To be a Companion of the Queen’s Service Order:
ATKINS, Judge Leslie Herrick (Les), QC
For services to the judiciary
Judge Les Atkins has been a District Court Judge from 1997 until his retirement in 2015, serving the bulk of his time in Palmerston North.
Judge Atkins was a lecturer in law at Victoria University of Wellington and Canterbury University, having begun his career as a Legal Research Officer with the Department of Justice. From 1976 to 1987 he practised as a Barrister and Solicitor in the Manawatu, specialising in criminal law. He mentored younger practitioners as a trainer in court techniques and tactics and as a senior advisor on difficult cases. He was a contributing author for ‘Adams on Criminal Law’. He was appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 1990 and was a member of the New Zealand Crimes Consultative Committee for Reform of Criminal Law that same year. He was a part-time Law Commissioner from 1992 until his appointment to the District Court Bench. Judge Atkins has been a member of the Whakarongo School Committee.
To be a Companion of the Queen’s Service Order:
BEATIE, Ms Sandra Joy Clare (Sandi)
For services to the State
Ms Sandi Beatie was Deputy State Services Commission from 2013 to 2015 and was the Deputy Commissioner responsible for the State Services Commission’s Sector and Agency Performance Group for the two years prior.
Ms Beatie was a member of the Better Public Services Advisory Group, whose report has shaped the direction of State sector reform in recent years. From 2007 to 2011 she was the Deputy Chief Executive of the Ministry of Justice, during which time she led the implementation of the integration of the Legal Services Agency into the Ministry, chaired the steering committee for the building of the new Supreme Court of New Zealand and co-sponsored improved public information and access to statutory Tribunals. In her previous role as Chief Information Officer she oversaw the implementation of a secure, integrated virtual network for the transmission of criminal justice information between agencies. As Deputy Secretary Strategy and Corporate she led the merger of the former Department for Courts and the Ministry of Justice. Ms Beatie was seconded to the Department of Corrections from 2009 to 2010, where she led the implementation of a performance improvement programme.
To be a Companion of the Queen’s Service Order:
DANGERFIELD, Mr Geoffrey Mark (Geoff)
For services to the State
Mr Geoff Dangerfield was appointed as the New Zealand Transport Agency's first chief executive in August 2008 after the merger of Transit New Zealand and Land Transport New Zealand, and held this role until retiring in late 2015.
Mr Dangerfield was Chair of the Road Safety Trust from 2011 to 2012 and has been a member of the Board of Directors of Auckland Transport. He was previously Chief Executive of the Ministry of Economic Development from 2001 to 2008, overseeing the development and implementation of policies and services to create business environments promoting productivity growth. He has held the roles of Deputy Secretary to the Treasury in charge of the Asset and Liability Management Branch and from 1993 to 1995 advisor on economic and fiscal strategy and Treaty settlements in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Mr Dangerfield began his public sector career at the Ministry of Works and Development assessing public sector resource investment and regional infrastructure projects.
To be a Companion of the Queen’s Service Order:
HINGSTON, Mr Heta Kenneth
For services to Māori and the judiciary
Mr Heta Hingston has had a legal career spanning forty years and is a former judge of the Cook Islands High Court and Court of Appeal and Chief Justice of the High Court of Niue.
Mr Hingston was a judge of the Māori Land Court from 1984 to 1999 and was previously legal advisor for the New Zealand Māori Council, the Te Arawa Māori Trust Board and the Tuhoe/Waikaremoana Māori Trust Board. He was counsel for Ngati Pikiao for the Kaituna River Claim and for the Māori landowners in the Rangatira Block Royal Commission. He is most notably recognised as the judge who made the initial decision on Māori ownership of the foreshore and seabed, which was upheld by the Court of Appeal in 2003. He has presided over decisions related to the determination of the South Island tribal boundaries and was advisor to Te Aopouri for their Waitangi Tribunal claim. He has been a Trustee of the New Zealand Community Trust in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato region, the Whakaue Charitable Trust in Rotorua and is a Trust member of Te Whare Wananga o te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa. Mr Hingston was involved with the incorporation of the Te Arawa Māori Returned Services League.
To be a Companion of the Queen’s Service Order:
HOLDERNESS, Judge David James Robert
For services to the judiciary and the community
Judge David Holderness was appointed as a District Court Judge in 1988 and served as either a full or part-time Judge for 25 years until retiring in 2013.
Judge Holderness was resident in the Christchurch District Court throughout his tenure and from 2006 he sat as an Acting Warranted Judge. From 1991 to 1995 he was the Civil Liaison Judge for the Southern Region and its Executive Judge from 1995 to 1998, with administrative responsibility for the Judges of all of the South Island except for the Nelson/Blenheim district. He has been Chair of Christchurch Men’s, Rolleston and Christchurch Women’s District Prison Board, Chair of the Dunedin Prison District Board and Panel Convenor of the New Zealand Parole Board from 2011 to 2013. He was a member of the Board of the Odyssey House Trust addiction treatment services provider from 1992 to 2004. He has served in a number of positions with the Canterbury District Law Society. Judge Holderness has been Chair of Fendalton Primary School Board of Trustees, a member of the Trust Board of Medbury Preparatory School, the committee of the Canterbury Branch of Royal Forest and Bird Society, the Travis Charitable Trust Board and Vice President and President of the Christchurch Club from 2006 to 2010.
To be a Companion of the Queen’s Service Order:
STRETTELL, Judge John James Dashwood
For services to the judiciary
Judge John Strettell served as a District Court Judge for 24 years.
Judge Strettell served as the Administrative Family Court Judge for the Southern Region for five years, and for more than seven years as the Executive Judge which involved assuming administrative responsibility for the District Court judges of the South Island, excepting the Nelson/Blenheim District. He also served as Chair of the Supervising Committees of both the Salvation Bridge Programme, and the Nova Lodge Programme. He has presented papers to the Australian Family Law Conference in 1995, the UNESCO Commonwealth Judges’ Conference in 2011, various Family Court Judges’ Conferences and led Family Court Judge seminars following introduction of the Relationship Property Act 2001. Judge Strettell has mentored and overseen the training of many judges and is a member of the District Courts Pastoral Support Panel, a group of judges selected by their peers to advise and support judges on a confidential basis.