To be a Companion of the King’s Service Order:
AMATO, Mr Rūpene Paul (Rū)
For services to survivors of abuse in care
Mr Rū Amato (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngā Ariki Kaiputahi) has been advocating for survivors of abuse for several years and has been a Board Member of the Waikato branch of Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse.
Mr Amato has been an advocate for takatāpui and rainbow community survivors and has used his personal experience at St Joseph’s School in Wairoa to advocate for male survivors of sexual abuse by priests. He has represented the rainbow community at both local and national levels for Out at Work, a support network for LGBTQI+ workers advocating for inclusivity at work sites. He has been a member of the ‘Survivor Advisory Group of Experts’ (SAGE) for the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions since 2019. SAGE has helped provide the inquiry with guidance and support to engage with survivors and their representative organisations on their experiences in state and faith-based care. Mr Amato has advocated to ensure the response to the inquiry accounts for the concerns and interests of all survivors, including survivors of abuse from rainbow communities.
To be a Companion of the King’s Service Order:
ARMSTRONG, Mrs Jocelyn Anne
For services to interfaith communities
Mrs Jocelyn Armstrong has been involved with the interfaith communities for more than 40 years.
Mrs Armstrong was the General Secretary of the National Council of Churches between 1985 and 1991, an organisation which linked all mainstream churches other than the Catholic Church. As General Secretary she led the transformation process for the organisation into the Conference of Churches of New Zealand which includes the Catholic Church. She was a foundational member of the Auckland Interfaith Council, which was established in 2003, to provide a platform for inter-religious dialogue and networking. She was involved in maintaining cohesion amongst religious leaders to prepare the inaugural National Statement on Religious Diversity published by the Human Rights Commission in 2007. She was the Honorary Executive Director of the Religious Diversity Centre between 2016 and 2024, providing messaging on celebrating New Zealand’s diversity of its religious groups. With the Religious Diversity Centre, she helped the Auckland Council prepare a handbook ‘Guide for Disaster Resilience for Religious Communities’ (2022), which detailed how religious communities can contribute to civil defence and support disaster struck communities. Between 2012 and 2016 she contributed to Hui E! – Community Aotearoa, created to link together thousands of communities and voluntary sector groups throughout New Zealand. Mrs Armstrong was awarded The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lambeth Hubert Walker Award in 2021.
To be a Companion of the King’s Service Order:
DE GEEST, Mr Barry Joseph
For services to disabled people
Mr Barry de Geest is the oldest Thalidomide survivor in New Zealand, born with severe physical impairments, and has been advocating for the rights of disabled people for more than 40 years.
Mr de Geest co-founded the Renaissance Group in 2001, initially established to provide a safe space for disabled people to learn how to budget, cook, live independently, and help find employment. It has now transformed into one of the largest supported independent living providers in New Zealand, working with disabled people with high needs, providing them with choice and control. He has been Chair of the Kaikaranga Holdings (formerly Taikura Trust) Board since 2019, a Māori-owned and the largest Needs Assessment Service Coordination service in New Zealand, providing assistance to people with disabilities and their whānau to maintain independence at home. He has been the Co-Chair of Auckland Council’s Disability Advisory Panel since 2023 and a member of the Transformation Management Board with the Ministry of Disabled People. He has previously served as the Disability Advisor to the Health Advisory Committee Secretariat and Ministry of Health, as well as Chief Executive of the Manawatū CCS Disability Action branch and the Wellington Disability Resource Centre. Mr de Geest has served as Chairperson of the New Zealand Powerchair Football Association.
To be a Companion of the King’s Service Order:
GOODWIN, Mr James William (Jim)
For services to survivors of abuse in care
Mr Jim Goodwin established a support group for survivors of abuse at Christ’s College in Christchurch, providing a forum for them to discuss their experiences.
Mr Goodwin is a retired psychiatric nurse who has helped support and advocate for male survivors of abuse, drawing on his personal experiences as a survivor of abuse in a faith-based boarding school. He has been a member of the ‘Survivor Advisory Group of Experts’ (SAGE) for the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions since 2019. SAGE has helped provide the inquiry with guidance and support to engage with survivors and their representative organisations on their experiences in state and faith-based care. He has been a member of the Trauma Advisory Group. Mr Goodwin has remained active within various survivor networks and survivor communities.
To be a Companion of the King’s Service Order:
INGHAM, Associate Professor Tristram Richard, ONZM
For services to survivors of abuse in care
Associate Professor Tristram Ingham (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga, Ngāti Porou) has used his personal experience as a disabled person to advocate for the rights of Tāngata Whaikaha Māori and to address inequities.
Associate Professor Ingham serves as Chair of Te Ao Marama Aotearoa Trust, a nationwide organisation representing Tāngata Whaikaha Māori. He has drawn on his and other survivors’ experiences of abuse in care and led the development of Whaia Te Ao Marama – Māori Disability Action Plan 2018-2022. He has supported other survivors of abuse in care to engage with the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions. He served on the inquiry’s Māori Panel for the Disability, Deaf and Mental Health hearing and has worked with agencies to advocate for generational transformation of the system. Associate Professor Ingham has advocated to ensure the response to the inquiry accounts for the concerns and interests of all survivors, including people with disabilities who are survivors of abuse.
HONOURS
Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, New Year Honours 2024
To be a Companion of the King’s Service Order:
MCINROE, Ms Leoni Frances
For services to survivors of abuse in care
Ms Leoni Mclnroe's (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāi Tahu) tireless advocacy across 30 years culminated in a formal acknowledgement by the government of the abuse and torture of children and young people at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (Lake Alice Unit).
Since the mid-1990s, Ms McInroe has been challenging the response to the abuse and torture she experienced at the Lake Alice Unit. She has used her personal experience to advocate for recognition of events that occurred at the unit and redress for survivors. In 1993, she filed the first legal proceedings against the Crown for abuse at the Lake Alice Unit. Her advocacy since then brought national attention to the torture and abuse experienced by approximately 360 children and vulnerable young people between 1972 and 1978 at the Lake Alice Unit. Her evidence was central to the Lake Alice Unit case study of the report by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions. Ms Mclnroe was actively involved in the inquiry, particularly through engagement with diverse survivor groups, Members of Parliament, government officials and independent agencies.
To be a Companion of the King’s Service Order:
MOYLE, Mx Paora Crawford
For services to survivors of abuse in care
Mx Paora Moyle (Ngāti Porou ki Wharekāhika) has used their personal experience to serve as a social worker for more than 30 years, advocating for children who have been removed from their families and placed in state and faith-based care.
Mx Moyle was a member of Te Ara Takatū Reference Group, a group of Māori-led survivors, Kaupapa Māori advocates and academics who met regularly with the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions. They researched ‘Haha uri, Haha tea, Māori involvement in State Care 1950-1999’ (2022), commissioned by the Crown and used as a source for the inquiry’s report. They also researched ‘Voices of Takatāpui, Rainbow and MVPFAFF+ Survivors’, an independent research report provided to the Abuse in Care Royal Commission. They were the lead claimant in the Waitangi Tribunal’s Oranga Tamariki Inquiry and have provided their experience of abuse to the inquiry and the Crown Response Unit. They were awarded the Wāhine Ora Award in 2020 by Ngā Pae o Te Māramatanga and Hine Kahukura, and in 2011, the prestigious Apa Marēikura Award by the Ministry of Health. Mx Moyle has advocated to ensure the response to the inquiry accounts for concerns and interests of all survivors, including survivors of abuse in care who are members of the LGBTQ+ community.
To be a Companion of the King’s Service Order:
TAGALOA, Moeapulu Frances Eileen (Frances)
For services to survivors of abuse in care
Moeapulu Frances Tagaloa has advocated for redress for survivors of abuse in the Catholic Church and other faith settings.
Ms Tagaloa has been a Board member of Te Roopū Toiora Trust, a national collective of survivors of abuse in state care and in faith-based institutions, raising awareness on the impact of their experiences on themselves, their families and communities. She is a Chief of Staff for Campus Crusade for Christ and alongside her husband, helped start Athletes in Action in New Zealand, a sports Ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ and Tandem Ministries. She has been a member of the ‘Survivor Advisory Group of Experts’ (SAGE) for the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions since 2019. SAGE has helped provide the inquiry with guidance and support to engage with survivors and their representative organisations on their experiences in state and faith-based care. As a member of the Crown Response Unit’s Redress Design Group, she has helped develop a survivor-led design for a proposed new redress system following the report. As co-chair of the Survivor Experiences Service Board, which was established from an inquiry recommendation, Ms Tagaloa has helped provide support and a confidential space for survivors of abuse and their families to share their experiences.
To be a Companion of the King’s Service Order:
WIFFIN, Mr Keith Vernon
For services to survivors of abuse in care
Mr Keith Wiffin has supported survivors of abuse through the Crown claims processes with various government agencies, including the Ministry of Social Development (MSD).
Mr Wiffin has been fighting for redress from MSD since the early 2000s, which included being the subject of surveillance by Crown agencies for his advocacy work. He has been a Board member of Te Roopū Toiora Trust, a national collective of survivors of abuse in faith and state-based care raising awareness of the impacts of their experiences on themselves, their families and communities. He has provided evidence to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions, from his experiences at Epuni Boys Home and in an abusive family home placement. He has been a member since 2018 of the Royal Commission Forum, comprising senior academics and advocates, which engaged with and has acted as an independent watchdog of the inquiry. He has been a member of the inquiry’s Survivor Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) since 2019. SAGE has helped provide the inquiry with guidance and support to engage with survivors and their representative organisations about their experiences. As a member of the Crown Response Unit’s Redress Design Group, Mr Wiffin has helped develop a survivor-led design for a proposed new redress system following the report.
To be a Companion of the King’s Service Order:
WILLIAMS, Mr Gary Michael, MNZM
For services to survivors of abuse in care
Mr Gary Williams (Ngāti Porou) has been advocating for fellow disabled people in New Zealand institutions for several decades.
Mr Williams has driven change for disabled people, serving as a specialist consultant to the government, non-government organisations, through Ngā Hau e Whā National Marae, Your Way Kia Roha Trust and the VisAble Trust. In his advocacy, he has used his national and international network connections, particularly as the New Zealand Government’s non-official member to the negotiating team for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He has been a member of the Survivor Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) for the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions since 2019, helping provide the inquiry with guidance and support to engage with survivors and their representative organisations on their experiences in state and faith-based care. Through SAGE, Mr Williams has advocated and represented the views of tangaata whaikaha and disabled survivors from state care, including to the media.
HONOURS
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, Queen’s Birthday 2012
To be a Companion of the King’s Service Order:
ZENTVELD, Mr Paul Andrew
For services to survivors of abuse in care
Mr Paul Zentveld has been advocating for the redress for survivors and recognition of events which occurred at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (Lake Alice Unit).
Mr Zentveld made a successful claim on the torture experienced by children at the Lake Alice Unit to the United Nations Convention Against Torture in 2017. His contributions have helped highlight the abuse and torture suffered by approximately 360 children and vulnerable adults between 1972 and 1978. He has used his personal experience and challenged the response to the abuse experienced at the Lake Alice Unit. His tireless advocacy across several years culminated in a formal acknowledgement by the government of the abuse and torture of children and young adults at the Lake Alice Unit. His contribution to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions has helped inform the Lake Alice Unit section of the report. Mr Zentveld has been actively involved in the inquiry, particularly through engagement with diverse survivor groups, Ministers, Members of Parliament, government officials and independent agencies.