To be a Companion of the King’s Service Order:
ALLEN-GORDON, Mr Daniel Edward (Dan)
For services to youth and charitable governance
Mr Dan Allen-Gordon joined the Graeme Dingle Foundation, then as the Project K Trust in 2002, initially as a fundraiser in Auckland before establishing the Graeme Dingle Foundation Bay of Plenty in 2004.
Mr Allen-Gordon has since been Regional Manager for the Bay of Plenty and the top Regional Manager for the Foundation nationwide, raising approximately $11.5 million, which has impacted more than 46,000 young people in long term programmes. He became Chairman of the Bay of Plenty Kiwi Can Charitable Trust in 2002 and in 2005 introduced the Kiwi Can programme into the region, now taught in 10 Western Bay of Plenty schools. He helps run the Foundation’s Kiwi Can, Project K, Stars and Career Navigator programmes. His team delivers these programmes to nearly 4,000 young people in the Bay of Plenty annually, empowering them at a personal level to succeed in their lives under difficult circumstances. He personally mentors young people, often after the programmes are over to ensure the young person is on the right track. His efforts have been recognised through the Graeme Dingle Foundation Excellence Awards for Most Significant Contribution. He has been a member and office holder with Sunrise Rotary since 2008, directing the New Generations youth programme. Mr Allen-Gordon refereed junior rugby in Tauranga from 2004 until 2019.
To be a Companion of the King’s Service Order:
ANDERSON, Mrs Josephine Huti
For services to Māori
Mrs Josephine Anderson has been involved in the cultural and historical preservation of land, language and tikanga in the Waitomo area over more than 40 years and is the main kuia for Waitomo Caves village.
Mrs Anderson continues as kai karanga and waiata tautoko at Tokikapu Marae, having performed these roles for many years, and is a past Trustee and committee member for the Marae. She was the first person to directly negotiate with the Crown for a Treaty settlement and had an integral role in the Ruapuha Uekaha hapu settlement process over a period of 34 years. Her involvement began with governance roles from the mid-1980s with Ruapuha Uekaha Hapu Trust and Tanetinorau Opataia Whānau Trust and she remains a current kuia advisor. She has been a member of the Waitomo Caves Management Committee since 1990. She is a past Trustee and kuia advisor for the Waitomo Caves Museum. She continues to act as a kuia advisor for Waitomo Glowworm Caves, Waitomo Caves School, Waitomo Caves Water Catchment Group, and Tourism Group Holdings. Mrs Anderson is a member of the Maniapoto Marae Pact Trust Kaumatua Group and a former member of the Māori Women’s Welfare League Waitomo branch.
To be a Companion of the King’s Service Order:
BROWN, Mrs Colleen Brenda, MNZM
For services to people with disabilities, local government and the community
Mrs Colleen Brown (Kai Tahu) has actively advocated for youth, people with disabilities and seniors for many years through various organisations and roles.
Mrs Brown was a Councillor on the Manukau City Council from 2001 to 2010 and has led committees on the Counties Manukau District Health Board since 2007, championing several initiatives leading to positive patient outcomes. She has represented the disability sector on the Auckland Council’s Social Policy Forum and the Disability Strategic Advisory Panel, been a member of the New Zealand Disability Strategy Reference Group since 2016, and is on the Extraordinary Care Fund Expert Panel for the Ministry of Social Development. She has chaired Disability Connect since 2004 and was a member of the Manukau Institute of Technology Disability Advisory Group from 2001 to 2019. She has contributed to disability and education research publications since 2000. She is current Vice Chair of Neighbourhood Support New Zealand, having chaired the Counties Manukau regional branch since 2017 and Neighbourhood Support Manurewa in 2016. She has brought her disability sector knowledge to forging relationships between organisations and ensuring vulnerable members of the community are looked out for in adverse situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and extreme weather events. Mrs Brown has chaired the Rawiri Residents’ Association since 2018, having joined in 2010.
HONOURS
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, New Year 2001
To be a Companion of the King’s Service Order:
CUNNINGHAM, Mrs Elizabeth Hera, JP
For services to governance
Mrs Elizabeth Cunningham (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Irakehu, Ngāti Mutunga ki Wharekauri) has had a career spanning more than 50 years, focusing on the intergenerational health and wellbeing of whānau.
Mrs Cunningham served as President of the Māori Women’s Welfare League Rāpaki branch from 2009 to 2022, having been a member since 1978 and chaired Te Waipounamu Māori Women’s Welfare League steering committee. She was the first Māori elected to the Canterbury Area Health Board from 1991 to 1993, the first Māori elected as Canterbury Councillor for the Environment from 2004 to 2007, and chaired the Māori Advisory Committee for Environment Canterbury. In 2016 she was appointed a Commissioner for Environment Canterbury and led its climate change policy, one of the first in New Zealand. She has been the elected representative of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu since 2006, supporting the economic and cultural investments of her iwi at a national level. She was Chair of Kawawhakaruruhau at Ara Institute’s School of Nursing/Midwifery from 2000 to 2012, having oversight of the programme and training. She was the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority Governor from 2011 to 2016. She chaired Te Awheawhe Rū Whenua, a subcommittee established by Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, responding to the needs of the community. Mrs Cunningham has been a regional member of the Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group since 2020.
To be a Companion of the King’s Service Order:
HOLLINGS, Mr Michael John
For services to education and Māori
Mr Michael Hollings (Ngāti Raukawa, Te Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi) has had a career in education spanning 35 years, including teaching and senior leadership roles, with a particular focus on the promotion of the Māori language and Māori culture.
Mr Hollings was Chief Executive and Principal of Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu (Te Kura) New Zealand’s state distance education provider from 2006 to 2023. During his tenure he has delivered transformational change to ensure the delivery of equitable and excellent outcomes for all students, particularly to Māori and Pacific students, with an 40% increase in enrolments since 2018. He has changed the focus of the school from a centralised to a regionally based delivery system, which is now a full digital distance learning system. He has provided significant leadership in the revitalisation of te reo Māori within the public service as Chief Executive of Te Mangai Paho from 1996 to 1999, and subsequent though the various senior roles within the Ministry of Education, the Education Review Office, and the University of Waikato. He has led the establishment of a Kohanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa Māori in his local community in the Wairarapa. He was the Chairperson of Taki Rua from 1997 to 2013, a theatre company producing te reo Māori performances to schools and kura kaupapa Māori. Mr Hollings has also been appointed Chairperson of the boards of Volunteer Service Abroad and Makoura College
To be a Companion of the King’s Service Order:
MORRISON-HUME, Mrs Karen Sandra
For services to the community
Mrs Karen Morrison-Hume been CEO and Missioner of Mahi Mihinare Anglican Action in Hamilton since 1996, overseeing growth of services, staff and resources.
Mrs Morrison-Hume was instrumental in establishing Te Ara Hou Social Services Village in Hamilton, a pioneering initiative housing multiple social service agencies. She has been committed to providing vital services to at-risk individuals, providing intensive support programmes including residential support for young mothers and babies, residential reintegration for prisoners transitioning back into the community, and youth justice mentoring. She advocated for the groundbreaking youth justice initiative Te Hurihanga in 2007. She led a community campaign opposing the sale of Hamilton City Council’s pensioner housing in 2014. She was a founder and Trustee of the Hamilton Combined Christian Foodbank from 1999 to 2009 and of the Combined Housing Action Research Group from 1997 to 2015. She has served on numerous governance committees of church and community focused organisations. Mrs Morrison-Hume has held leadership roles in the Hamilton Council of Christian Social Services, Hamilton Methodist Social Services, the New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services, Poverty Action Waikato.