To be a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
HANSEN, Mr Stephen William (Steve), CNZM
For services to rugby
Mr Steve Hansen was Head Coach of the All Blacks from 2012 until stepping down following the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Mr Hansen was part of the coaching trio that guided the All Blacks to their Rugby World Cup 2011 victory, before assuming the role of Head Coach in 2012. He coached the All Blacks to a three-nil series victory over Ireland during their 2012 tour. The All Blacks then went undefeated in 2013 winning 14 of 14 matches and retaining the Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup, the first team to accomplish this in the professional era. He led the All Blacks to win the 2015 Rugby World Cup, becoming the first ever team to retain the Webb Ellis Cup. He guided the All Blacks to consecutive victories at the 2016, 2017 and 2018 Rugby Championships and has overseen their retention of the Bledisloe Cup from 2012 to 2019. In 2017 he led the team into their first test series against the British and Irish Lions since 2005, ultimately ending the series in a draw. Mr Hansen was named IRB Coach of the Year in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016.
HONOURS
Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, Queen's Birthday 2012
To be a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MARTIN, Mr Robert George, MNZM
For services to people with disabilities
Mr Robert Martin has been involved with the self-advocacy movement for people with learning (intellectual) disabilities and has represented their rights and interests at a national and international level for more than 30 years.
Mr Martin is currently serving a four year term as an independent expert on the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In 2018 he was the first person with a learning disability to chair a meeting within a UN session, having been the first person with a learning disability to be elected onto a UN Human Rights Treaty Body the year prior. He is a Life Member of People First New Zealand, which he helped found in the 1980s, and has held a number of leadership roles within the organisation. He has been a member of the National Assembly of People with Disabilities, and Chair of the Frozen Funds Committee. He has been the People First representative for the Ministry of Health Consumer Consortium. He is often a keynote speaker at annual Leadership Forums run by People First New Zealand around the country. He was a member of the Wanganui Regional Disability Strategy Reference Group from 2010 to 2011. Mr Martin held roles within Inclusion International and was National Self Advocacy Advisor and Trainer for IHC New Zealand between 1991 and 2010.
HONOURS
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, New Year 2008
To be a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
WILLIAMS, The Honourable Joseph Victor (Joe)
For services to the judiciary
The Honourable Joe Williams was appointed as the first Māori judge of the Supreme Court in May 2019.
Justice Williams is an internationally recognised expert in indigenous rights law and one of New Zealand's leading specialists on Māori land and legal issues. He established the first unit specialising in Māori issues in a major New Zealand law firm at Kensington Swan in 1988. He co-founded the law firm Walters Williams and Co in 1994. He was appointed Chief Judge of the Māori Land Court in 1999. He was appointed acting Chairperson of the Waitangi Tribunal in 2000 and as the permanent Chairperson in 2004. As Chairperson he played a pivotal role in the report on the Wai 262 claim relating to New Zealand's law and policy affecting Māori culture and identity. He was appointed as a judge of the High Court in 2008 and a judge of the Court of Appeal in 2018. Justice Williams was a founding member and former vice-president of the Māori Law Society, a former president of Te Runanga Rōia o Tāmaki Makaurau, the Auckland Maori Lawyers Association, a fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and a fellow of the Law Faculty of Victoria University of Wellington.