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The principles behind the 'Resource Management Act' (RMA) are rooted in the 'Professional Development' Engineers received at University of Auckland, New Zealand. It is based on advancing humanity in a sustainable way. Just like I have gratitude to my parents, I also have gratitude to my teachers. Hence, I am writing this post because of my debt of gratitude to University of Auckand, who blessed me with Engineering knowledge and experience, such as what is the RMA, its relevance and how to apply it (2002-2005).
To support such initiatives, please sign petitions like Greenpeace Aotearoa's:
-"Say No to Minerals deal with Honourable President Trump".
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Version |
Author |
Date |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Sarna, J. | 02 February 2026 | Initial Draft And Release to Production |
| 1.0 | Sarna, J. | 30 April 2026 | Added Greenpeace's petition |
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ID |
Title |
|---|---|
| 1.0 | SUMMARY |
| 2.0 | CHANGE LOG |
| 3.0 | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| 4.0 | CONTEXT |
| 5.0 | SHORT SIGHTED VIEW OF THE WORLD ATTACKS RMA |
| 6.0 | SUMMARY- MY PLEA |
| 7.0 | REFERENCES |
| 8.0 | DISCLAIMER |
New Zealand is blessed that despite when it was colonised in 1840 by the British Crown, good people on both sides of the table had the foresight to setup an agreement between the Crown and the Indigenous people in order to minimise the harm. The agreement is called the "The Treaty of Waitangi".
While history of colonisation across the world speaks for itself, due to the treaty a lot of genuine and systematic redress occured in New Zealand starting from the latter half of the 20st Century, like no where else in the Western world. It was around this time that the 'Resource Management Act' (RMA) was conjured up by the leaders of the country and enacted in Parliament. From what I understand, it provided much of the legal frameworks to enable the consultations that occured and continues to facilitate them. The buy product is that New Zealand was left with a world class tool for managing difficult conversations and complex problems.
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I am not a NZ Government employee, nor am I officially affiliated to any political movement. My vote goes to the ones who talk sanity. I am an IEEE Engineer from the university of Auckland. My education in the Engineering profession in early 2000's was forged on the basis of the 'Resource Management Act' (RMA). The current administration of New Zealand is raising questions about RMA. I agree that RMA does involve processes perceived as conscientious, as it is incumbent on the leaders of the day to involve consultations with all stakeholders (including local tribes) with the aim of getting a 'win-win' prior to commencing engineering activities that impact them, in order to proceed with good faith (IEEE, 2026). This must be attempted at all costs (Firsts and Lasts, 2026, Jan, 13).
The 'government of the day' has tried to find its feet courageously in a changing environment marred by wars, distrust, technology challenges, cyber and physical threats neven seen before (Infogain Hub Channel, 2025, March, 19).
Still in this period of massive change, some forces that take unfair advantage of the situation of suffering of many, created an atmosphere where dissension and hate were built up in order to polarise votes. In order to balance the public good and public opinion, the current coalition goverenment in 2024, brought a peice of legislation to parliament called the Treaty Principles Bill. It made New Zealanders question who they were as rallies and prominent personalities cautioned us about the risks of going backwards on years of evolution, and to speak out against it, such as New Zealand's first female and now ex prime minister Dame Jenny Shipley(McCulloch, 2024, November 16):
I also provided a
submission on the Bill. Thankfully, it was rejected by parliament as the Honourable Prime Minister had promised. The group that led to the genesis of that bill still holds the NZ Parliament to ransom it seems, as now the assault on the RMA has begun. The current administration I believe claims that it struggles to operate at RMA's speed due to realities of 2026 (Tiriti Action Group Pōneke, 2026).
All I am saying is that Engineers like me love the RMA, as it was the only way known to mankind for sustainable progress, when I was at university. I followed those principles all my live. Yes, it involves a lot of communication and holding onto principles. However, it is this very adherence to higher principles which makes us the ones chosen to represent our professions, as explained by UK's Irish origin Oxford University Chaplain in his speech to his [Non-Violent] faith's alumni community (PS Alumni, 2015, Oct, 3). The RMA is designed to protect flaura and fauna.
As a first step to support such initiatives, please sign Greenpeace Aotearoa's "Say No to Minerals deal with Honourable President Trump" Petition, in order to get this message out to New Zealand's leaders:
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I beg the public of New Zealand, please don't throw the baby away with the bath water. RMA is all we know. If you still can't hear me, out of 'gratitude alone' to people who got us out of New Zealand's chequered colonial record, keep the RMA.
Let us operate with gratitude to our nation's [Non Violent and honoured] elders (New Zealand Film Commission, 2022). To support this initiative, please sign the Greenpeace petitions provided stop NZ's seemingly hasty
Minerals deal with the United States of America.
Jyotirmay (Jay) Sarna
God Bless New Zealand!
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1. PS Alumni.(2015, Oct, 3). YouTube- Court in Session | HG Shannaka Rishi das | Alumni. https://youtu.be/DSZui1xehHo?si=Ki5XT5hQW1vrjm9R. Last Accessed 02 Feb 2026.
2. Waipapa Taumata Rau/ University of Auckland. (2025) . Life on campus/ Māori life on campus / Revitalising Te Reo Māori/ Kuputaka/ Greetings and sign-offs - Greetings and sign-offs. [url]. Last accessed 04 January 2026.
3. Tiriti Action Group Pōneke.(2026). Local government changes – impacts for mana whenua, Māori and Te Tiriti. https://tiritiactiongroup.nz/. Last accessed 02 February 2026.
4. New Zealand Film Commission | Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga.(2022). Whina. https://www.nzfilm.co.nz/films/whina. Last accessed 02 February 2026.
5. IEEE- Advancing Technology for Humanity.(2026). IEEE Code of Ethics. https://www.ieee.org/about/corporate/governance/p7-8. Last accessed 02 February 2026
6. Firsts and Lasts.(2026, Jan, 13). YouTube- Commandant Goeth Meets Helen for the First Time | Ralph Fiennes & Embeth Davitz | Firsts and Lasts. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fuwa3x_8bRA. Last Accessed: 21 April 2026.
7. McCulloch, C. (2024, November 16). Treaty Principles Bill ‘inviting civil war’, Jenny Shipley says [Audio]. RNZ – Saturday Morning. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/533944/treaty-principles-bill-inviting-civil-war-jenny-shipley-says
8. Infogain Hub Channel.(2025, March, 19). YouTube- New Zealand's Vision: Prime Minister Luxon's Complete Speech at Raisina Dialogue 2025. https://youtu.be/uJFppdEZoBU?si=EvgqKpXPpyPZukdr. Last Accessed: 30 April 2026.
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While all information provided is true to creator's best of knowledge, 'open source' creative liberties were taken in creation of this content. Creator unreservedly apologises for any perceived and/or potential unintended offence to anyone in anyway via this post.
© 2026 Jyotirmay Sarna. This work is original. Do not copy, repost, or use without permission. See Legal license.