To be a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
GALLAGHER, Mr John Allan, CNZM, KStJ
For services to business, education, philanthropy and the community
Mr John Gallagher was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2002 and has since continued to serve and contribute his community and various organisations.
Mr Gallagher is recognized as a community leader and philanthropist and is a major shareholder and Director of Gallagher Holdings Ltd. He continues to serve as a Director of Habitat for Humanity Hamilton, where over 25 years as Chairman he guided the organization from small beginnings to operating as the Central North Island Region. He is a Trustee of the Gallagher Charitable Trust, a member of the Hamilton Rotary Club for 30 years, a member and Fellow of the New Zealand Trustees Association, a member and Distinguished Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Directors. He served for 25 years on the Council of the University of Waikato, including terms as Pro-Chancellor then Chancellor from 2003 to 2006. He was a New Zealand National Fieldays Society founding exhibitor from inception, a Hamilton City Councillor for 12 years and Waikato Regional Councillor for three years. He was a Trustee of Skycity Hamilton Community Trust from 2003 to 2009, Hamilton Garden's Te Parapara Garden Trust from 2006 to 2012 and a Councillor for the Young Enterprise Trust. In 2011 Mr Gallagher established and is a Trustee of the Glenice and John Gallagher Foundation.
HONOURS
Knight of Grace of the Order of St John, 2011
Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, Queens Birthday 2002
To be a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MANSON, Mr Edward Colin (Ted), CNZM
For services to philanthropy, the community and business
Mr Ted Manson founded Mansons TCLM Limited 50 years ago, a family-owned innovative property development and construction company, and has contributed philanthropically through the Ted Manson Charitable Trust established in 2014, with the primary focus on improving housing quality and education outcomes for disadvantaged communities.
Mansons TCLM has delivered an unrivalled number of building projects in Auckland, incorporating industry-leading environmental initiatives and attracting substantial international investment. Mr Manson was inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame in 2023. He provides vans for schools to use at no charge, freeing up school funding and enabling thousands of students to participate in excursions and events. He established the School Ready Programme which provides targeted teaching resources for new entrant classes, with the aim of lifting children’s social and learning skills. He pioneered in-school counselling and wellbeing services, currently provided in 10 schools for more than 4,500 students, and seeing a dramatic improvement in school attendance, discipline and academic results. Mr Manson’s Trust has also partnered with The Pride Project and Kootuitui Trust who provide support to whānau whose circumstances inhibit their children’s school attendance, and has partnered with the Bluelight Programme to help non-enrolled children enrol into school, which has seen an 80 percent success rate.
HONOURS
Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, Queen’s Birthday 2022
Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, New Year 2015
To be a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
SKELTON, Honorary Professor Peter Robert, CNZM
For services to environmental law
Honorary Professor Skelton was appointed as an Environment Canterbury Commissioner in 2010 and has been a key player in the development of Christchurch’s post-earthquake Land Use Recovery Plan.
Honorary Professor Skelton has been heavily involved in the development and implementation of the Canterbury Water Strategy. As an Environment Canterbury Commissioner he has chaired the Regional Planning Committee and the Regulation hearing Committee. He acted as mediator between the Christchurch City Council and the Canterbury Regional Council on the development of stormwater management consent processes. He was instrumental in establishing the Resource Management Law Association in New Zealand in 2002 and was a founding member and inaugural Vice-President of the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand. He served as the first Chair of the Environmental Legal Assistance Fund Panel from 2001 to 2008. He was Associate Professor of Resource Management Law in the Environment, Society, and Design Division at Lincoln University from 2000 to 2005. As an Independent Commissioner he presided over hearings by Environment Waikato concerning the control of nitrates entering Lake Taupo. He was an advisor to the Local Government and Environment Select Committee on the Resource Management Amendment Bill in 2009. Honorary Professor Skelton served as a Judge of the Environment Court from 1978 to 2000 and was appointed as inaugural Chief Freshwater Commissioner in 2020.
HONOURS
Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, New Year 2001