RMLA Scholarship 1998

By Helen Atkins, Member of the Scholarships Subcommittee

The third award of the RMLA scholarships was made in April. This year's graduate scholarship of $7,000 was awarded to Sandra Ghaemaghamy from the University of Auckland. Sandra, is studying for a Master of Laws (Environment) degree. Her proposed Masters thesis is to undertake comparative research on the issue of reverse sensitivity particularly looking towards the United States and the United Kingdom.

The high calibre of the applicants for the graduate scholarship was such this year that a second award of $2,000 was made to Meredith Gibbs from Dunedin. Meredith is studying for a Masters of Arts degree in the Geography Department at Otago University. Her thesis involves research into: the doctrine of aboriginal and customary title as it applies in New Zealand and in particular the implications for the management of rivers and lakes under the Resource Management Act. Meredith intends to focus on a case study which involves consideration of the Ngai Tahu Settlement.

Three undergraduate scholarships of $2,000 each were awarded to Erika Kasai, Teall Crossen and Kathryn Botherway. Erika is studying for a Bachelor of Laws at Auckland University. As part of her course she recently completed a paper entitled 'Mining and the Resource Management Act 1991: Principle and procedure for responsible resource management (A Comparative Analysis - NZ/Canada)'. Teall is studying a Bachelor of Resource Studies at Lincoln University and a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Canterbury. Kathryn is a student at Victoria University completing a double major Bachelor of Science in Geography and Ecology.

The standard of applications for both graduate and undergraduate scholarships was very high which always makes the task of both the NZ Vice Chancellor's Committee and the RMLA Scholarships Sub-Committee (Jim Wiltshire, Rob Harris and Helen Atkins) a challenging one.