise Maori - from the margin to the centre; (2) to be Maori controlled - by Maori, for Maori; (3) to reject �victim-blame� theories; and (4) to be a step towards action and change in order to improve Maori oral health outcomes. The aims of this research are to: 1. Describe the occurrence of caris at ages 5, 15, 18 and 26 and periodontal disease at age 26 years for Maori. 2. Describe self-reported oral health, self-reported dental aesthetics and oral health service utilisation among Maori at ages 5, 15, 18 and 26. 3. Compare the above oral health characteristics between Maori and non-Maori . 4. Investigate the determinants of any differences in oral health outcomes between Māori and non-Maori using a KMR methodology. The investigation involves a secondary analysis of data from the Dunedin multidisciplinary Health and Development study (DMHDS). The existing data-set was statistically analysed using SPSS (SPSS Inc, Chicago, USA). Descriptive statistics were generated. The levels of statistical significance were set at P< 0.05. Chi-square tests were used to compare proportions and independent sample t-tests or ANOVA were used for comparing means. A summary of the Maori/non-Maori analysis shows that, for a cohort of New Zealanders followed over their life-course, the oral health features of caries prevalence, caries severity, and periodonal disease prevalence are higher among Maori compared to non-Maori. In particular, it appears that while Maori females did not always have the highest prevalence of dental caries, this group most often had a higher dmfs/DMFS for dental caries, compared to non-Maori. As adolescents and adults, self-reported results of oral health and dental appearance indicate that Maori males were more likely to report below average oral health and below average dental appearance, when compared to non-Maori. However, at age 26, non-Maori males made up the highest proportion of episodic users of oral health services. This study has a number of health implications: these relate specifically to the management of dental caries, the access to oral health services, and Maori oral health and the elimination of disparities. These are multi-levelled and have implications for health services across the continuum of care from child to adult services; they also have public health implications that involve preventive measures and the broader determinants of health; and involve KMR principles than can be applied to oral health interventions and dental health research in general. Dental diseases and oral health outcomes, such as dental anxiety and episodic use of services, are a common problem in a cohort of New Zealanders with results demonstrating ethnic disparities between Maori and on-Maori. As an area of dentistry that has had very little research in New Zealand, the findings of this study provide important information with which to help plan for population needs. The KMR approach prioritises Maori and specifically seeks to address Maori oral health needs and the elimination of disparities in oral health outcomes. While the issues that are raised may be seen as the more difficult to address, they are also more likely to achieve oral health gains for Maori and contribute to the elimination of disparities.

Rakiura Maori continue a centuries old harvest of titi chicks (sooty shearwater, Puffinus griseus) which is governed primarily by Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). The sustainability of titi harvesting is of high cultural, social and ecological importance. Some commentators view contemporary use of TEK as insufficient to ensure sustainability because it is no longer intact, too passive, and/or potentially inadequate to meet new ecological and technical challenges. Such assertions have been made in the absence of detailed description of TEK and associated social mechanisms. This thesis describes Rakiura Maori TEK practices and management systems that are in place and asks whether such systems are effective today, and whether they will remain effective in future. Ecological, social and cultural factors are intertwined in cultural wildlife harvests so the methodology used was a combination of quantitative ecological methods and semi-directive interviews of 20 experienced harvesting elders. The research also used ecological science to evaluate potential harvest monitoring methods and to determine what sets the limits on harvest. These ecological studies focused on harvesting by four families on Putauhinu Island in 1997-1999. Harvest is divided into two parts. In the first period (�nanao�) chicks are extracted from breeding burrows during daytime. In the second period (�rama�) chicks are captured at night when they have emerged from burrows. Nanao harvest rates only increased slightly with increasing chick densities and birders� harvest rates varied in their sensitivities to changing chick density. Although harvest rates can only provide a general index of population change a monitoring panel, with careful selection of participants, may be the only feasible way to assess population trend and thereby harvest sustainability or the resource�s response to changed management. Rakiura Maori harvesting practice constitutes common property resource management based on birthright and a system of traditional rules. Protection of island habitat and adult birds, and temporal restricitions on harvest are considered most important. Legislation and a belief system of reciprocity and connection to ancestors and environment aid enforcement of the rules. Ecological knowledge is learnt through observation, hands-on experience and storytelling. Younger Rakiura Maori now spend less time harvesting which puts pressure on the transmission of knowledge. Paradoxically, use of modern technology for harvesting aids transfer of essential skills because it is easier and faster to learn, thereby contributing to the continuance of a culturally important harvest. Limits on harvest are passive, with the numbers of chicks taken determined by the time spent harvesting and processing. Processing is more limiting during the rama period. Future innovations that decrease the time to process each chick during rama could greatly increase the total number of chicks caught. Recently introduced motorised plucking machines decrease the time required to pluck each chick. However, on Putauhinu Island, use of plucking machines did not increase the number of chicks harvested, indicating social mechanisms were also limiting. Elders identified changing values between the generations, which may reduce the future strength of social limitations on harvest pressure. Global climate change may reduce the predicability of traditional knowledge. Rakiura Maori have identified this risk and sought to examine ecological science as a tool to complement traditional knowledge for monitoring harvest sustainability. Climate change, declining tītī numbers and potential changes in technology or markets all threaten the effectiveness of current social limits to harvest. Rakiura Maori have previously shown the ability to adapt and must look to add resilience to their institutions to ensure we keep the titi forever.

Although considered a substanially preventable disease, Type 2 diabetes is reaching epidemic status within the Maori population. This study sought to investigate factors that positively and negatively influenced levels of physical activity for Maori within Otepoti/Dunedin, and to discuss ideas and potential initiatives that could increase levels of physical activity and aid in the prevention of Type 2 diabetes. Eighteen Maori (9 males; 9 females) from this rohe (area) participated in a four hour focus group interview (groups of three) and were also invited to attend an evaluation hui. A Maori-centered research orientation was used throughout the research process. Individual transcripts from focus groups, debriefing discussion and content from the evaluation hui were inductively analysed to identify the main themes. The 'active' participants were physically active because of the benefits they attained for health and longevity, and to undertake task-oriented activity such as gathering kai. Barriers to physical activity (i.e., family, work), a contemporary societal shift towards inactivity, and negative personal attitudes and perceptions towards physical activity detrimentally affected levels of physical activity. Initiatives to increase levels of physical activity included community, educational and work-based initiatives. A key element of each proposed initiative was a 'by Maori for Maori' approach, with a focus on strengthening whānau and iwi networks, a comfortable environment and social support. While education was believed to be a key component for Type 2 diabetes prevention, an avoidance barrier and fatalistic attitudes could negatively affect any attempt to prevent Type 2 diabetes and increase levels of physical activity. The results indicated that to strengthen Maori identity, increase levels of physical activity and prevent Type 2 diabetes, positive changes (taking responsibility for health), cultural changes (a shift towards a stronger identity and belief in the taonga [treasure] of being Maori), societal changes ( a more positive view of Maori, better role models and education), and social economic changes (better access to exercise facilities, healthy food and education for those in the lower deprivation indices) were needed.

Historically there has been considerable debate over the origin of karaka (Corynocarpus laevigatus J.R. et G. Forst.) In contrast, the extent and importance of pre-historic arboriculture in New Zealand has received little attention in the literature. This study reviews the ecology and ethnobotony of karaka and investigates its cultural and natural biogeography. Maori migration traditions frequently state that karaka was introduced to New Zealand. However, molecular evidence and finds of fossil seeds of the late Oligocene age show that karaka is endemic to New Zealand. Therefore, Maori traditions probably relate to the translocation and cultivation of karaka within the New Zealand region, for which there is abundant anecdotal evidence. Karaka fruits were a valuable addition to the Maori diet and were likely to have functioned as a replacement for traditional Polynesian precedents and entailed a rigorous regime of steaming and soaking to rid the kernal of its toxic elements. There is data to suggest selection for fruit size and/or nutritional value in cultivated karaka populations. A database of karaka distribution was compiled and populations classified as �cultural� or �unknown� on the basis of spatial association with archaeological sites. Groves classed as cultural were assumed to be cultivated or translocated by pre-historic Maori. Lack of effective seed dispersal by birds and the longevity of the trees, mean that the contemporary distribution of karaka provides a reasonable template for the extent of its prehistoric translocation and cultivation within New Zealand. Karaka has a distinct cultural and natural biogeography. The greatest overlap between cultural and unknown trees occurred in the northern North Island while the majority of trees in the lower North Island, and all trees in the South Island were classed as cultural. Prior to the arrival of Polynesians in New Zealand, karaka was probably restricted in distribution to the Northland/Auckland region. Its natural range was then extended by human translocation and cultivation to the lower North Island, South Island, Kermadec Islands, Chatham Islands and many other in-shore islands off New Zealand. Climate variables were fitted to the distribution data and discriminant analysis used to further test the classification of karaka into cultural and unknown populations. Significant differences were found in climatic parameters between groups. Cultural karaka were found in enviroments with greater solar radiation seasonality, higher evaporative demands and greater soil moisture deficits than unknown karaka. The climate profile of karaka is biased towards the same environmental correlates of pa and pit site locations, further indicating that karaka was a cultivated tree crop. It is concluded that the importance and extent of karaka arboriculture, and probably that of other endemic tree species currently restricted to the northern North Island of cultural karaka is biased towards the same environmental correlates of pa and pit site locations, further indicating that karaka was a cultivated tree crop. The extensive translocation of karaka by Maori means that it has the potential, with the application of molecular methods, to serve as a marker for prehistoric settlement and mobility. Preliminary work was begun on this aspect and a predictive model is presented of the possible relationships within and between populations of karaka. It is concluded that the importance and extent of karaka arboriculture, and probably that of other endemic tree species, has previously been overlooked. This has implications for our view of certain plant communities as unmodified by humans, and provides an impetus to protect surface vegetation as an integral part of some prehistoric archaeological sites.

Aotearoa-New Zealand received Christianity as part of the colonial/missionary matrix of nineteenth century European expansion. Consequently the form and content of faith was largely shaped by factors distant both in geography and symbolic resonance. Christian theology maintains a cultural dissonance, particularly from an emergent Pakeha cultural indentity. The quest for contextualisation has become a familiar one in post-colonial societies, though not as vigorously pursued in Western nations as in other parts of the world. Only recently has attention been paid to the possibilities of local theologies in New Zealand. C.S. Song�s suggests �Perhaps a poet can tell us how we should go about theology�. In this he is pointing to the necessity of contextual theology using domestic cultural product as an important source for theological reflection, encapsulating as it does local history and experience. James K. Baxter, one of New Zealand�s finest poets, was also a Catholic and social critic. In the last years of his life particularly, the major part of his writing, both poetry and prose, was concerned with his vision of a Christian humanism which might make a practical difference in the immediate context. He established a community at the small settlement of Jerusalem beside the Whanganui River, where he sought to give tangible expression to a mixture of radical Christian acceptance and Maori spiritual values. This thesis examines Baxter�s contribution to the task of contextual theology. In particular, it draws on a great deal of unpublished prose material, until now largely unexamined, from the late period of his life. This, together with the wider body of his writings, is used to investigate his religious thought and movement within it. After an introductory and methodological chapter, the thesis examines Baxter�s categorisation of the fragmented and spiritually bereft nature of Pakeha existence. It then seeks to follow the major themes of his own powerfully articulated responses to this condition, in a series of chapters introduced with Maori terms; a cultural connection which was important to Baxter. The investigation uncovers a commitment to a Christian humanism that recognises the immanence of Christ, and a rather startling manifesto which parallels the approach of Liberation Theology in a distinctly New Zealand context. The survey of Baxter�s religious thought concludes with a critical reflection on his themes. A final chapter considers the contribution which Baxter makes toward the challenge of contextual theology. Considering the relationship between poetic reflection and theology, it stops short of classifying Baxter as a theologian. Rather the argument is advanced that he has provided vital raw material to the ongoing task of local theology; his role is one of �funding� contextual theology symbolically. Baxter is significant in the development of theology in Aotearoa-New Zealand, both for his contribution and his encouragement to further reflection.