Borrin Foundation – Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga Postgraduate Scholarship for Rhianna Morar
Borrin Foundation - Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga postgraduate scholarship
About Rhianna
Ngāti Porou (Te Whānau a Ruataupare), Tapuika (Ngāti Moko) and Īnia (Gujarat) Rhianna is of Māori, Indian and Pākehā descent. She graduated with a first-class honours degree in Law, and a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Political Science and International Relations from Te Herenga Waka | Victoria University of Wellington. Rhianna was admitted to the bar in 2022. Since graduating, Rhianna has worked as a solicitor for Bell Gully and Kāhui Legal. She specialises in public law, civil litigation and Māori legal issues. She has also worked at the Crown Law Office, the Law Commission, and the Public Service Commission. In addition to this, Rhianna has published several academic articles in the Victoria University Law Review, the Māori Law Review, and the New Zealand Women’s Law Journal. As a descendant of one of the signatories to the Treaty of Waitangi, Rhianna believes that the Treaty plays an important role for all people in New Zealand society. Her motivation in studying and practising law is firmly rooted in the words of Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki – mā te ture anō te ture e āki, for only the law can correct the law.
What Rhianna is studying
Rhianna is using the Borrin Foundation – Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga Postgraduate Scholarship towards the costs of study for a postgraduate qualification in law in the United Kingdom. The qualification will include both coursework and a research component. Rhianna is interested in exploring to what extent the right to equality of litigation against the Crown can include substantive rights, particularly those that have acquired a constitutional status. Her research interests reflect the real challenges faced by Māori litigants who want to ensure that the Crown honours the obligations it has created. Rhianna is strongly motivated to study in the United Kingdom to further develop her understanding of the public law doctrines that underpin Aotearoa New Zealand’s inherited common law system. She plans on undertaking a variety of advanced constitutional and administrative law courses to support this research. Moving forward, Rhianna intends on returning to Aotearoa and continuing her work in private practice – specialising in public interest litigation relating to the Treaty of Waitangi and the intersection between tikanga Māori and State law.
Scholarship amount
$60,000
“As the first person in my immediate family to graduate, this scholarship is transformational for me and my whānau. I am very grateful to the Borrin Foundation for supporting my dream to undertake postgraduate study overseas. Aku rangahautira e!”