To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
ALLEN, Mr Peter Wallace
For services to disabled people
Mr Peter Allen (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Tamatea, Kāi Tahu ki te Waipounamu) has been advocating for the rights of disabled people since his sight deteriorated due to Retinitis Pigmentosa.
After serving 20 years with the Royal New Zealand Air Force, Mr Allen was elected to serve on the social movement Enabling Good Lives (EGL) Regional Leadership Group in 2017. While serving on the Regional Group he was selected to chair the Governance Group, working with senior management of the government Disability Support Service delivery team in Midcentral. In 2021 he was nominated onto the National Enabling Good Lives Leadership Group, the Kaitiaki of the EGL vision and principles. He was a facilitator with My Life My Voice Trust which provides opportunities for the disabled community to attend workshops, focused on upskilling, informational and personal development. He has been involved in numerous organisations, boards and management committees including Retina New Zealand, Workbridge, Whaikaha Establishment, Partnership and Transformation Boards, and a Blind Low Vision volunteer. Mr Allen is a member of Kapo Māori and Blind Citizens, and has been a member of Te Ao Marama Aotearoa since 2023, a tangata whaikaha Māori forum, where through the skill development team ‘Titoko’ he has delivered Te Ao Māori experiences for disabled people and tangata whaikaha Māori.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
BAILEY, Mr Dale Cameron
For services to education
Mr Dale Bailey’s career in education has spanned 38 years, contributing to learners in New Zealand receiving education to which they are entitled.
Mr Bailey dedicated 14 years to Awatapu College, holding various positions, including Head of Geography, Curriculum Coordinator, and a Teacher Librarian. At the Education Review Office, he served as a Review Officer, Senior Review Officer and National Manager for Review Services, before being appointed as the Northern Deputy Chief Review Officer. As Area Manager for the Northern region with Careers New Zealand, he supported staff in the Northern teams during a restructure. He was the driver and project sponsor of The Career Development Benchmarks in 2012, a suite of self-review tools that designed to raise the quality of career development in New Zealand. He has been the Tumu Whakarae Chief Executive of the Springboard Trust since 2020 and has focused on equity in education, and the relationship between education and social and economic development. In 2022 he was elected Chair of SPELD New Zealand, the largest provider of support for people with dyslexia and other learning disabilities, in New Zealand. Mr Bailey formed Capable Auckland which aimed to link organisations in the education to employment space to collaborate, resulting in significant contribution to Auckland Council careers and the Auckland Plan.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
BAKER, Mrs Paula Val
For services to health governance and the community
Mrs Paula Baker has been a Trustee of the Braemar Charitable Trust since 2014 and General Manager since 2016.
With Braemar Trust, Mrs Baker has championed such initiatives as the charitable surgery programme, providing free surgeries for those in need at Braemar Hospital, and the creation of several training programmes and scholarships for health education. She has helped drive health equity, including establishing partnerships to provide free dental care to 170 patients regionally. She was Deputy Chair of the New Zealand Dietitians Board from 2016 to 2019. She has served on the Boards of Presbyterian Support (Northern), Kerikeri Retirement Village and Community Living Trust in Hamilton from 2017 to 2022. Her current Board memberships include the Alandale Foundation, Waihikurangi Charitable Trust, New Zealand Dental Council and Northern Districts Cricket. She has previously chaired the Hamilton Cricket Association. She was Deputy Chair of Hospice Waikato and chaired the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee. Mrs Baker volunteered for St John through the Friends of the Emergency Department initiative at Waikato Hospital.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
BELL, Mrs Judith Anne
For services to music education
Mrs Judith Bell is a multi-instrumentalist and award-winning music educator who has made significant contributions in Canterbury and nationally to music education.
Mrs Bell was the specialist music teacher at Chisnallwood Intermediate from 1999 to 2021, where she was an influence behind the school’s national reputation for music excellence, running numerous courses from theory to sound technology and supporting the schools’ local and national award-winning bands, choir and orchestra. Outside of Chisnallwood, she has held a range of volunteer roles with music organisations and initiatives. She co-chaired Music Education Canterbury since 2011 and has been co-artistic director of annual children’s music festival Strum, Strike and Blow since 2013. She was director of the Christchurch Big Band Festival from 2011 to 2021 and was appointed Artistic Director in 2023. She helped establish and has chaired the Christchurch Jazz Foundation Trust since inception in 2015, which oversees the Big Band Festival and other jazz events. Now a Life Member, she was on the national Board of Music Education New Zealand Aotearoa (MENZA) from 2014 to 2022 and wrote the Kiwicorder resource for primary teachers in 2023. She co-chaired Music19, a national music education conference held in Christchurch in 2019. Mrs Bell has presented music papers and workshops internationally at conferences in a range of countries.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
BULL, Mr Richard Marshall Lovelace
For services to conservation and the community
Mr Richard Bull is a farmer who has contributed to community leadership in Mangawhai and the Kaipara District for 56 years.
Mr Bull has been involved in many projects related to developing community assets and amenities. He chaired Mangawhai Domain Society from 1979 to 1987, overseeing a new sports pavilion and tennis courts. He chaired the Mangawhai Beach Primary School Committee, fundraising for and overseeing construction of the pool. He was involved with the Mangawhai Library Hall Committee from 1979 to 1989, including overseeing organisational reform as Chairperson. He was a member of the Kaipara District Council from 1992 to 2001. He has been a founding member of the Mangawhai Harbour Restoration society since 1994 including time as Chair, supporting restoration and preservation of the harbour’s ecology from sediment build up, storm and sandmining damage. He sold a portion of the sandspit that was part of his farm for management by the Department of Conservation, donating machinery and time to the replanting of the area. He was significant in the development of the Mangawhai Coastal and Harbour Reserves Management Plan 2009, the blueprint for ongoing maintenance. Mr Bull was Patron of the Mangawhai Historical Society and Museum in the 1980s and 1990s and has financially supported further development projects since 2008.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
BURNS, Mr Paul Francis
For services to Search and Rescue and Fire and Emergency New Zealand
Mr Paul Burns served 40 years with Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) and was a member of the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Southern Team in Canterbury for 20 years.
Until retirement in 2024, Mr Burns held several positions with FENZ including as Chief Fire Officer of several brigades across Canterbury, having obtained the rank of Senior Station Officer in 1994. He became the Leader of the Canterbury based Task Force 2 of USAR in 2002, contributing to the response efforts following the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes. As a member of the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) he has mentored USAR teams aiming to achieve their International External Classification (IEC), and has written the IEC-IER handbook used by the WHO accreditation process for medical teams. He was a member of the INSARAG Training Working Group between 2010 and 2024, and represented the 57 USAR teams globally. He was a mentor with the United States Agency for International Deployment, working with the Virginia USAR team who he helped achieve attaining the highest classification. He mentors the Urban Search and Rescue Teams for the Singapore Civil Defence Force and the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service. Mr Burns has previously contributed to the training of staff working at Scott Base in Antarctica, both from New Zealand and the United States.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
CAMM, Mr Michael John Dyer (Mike)
For services to wildlife conservation
Mr Mike Camm has been a conservation volunteer for more than 25 years at local, regional and national levels, particularly facilitating kiwi and pateke (brown teal) recovery.
In 1998 Mr Camm and his wife purchased a 120-hectare property in Tutukaka with the aim of facilitating kiwi and pateke recovery. He worked with the Department of Conservation (DOC) to instigate a predator control system and create a wetland on the property. He established the Tutukaka Landcare Coalition (TLC) in 2003, which he has since chaired. He has led successful reintroductions of pateke and kiwi onto his property and the wider TLC-managed area. His efforts were included as an exemplar of pateke recovery in the 2011 DOC Pateke Survival Guide, contributing to the pateke’s status change of Nationally Endangered to Nationally Increasing. As co-founder and Trustee of Kiwi Coast in 2013, he sought to expand and connect conservation throughout Northland. He chaired Kiwi Coast from 2021 to 2024, which now encompasses more than 225 community groups, iwi and hapu, schools, businesses and government agencies, with secured strategic partnerships and long-term funding. Kiwi Coast has achieved more than 700,000 pests trapped, a stable Northland population of pateke, and a return of kiwi to previously silent sites. Mr Camm has been community representative on the national Pateke Recovery Group since 2013.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
CLEMENT, Ms Susan Jayne (Sue)
For services to education
Ms Sue Clement has demonstrated leadership in education across 30 years, focused on lifting education for students with high needs and from diverse backgrounds.
Ms Clement has been Principal of Te Aro School since 2011, which has a high number of students with English as their second language and families with high needs. She has held various positions with schools throughout Wellington, including as Deputy Principal of Clyde Quay School, Owhiro Bay School and of Waterloo School. As Deputy Principal of Clyde Quay School, she drove the implementation of new practices to meet the needs of diverse students, including the establishment of community service opportunities and student council contribution to decision-making. She has specialised in reading recovery as a special needs advisor and has coordinated initiatives for learning support. With the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme, she has worked with students and teachers to develop and implement individual programmes and mentored and tutored new teachers. She has coordinated the Southern Wellington Cluster Schools’ Spelling Well literacy project, helping teachers implement the spelling programme to enable special needs students unlock their potential. For the Ministry of Education, she has hosted international delegations in understanding primary education in New Zealand. Ms Clement has been a member of the Ministry of Education’s Regional Professional Development Panel since 2016.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
COCKER, Mr Ross Anthony, JP
For services to Search and Rescue and the community
Mr Ross Cocker has dedicated 32 years to his community through Rotary and 46 years to Search and Rescue (SAR).
Mr Cocker has held various roles with Westport Rotary including 30 years as Treasurer, and coordinates the annual ‘BookaRama’ second-hand book sale, funding almost $250,000 into community causes across 20 years. He has been involved in securing the funding and delivery of a $150,000 Mobile Kitchen to support Civil Defence (CD) as a community resilience asset. He has been involved with Westport SAR since 1992, including through a difficult period when he held every role to keep the organisation operational. As Chair, he secured funding streams for SAR equipment including radios and essential safety gear and was instrumental in establishing an operations centre as a local SAR and CD base for emergency responses. He was a LandSAR Advisor to Police for 14 years and the local representative on the Tasman Regional Committee of NZLandSAR for 15 years, serving six years as Vice-Chair. He was a Founding Director for five years of Search and Rescue Institute New Zealand, a national organisation established to increase the knowledge and skills of SAR volunteers by providing seamless training throughout New Zealand. Mr Cocker has received an Excellence Award from NZLandSAR, Rotary awards, and a Buller Civic Award.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
COLGAN, Dr Karen Ann
For services to wildlife conservation and education
Dr Karen Colgan was a founding member of the Ark in the Park conservation movement in 2002, re-introducing native birds to a 2,500-hectare area of the Waitakere Ranges.
Dr Colgan retired from full-time work as a GP to focus on Ark in the Park and from 2003 to 2011 she was Volunteer Coordinator, managing volunteers, predator control and school visits. She then served on the Ark Management Committee until 2021. She was one of the most active volunteers in the field, working to service predator control lines, navigating new lines as the area expanded, and helping with bird transfers around the North Island. She was instrumental in the success of the programme, which reached 25,000 volunteer hours annually and achieved translocation of North Island robin and kōkako. She helped set up predator control and has been involved in re-establishing the penguin and petrel population at O’Neill Bay and Te Henga Beach in West Auckland since 2012. She has been a founding Trustee of Opanuku Birdsong Trust since 2017. She has worked with three West Auckland schools with Catch-IT-Schools, a hands-on science and data analysis predator control education programme for primary aged children. Dr Colgan began her environmental protection work as coordinator of her local Forest and Bird Kiwi Conservation Club for children in 1990s.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
COOPER, Mrs Linda Ann, JP
For services to the community
Mrs Linda Cooper has been contributing to the Auckland community and regional governance for more than 30 years.
Mrs Cooper was elected to the Waitakere Community Board in 1992, serving until 1996, and was a West Auckland La Leche Leader and National Fundraiser from 1997 to 2007. She was elected to the Waitakere Licensing Trust in 2001 and has been President of the Trust since 2010. She is also a Director of the West Auckland Trust Services management company, which operates Waitakere liquor stores and hospitality venues with significant profit donated back to the community. As a City Councillor, she served two terms on Waitakere City Council and three terms representing Waitakere on Auckland Council between 2004 and 2022. She has been the Chair of Western Refuge and Family Action since 2005 and led a restructure and amalgamation with Waitakere Abuse and Trauma Counselling Service, to provide a broad range of victim services to West Auckland families. She is Chair of Waitakere Healthlink and was Chair and Trustee of Hospice West Auckland from 2006 to 2013 and is a current Director of Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Board.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
DALLI, Professor Maria Carmela (Carmen)
For services to education
Professor Carmen Dalli has led development of early childhood education policy and research in New Zealand.
Professor Dalli joined Victoria University of Wellington in 1988 and was appointed Professor in 2011 in recognition of her impactful teaching, rigorous research and contributions to the sector. She instigated the establishment of Victoria University’s Institute for Early Childhood Studies in the 1990s, was its Director from 2001 to 2018, and contributed to the Institute’s research publications. She has published close to 50 journal articles, 30 book chapters and edited five academic books. In the early 1990s, she co-developed a code of ethics for early childhood educators. She is a regular keynote speaker at international conferences and has shared her expert advice with review panels and working groups in Malta, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Sweden. In New Zealand, Professor Dalli has been a member of the Ministry of Education’s Early Childhood Research Forum since 2008, a judge for the New Zealand Prime Minister’s Education Excellence Awards, a referee and advisor for the Education Review Office, and chaired the Ministerial Advisory Group that developed the 10-year Early Learning Action Plan – He Taonga Te Tamaiti.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
DE SILVA-CURRIE, Mrs Priyani Therese
For services to multicultural communities, netball and civil engineering
Mrs Priyani de Silva-Currie has contributed to Multicultural Councils at local and national levels, holding executive offices including President of the New Zealand Federation of Multicultural Councils and the respective Manawatu and Nelson branches between 2009 and 2017.
As National President, Mrs de Silva-Currie procured and implemented diverse multicultural programmes and supported programmes such as Engineering New Zealand’s Migrant Forum and the Professional Speaking for Migrants course. She has coached school, club, regional and national talent identification netball teams over 20 years and received various coaching awards. Between 1998 and 2016, she was on the executive and chaired the Nelson Netball Association. She has delivered introductory coaching clinics for Netball New Zealand for many years. She was a founding committee member and fundraising manager of Saxton Field Sports Stadium Society from 2004 to 2014. Now a past President and Life Member of Āpōpō Infrastructure Asset Management Professionals, she held several offices from 2015, leading a strategic transformation of the organisation and championing development of uniquely New Zealand indigenous based asset management guidance. She is patron of a scholarship for Emerging Asset Management Professionals. She is a Life Member and chaired Carbon and Energy Professionals from 2009 to 2015. Mrs de Silva-Currie has been New Zealand Representative and is currently Vice President of the International Federation of Municipal Engineers.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
DUDLEY, Dr Makarena Diana
For services to people with dementia, particularly Māori
Dr Makarena Dudley (Te Rarawa, Ngāti Kahu) is a clinical neuropsychologist who has spent 10 years focusing on dementia (mate wareware) in older Māori and is recognised as a world-leading researcher on indigenous health.
Dr Dudley Co-Chairs the National Dementia Mate Wareware Leadership and Advisory Group for Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand. She is Deputy Director Māori in the Centre for Brain Research and Lead for its Māori Engagement Strategy. One of her key contributions is the establishment of a conceptual framework to help understand dementia from a Māori perspective, organising and conducting many engagements with Māori in communities across New Zealand to produce important findings about dementia. She has been committed to developing Māori representation at all levels to determine research direction, increase Māori leadership and ensure culturally connected, rigorous research. She has helped develop inclusive pathways to promote a Māori responsive approach to dementia. She led the development of the Māori Assessment of Neuropsychological Abilities (MANA) diagnostic tool. She has also led the development and launch of the Mate Wareware App resource and adapted the Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) programme for Māori. Dr Dudley has co-led the clinical psychology programme at the University of Auckland, where she has more than doubled the number of Māori students admitted, graduating, and now practicing.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
DUNLOP, Mr Ross James Craufurd, JP
For services to local government
Mr Ross Dunlop served as an elected official in the South Taranaki region for 33 years.
Mr Dunlop was first elected to the Hawera District Council in 1986 and the South Taranaki District Council in 1989. A Councillor for 21 years, he then served as Mayor of South Taranaki from 2007 to 2019. As Mayor, he pushed for legislative change to ensure that all South Taranaki could benefit from charitable funding provided by the Taranaki Saving Bank. He led the return of several key Council properties to Ngā Ruahine and Taranaki Iwi. He advocated strongly for retaining hospital services in Hawera and established the South Taranaki Health Forum. He was a key part of the fundraising committee that raised more than $6 million for the TSB Hub sporting facility. Since 2021 he has served on the establishment board of Te Pae Pae o Aotea, the new combined Intermediate and High school in Hawera. The Taranaki Catchment Community committee that encourages sustainable farming has benefited from his membership. He has a strong interest in South Taranaki history and is patron of the Eltham Historical Society. Mr Dunlop has been a Justice of the Peace since 1999.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
FA'AFIU, Mr Iosefo (Iosefo Joseph Fa'afiu)
For services to mental health, youth and the Pacific community
Mr Iosefo Joseph Fa’afiu founded the HopeWalk Suicide Prevention Movement in 2015, which has inspired people in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada to participate in walking events to break down the stigma surrounding suicide and mental health and help raise awareness.
Across eight years approximately 100,000 people participated in HopeWalk events worldwide. Mr Fa’afiu was the Project Lead for Link4life Health Equity Campaign for Suicide Prevention. He served as a member of the Pacific Advisory Unit for New Zealand Police in South Auckland and on the Counties Manukau Pacific Advisory Board. He published two children’s books on anti-bullying and identity, and the book ‘Little Poppy’ (2017), addressing the issue of ‘tall poppy syndrome’ in New Zealand society. He has been a founder of the Youth Leadership Programmes ‘Inspire’, a leadership workshop for high school leaders, and the Storytellers Public Speaking Programme. He was formerly Co-Chair of Connecting Papakura social service network and is currently Chair of Gateway Community Trust. He was a volunteer Team Xtreme Life Skills Youth Educator from 1999 to 2001, helping to educate 11- to 14-year-olds on how to deal with bullying, peer pressure and other life skills. Mr Fa’afiu has been a member of Planet Youth’s governance group since 2021, a prevention model to reduce substance use rates amongst young people in Papakura.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
FITISEMANU, Mrs Anne Maria
For services to business
Mrs Anne Fitisemanu was the Chief Executive of TupuToa between 2017 and 2024, an organisation supporting the growth and development of Māori and Pacific business leaders by connecting graduates to corporate organisations.
Under Mrs Fitisemanu’s leadership TupuToa experienced growth in the number of interns, partners and innovative programmes, growing beyond the Auckland region and creating international opportunities for graduates. Since establishment TupuToa has seen more than 1,000 Māori and Pacific graduates secure roles within the public and private sectors, and now provides between 200 and 350 opportunities for Māori and Pacific graduates annually. She has been a Board member of several organisations, including the Pacific Corporation Foundation, Plunket – Whānau Awhina, the Problem Gambling Foundation and the National Deaf and Hard of Hearing Foundation. She became Chief Executive for Make A Wish Aotearoa in 2024. She served as the President of the Auckland branch of PACIFICA and is the Chair of the Pacific Corporation Foundation. Mrs Fitisemanu has been an invited speaker at international business conferences across the United States of America and Australia.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
FITTER, Mr Julian Richmond
For services to conservation
Mr Julian Fitter has been contributing to conservation for more than 50 years through various organisations.
Mr Fitter was a founding Trustee of the United Kingdom-based Falklands Conservation Trust in 1979, serving time as Vice President. He was instrumental in establishing the Galapagos Conservation Trust in 1997, serving as inaugural Chair and currently as an ambassador. He has authored several books including ‘Albatross, Their World Their Ways’ (2008) with wildlife photographer Tui De Roy. He has written three books on New Zealand wildlife; ‘New Zealand Wildlife’ (2009), ‘Field Guide to the Wildlife of New Zealand’ (2010/2021) and ‘Birds of New Zealand’ (2011). In 2008 he established and is now a committee member of the Friends of Galapagos New Zealand organisation, working with the Charles Darwin Foundation and The Galapagos National Park. He helped establish Maketu Ongatoro Wetland Society in 2009, to protect the breeding population of Northern New Zealand dotterel on Maketu Spit. As Chair of the Society from 2010 to 2023, five Environmental Programmes were developed, funded by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, focusing on biosecurity and restoration to prioritise native biodiversity sites around the Maketu and Waihi Estuaries. Mr Fitter established Bay Conservation in 2016 and helped establish the Bittern Conservation Trust in 2023, which he chairs.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
GROOT, Ms Bronwyn Joy
For services to fraud prevention awareness
Ms Bronwyn Groot has been using her expertise in fraud awareness, education and prevention and financial security, to ensure the safety of older people in New Zealand since 2010.
Ms Groot has developed materials and content to educate on fraud, scams and financial elder abuse. She was a member of the cross-government Fraud Working Group and has published The Little Black Book of Scams in 2023 through Netsafe, which is recognised internationally as a tool for businesses and consumers. As the Scam-bassador for Netsafe since 2023 she has toured New Zealand presenting about scam preventions and educating individuals on online fraud activities. As a member of the organising committee of the Fraud Film Festival she produced and appeared in the New Zealand documentary ‘Fraud Hurts’ (2016), winning the inaugural Anti-Fraud Award at the New Zealand Fraud Film Festival in 2016. She is a member of the International Certified Fraud Examiners Association and was recipient of Age Concern New Zealand’s Dignity Award in 2013 and the Huia Award in 2023. Ms Groot was the Fraud Education Manager at the Retirement Commission between 2017 and 2020 and provided individuals with victim support who had suffered significant losses.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
HARRIS, Mr Noel Graham
For services to the thoroughbred racing industry
Mr Noel Harris (Te Ātiawa) competed as a jockey from 1970 to 2015 and has since shared his knowledge as an apprentice riding mentor.
Mr Harris was the New Zealand Champion Apprentice Jockey in 1971/1972 and won the New Zealand Jockey Premiership in 1972/1973. He went on to win most major races in New Zealand, with a total of 2,167 wins recorded nationally, in addition to winning Group races in Australia and Singapore-Malaysia. He has won Derbies, Oaks, Cups and Group Stakes races both nationally and internationally. He won the Taranaki Cup eight times. He shares the record for the most wins at 3,200m in New Zealand with three Wellington Cups, four New Zealand Cups and three Auckland Cup wins. At 55, he was the oldest jockey to ride in the Melbourne Cup. He initiated the role of the Apprentice Mentor with the New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Board in 2015, establishing himself to work alongside New Zealand apprentices to improve both their riding skills and personal life skills off the track. The success of the programme has led to two further apprentice mentors being employed for the Central North Island and South Island, in addition to his role covering the Upper North Island. Mr Harris was inducted into the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame in 2018.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
HIGGINS, Professor Rawinia Ruth
For services to Māori language, education and governance
Professor Rawinia Higgins (Ngāi Tūhoe) has been Deputy Vice-Chancellor Māori of Victoria University of Wellington since 2016 and, as a leading language revitalisation expert, academic and author, and has contributed to transforming the environment for the revitalisation of te reo Māori.
Professor Higgins has held influential governance roles, including as a Board member of Ngā Pae o Te Māramatanga (Māori Centre of Research Excellence), a member of the Waitangi Tribunal since 2013, and the current Chair and Commissioner of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (the Māori Language Commission) from 2018. She has held governance and advisory roles for iwi, Crown entities and government advisory boards, including as Chair of Te Hāpai-ō, Māori Advisory Group for Te Kawa Mataaho, and a Board member of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. She was Co-Principal Investigator of Te Kura Roa, the three-year Ngā Pae o Te Māramatanga Pae Tawhiti initiative on the value of Māori language, examining state and community responsiveness to Māori language revitalisation efforts. She chaired the review of the Māori Language Bill, helping shape the legislation enacted in 2016. Professor Higgins is the Pacific Region representative to the Global Taskforce for the UNESCO International Decade of Indigenous Languages.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
HODDER, Mr David Warwick
For services to outdoor recreation and conservation
Mr David Hodder has been involved with the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association (NZDA) in various capacities since the late 1960s.
Mr Hodder became a branch member in 1971, was Vice President of the Hawke’s Bay branch from 1978 to 1981, and was a member of the National Executive for 24 years until 2005. He served as Vice President from 1984, then President from 1989 to 1992, and in 2011 was made a Life Member. He was a member of the Himalayan Tahr Control Plan Advisory Committee from 1993 to 2018 and a member of the Wapiti Crown Herd Management Committee. He became Chairperson of a heli-hunting sub-committee in 2010 when the Department of Conservation (DOC) allowed aerial access for hunting of chamois and tahr. He has been a committed volunteer over 50 years from the grass roots level to advising DOC and holding positions on conservation boards, research committees and implementation groups. He has been a keen advocate and negotiator for public access. He has helped organise and run hunter training programme HUNTS and conservation projects, and provided hands-on assistance with trap lines, hut and track maintenance, and formal animal control programmes. Mr Hodder has helped with Search and Rescue operations and provided forecast and message relaying services with mountain radio.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
HUYGENS, Dr Ingrid Louise Maria
For services to education and Māori
Dr Ingrid Huygens is a community psychologist who co-founded ‘Tangata Tiriti – Treaty People’ in 2006, an education programme on Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
A New Zealand-born child of Dutch immigrants and longtime member of the Pākehā Tiriti movement since the 1980s, Dr Huygens helped organise a national conference for tauiwi communities to support Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 2000. The not-for-profit Tangata Tiriti formed in response to calls by refugee and migrant communities for treaty education in plain English, and in their own languages. She has been the organisation’s National Coordinator since 2012, and helped establish the ground-breaking programme ‘Te Tiriti in our Languages’ in 2022, which now produces Tiriti education resources in more than 25 languages of New Zealand communities, including New Zealand Sign Language and Easy Read format. Her 2007 PhD traced the contributions of Pākehā Treaty education groups to honour Te Tiriti in collaboration with ngā iwi Māori. She was a co-author of ‘Ngāpuhi Speaks’ (2012), an independent report on Waitangi Tribunal hearings into He Whakaputanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi, a publication now widely used in tertiary education. Dr Huygens travels the country running Tiriti workshops, facilitator training and professional development for NGOs, councils, schools, ethnic communities and government groups about Te Tiriti and the colonial history of New Zealand.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
IRVINE, Mr Leonard George Frederick (Fred)
For services to woodcraft and education
Mr Fred Irvine is an expert woodturner who has taught woodcraft skills to people of all ages and backgrounds, imparting valuable practical skills to younger students and facilitating community connection through the craft.
Mr Irvine taught woodcraft skills at Hamilton primary schools from 1969 to 1989, when he began teaching adults at Waikato Polytechnic. He organised the purchase and installation of 12 woodworking lathes at the Polytechnic. From the 1990s he ran a range of courses up until the Polytechnic ceased offering woodturning in 2012. He then helped establish the Avalon Woodturners club, who rented the lathes and premises. He later helped purchase the tools and equipment from the Polytechnic and to establish a new workshop for the club. He helped establish the Waikato Guild of Woodworkers and has been Patron of the club since 2000. He has specialised in the challenging art of ornamental woodturning and assisted international firm Teknatool to develop new equipment for ornamental turning. He taught ornamental woodturning throughout New Zealand for more than 10 years. He has demonstrated his abilities at symposia nationally and internationally, including setting up a course at a college in Shandan, China. Mr Irvine was the third person to receive Life Membership of the National Association of Woodworkers.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
JOHNSON, Ms Marian Elizabeth
For services to technology and business
Ms Marian Johnson has been contributing to business and technology for 15 years, served as CEO of the Ministry of Awesome (MoA) from 2017 to 2024, and is currently Chairwoman of MoA’s Electrify Programmes.
MoA is an innovation hub which provides support to start ups, a coworking space, and a mentoring community for founders in Christchurch. Ms Johnson has been supporting the national innovation sector through MoA where startups have to date raised $112 million and generated 344 new jobs at their earliest stages. She led the establishment of Founder Catalyst, New Zealand's prolific early stage startup incubator, Electrify Aotearoa, New Zealand's first ever women startup founders' conference, and Electrify Accelerator which is New Zealand's only women founders' startup accelerator. She is a member of the inaugural New Zealand Startup Council and Chair for the New Zealand HiTech Trust. As a member of the Startup Advisors Council, Ms Johnson helped deliver the Upstart Nation Report which advocated for innovation-friendly improvements in New Zealand government settings that would enable New Zealand to grow and succeed as a competitive, globally engaged startup hub.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
KATAE, Ms Shelley Aroha
For services to Māori and Pacific communities
Ms Shelley Katae (Te Rarawa, Ngāti Porou) has been the Chief Executive of Tāmaki Regeneration Company (TRC) since 2021.
Established in 2012, TRC is dedicated to providing healthy homes, employment and upgrading the Glen Innes, Panmure, Point England and East Auckland, streets, parks and town centres. Ms Katae has held several roles with the organisation including General Manager of Strategy and Performance between 2015 and 2021. She helped establish the Own It programme with TRC to allow Māori and Pacific families to own their homes and there are more than 20,000 Māori and Pacific families living in Tāmaki, with TRC’s aim to build 10,500 more new houses in shared ownership. TRC also offers a Job and Skills Hub which has helped more than 1,600 Tāmaki residents into employment over the course of a decade and has helped residents with resumes and skills to be prepared for employment processes. She is a member of the National Hauora Coalition Board and serves as the Chair of its Finance, Audit and Risk Committee. Ms Katae was previously a member of the Major Capital Works Advisory Committee for the former Counties Manukau District Health Board, and is a member of the Taupō Moana Holdings Limited Board and Aktive Auckland Sport and Recreation Board.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
KENT, Mr David John
For services to the deaf and hard of hearing community
Mr David Kent received his first Cochlear Implant in 1998 and the second in 2011, which restored his hearing, and has since been dedicating his time to the community.
Mr Kent has been a member of the Southern Hearing Charitable Trust Board since 2003 and the Chair since 2007. He has campaigned for an increase in captioning for free-to-air television and digital media. He was involved in the development of a Public Health Programme aimed at driving a change in the hearing health sector, with a focus on early intervention, healthy aging and reducing inequities for Māori and Pacific communities. As Chair of the Southern Hearing Charitable Trust, he has increased available funding for adult cochlear implants for the Southern region from four to now providing the region with 60 implants per year along with 23 to children. He contributed to the Captioning Working Group for several years and was subsequently appointed as a member of the ABLE – making media accessible national board in 2017. He been a member of the National Foundation for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing since 2012, serving as Council Chair between 2020 and 2023 and currently serves as Deputy Chair of the board. Mr Kent secured sponsorship for an annual scholarship with the Southern Hearing Charitable Trust, established in 2019.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
KHADKA, Mr Dinesh Kumar, JP
For services to the Nepalese community
Mr Dinesh Khadka became Honorary Consul of Nepal for Auckland, Waikato and Northland in 2022 and was President of the New Zealand Nepal Society from 2017 to 2020, having been a member for 15 years, and President of the New Zealand Nepal Chamber of Commerce for five years cumulatively.
Mr Khadka has organised numerous community festivals to promote Nepalese culture and heritage, including local annual sporting events, cultural and education events, and a nationwide talent show in 2016. He organised the Nepal Festival in 2018, attracting more than 9,000 attendees. He organised the Dashain Festivals in 2018 and 2019, including acts from Nepal. He has worked to celebrate the success of Nepalese women in the community, establishing the annual Nari Shakti award in 2018. He was the Founding National Coordinator of the Non-Residential Nepalese Association of New Zealand from 2005 to 2007. Since 2022 he has been Auckland Region Navigator of the New Zealand Federation of Multi-Cultural Councils, an Executive Member of New Zealand Asian Leaders, and on the Asian Advisory Board of the Auckland Business Chapter. He was a member of the Hastings Lions Club for 20 years. Mr Khadka raised money for Nepal relief efforts after the 2015 earthquake, visiting in 2017, providing donated goods to the Underprivileged Children Education programme.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
KINGI, Ms Tania Phillippa
For services to Māori and people with disabilities
Ms Tania Kingi (Ngāti Pukeko, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Whakahemo, Ngāti Mākino, Ngāi Tai) is a disability rights advocate and leader in the social, health and disability sectors in Auckland.
Ms Tania Kingi builds connections and partnerships, raises awareness and creates change, particularly for Māori with disabilities (whānau hauā). Since 2004, she has been Chief Executive at Te Roopu Waiora, a kaupapa Māori consumer organisation supporting whānau hauā through wellness services, where she helps to reestablish connections with their whānau, hapū, iwi and communities. She has served on numerous boards, committees and charities, including the New Zealand Blood Service, Charities Commission, Whānau Ora Regional Leadership Group, Disability Committee to Auckland Council, the Accident Compensation Corporation’s Rā Mātua Panel and the Ministry of Social Development’s national complaints panel. A former member on expert advisory panels to the Chief Ombudsman, and the National Equity Steering Group for Te Whatu Ora since 2022, she is a member of Ngaa Pou Hauora o Tāmaki Makaurau Iwi Māori Partnership Board. She is an active member of Taumata Kōrero, a group of 15 Māori Chief Executives providing social services in Auckland. Ms Kingi is helping to recover understanding of traditional Māori concepts of disability and is currently completing a Doctorate of Indigenous Advancement in traditional Māori responses to disability.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
LEGGET, Dr Malcolm Erskine
Deceased. His Majesty’s approval of this award took effect on 31 October 2024, prior to the date of death.
For services to cardiology
Dr Malcolm Legget has made a significant contribution to cardiology and cancer treatment and research, ensuring access to world leading treatments is available through New Zealand’s public health system.
Dr Legget was the Director of Echocardiology at Greenlane Hospital between 1995 and 2000 and co-founded the private cardiology group The Heart Group in 1997. The Group’s model of care has resulted in novel procedures and access to services that might otherwise not have been available, ultimately saving many lives. His contributions to the emerging areas of 3D imaging and cardiac CT angiography led to these tools being widely used in New Zealand. He has been a board member of the Heart Foundation since 2016 and helped to raise funds for the establishment of the Heart Health Research Trust. Following his diagnosis with Neuroendocrine cancer (NET) in 2011, he became a leader in ensuring the best treatments possible for NET are available to all New Zealanders. He led a programme of work and fundraised more than $7 million to bring clinical expertise, a research programme, scans and treatment that were not available in New Zealand into the public health system, resulting in patients no longer needing to travel overseas to receive care. Dr Legget was a fellow of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MACDONALD, Ms Nicola Maree Ataria
For services to the environment
Ms Nicola MacDonald (Ngāti Wai, Te Rarawa, Taranaki) has championed environmental restoration and sustainability for more than a decade.
As a Tangata Whenua representative on the Hauraki Gulf Forum since 2013, Ms MacDonald has been Co-Chair since 2020, leading efforts to address the ongoing environmental degradation of the Hauraki Gulf. She spearheaded the world’s largest shellfish bed restoration, with more than 150 tonnes of mussels deployed into the Gulf. With the University of Auckland, she co-investigated mussel spat research, replacing plastic with natural fibre ropes to mitigate microplastic pollution. As former Chair of the Auckland Conservation Board, she led advocacy for the protection of endangered species, including the Māui dolphin, Tara-iti (fairy tern), and native mudfish, while championing climate change awareness regionally. She is a member of Pou Tangaroa, the ocean conservation roopu within the National Iwi Chairs Forum, representing more than 80 iwi across New Zealand. She has advocated conservation as Pou Taiao Chair of the Tāmaki Makaurau Mana Whenua Forum. As Chief Executive of Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust since 2018, she helped establish Te Au o Moana, an indigenous-led oceans programme of protection, restoration and monitoring across the Gulf. With Ngāti Manuhiri, Ms MacDonald engaged with scientists in the United States to explore eradication methods of exotic Caulerpa and held regional workshops to help affected communities combat this invasive seaweed.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MACKENZIE, Ms Deborah Claire
For services to victims of domestic violence
Ms Deborah Mackenzie has been advocating for more than 20 years to improve New Zealand's response to violence against women and children.
Ms Mackenzie’s advocacy in non-government organisations, government and voluntary roles has included working with individual victim-survivors, promoting local interagency improvements, and pushing for national system-wide changes through publications, media and presentations. In 2017, she co-founded The Backbone Collective, an independent charity which gathers victim-survivor insights to inform policy and practice. Backbone has published nine reports presenting women victim-survivors’ experiences of, and recommendations for, the New Zealand response system across 2017 to 2024 and made multiple submissions to international bodies, including one cited by the United Nation’s Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls report, issued to the Human Rights Council in 2023. Her other published contributions include in-depth reports on specialist domestic violence courts (2006, 2007), female offenders (2009), and a report by the Impact Collective proposing a new model for an integrated response system in New Zealand, co-authored in 2014. Ms Mackenzie wrote an article documenting how accusations of ‘parental alienation’ undermine children’s safety in the New Zealand Family Court, published in the Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law in 2020.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MALPASS, Dr Cedric Paul (Paul)
For services to health
Dr Paul Malpass was a specialist General Surgeon and Public Health Physician, who has been contributing to his community, District Health Boards, government agencies and health accreditation for more than 45 years.
Dr Malpass began as a General Surgeon with the Royal Air Force in 1972; worked at Taumarunui Hospital from 1976, including the role of Surgeon Superintendent until 1992. He was appointed surgical director to the Midland Regional Authority from 1992 to 2000. He served multiple terms at the Waikato District Health Board, and during this time was a strong advocate for rural health needs. In 2001, he consulted in public health and general surgery, including a 3-month tour in East Timor. He was the Chief Medical Officer of the Bay of Plenty District Health Board between 2001 and 2008. He was the inaugural Head of the Bay of Plenty Multidisciplinary Clinical School in 2008, and assisted in its development. He served as Clinical Director of Taupō Hospital, Lakes District Health Board from 2013 to 2017. Dr Malpass was a member of the Waikato Consumer Council from 2018 to 2023 and served on the Taumarunui Oranga Tamariki Care and Protection Resource Panel from 2022 to 2023.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MARSHALL, Mr Lachlan John (Lachie)
For services to water polo
Mr Lachie Marshall has been playing, coaching, refereeing, and supporting water polo in New Zealand for almost 50 years.
Mr Marshall started playing water polo in 1974, initially as part of junior teams in Canterbury and Otago before representing New Zealand. He played in the New Zealand Men’s team from 1981 to 1993, and captained the team from 1989 to 1993, playing more than 100 games, including 35 international appearances. He has coached various teams since the early 1990s, at many levels and age groups across men’s and women’s water polo and continuing to cover coaching shortages for various Canterbury teams. He has been a Board Member of Canterbury Water Polo for many years and chaired Canterbury Water Polo from 2008 to 2022. He is a Life Member of both Canterbury Water Polo and New Zealand Water Polo. He played a key role in the re-establishment of water polo in Canterbury following the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes, sourcing alternative club training facilities and spearheading fundraising and sponsorship efforts, creating scholarships to encourage new talent into the sport and importing players from overseas to compete for the club. Mr Marshall has led Canterbury Water Polo to be one of the most competitive clubs in New Zealand and coached many athletes who have since competed at a national level.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MASON, Ms Adele Marie
For services to New Zealand-Asia relations
Ms Adele Mason has been committed to building New Zealand-Asia relations for more than 25 years, with a strong focus on youth.
Ms Mason has been Deputy Executive Director (now Deputy Chief Executive) of the Asia New Zealand Foundation since 2000, a non-profit, nonpartisan charity which focuses on continued improvement and education on New Zealand-Asia relations. As Deputy Executive Director she has led the Foundation through difficult times, often stepping in as Acting Executive Director for long periods, leading delegations to Asia, participating in Track II diplomacy dialogues and hosting international visitors from Asia. She has been at the forefront of leading the Foundation’s te ao Māori journey and leading Māori engagement. She works with more than 450 members of the Foundation’s Leadership Network to engage with diverse young New Zealanders, helping grow their confidence, knowledge and connections to Asia and supporting programmes including business and media internships and cultural festivals. She helped develop the Entrepreneurship Programme, which supports emerging entrepreneurs to build connections and facilitate business relationships in Asia with more than 60 young New Zealanders visiting Asia and more than 150 young entrepreneurs from Southeast Asia coming to New Zealand. Ms Mason has maintained the Foundation’s relationship with Asia through its network of Asia Honorary Advisers, compromised of prominent and respected individuals throughout Asia.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MATTHEWS, Mr Duncan Paul
For services to rainbow communities
Mr Duncan Matthews has more than 15 years’ experience supporting rainbow communities, focusing on youth development and community funding.
Mr Matthews was a founding member of Hamilton Pride in 2007, celebrating rainbow communities in Waikato. He has been involved with RainbowYOUTH since 2009, including as Executive Director from 2013 to 2017, guiding its transformation into a nationally focused organisation. As a Trustee of the Rule Foundation since 2015, he has been instrumental in the significant increase of funding available to rainbow communities across New Zealand, including the establishment of the Rainbow Funders Ropū, where funders collaborate to support the rainbow sector. He served on the Ministry of Youth Development’s Partnership Fund Board from 2018 to 2021, including time as Co-Chair, contributing to the increase in funding partners for youth development providers. He served on the inaugural Auckland Council Rainbow Communities Advisory Panel and as a local Community Organisation Grants Scheme committee member. In 2019, he was a founding member of the Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa, advocating for the health and rights of transgender people. He helped lay the groundwork for the Rainbow Support Collective, connecting peer-led organisations providing services to rainbow communities. In 2021, Mr Matthews received the Top Diverse Board Ready Directors award from The Superdiversity Institute and the Ministry for Ethnic Communities.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MCKOY, Dr John Leslie
For services to fisheries science and environment management
Dr John McKoy has more than 50 years’ experience in fisheries research and consulting and has contributed his expertise to environmental initiatives.
Dr McKoy was Chief Scientist, Fisheries, for the New Zealand National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) from 1995 to 2010 and Director of Fisheries Research for the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries from 1987 to 1995. In these roles, he was responsible for strategic development of fisheries science in New Zealand and the management of major fisheries science clients. He has contributed to or led numerous international assessments of fisheries stocks. He developed and supervised collaborative stock assessment processes for a range of fisheries nationally. He chaired the National Rock Lobster Management Group from 2012 to 2016. He has volunteered his expertise to local and regional environmental initiatives including Friends of Taupō Swamp and Catchment since 2018. He became a Trustee of Pāuatahanui Inlet Community Trust (PICT) in 2005 and was Chair from 2010 to 2015. He has been a committee member of Guardians of Pāuatahanui Inlet since 2016. He joined Friends of Mana Island in 2005 and was President from 2018 to 2024. Dr McKoy was community representative on the Te Awarua-o-Porirua Whaitua Committee from 2015 to 2019.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MCQUEEN, Mr Ross John
For services to the community
Mr Ross McQueen has contributed more than 50 years to his Christchurch community through the Rangiora Smallbore Rifle Club and the Christchurch City Mission.
Mr McQueen has been coaching high school students from Rangiora High School and Kaiapoi High School in small-bore shooting since 1974, coaching 1,000 students some of whom have qualified for New Zealand Representative teams. He has held various positions in the club including Secretary for 26 years. As mentor and coach, he has guided 20 teams to the National Secondary Championships since 2002, and has been a Range Officer for the Smallbore Championships since 1992. His involvement with the Christchurch City Mission began in 1976, as a member of several sub-committees, including the Divisional Committee since 1981 and the Finance, Risk Management and Property committee since 1992. He has been integral in decision making of property development for the Mission, and has helped guide the build of the residential services department, men’s night shelter, day programmes, food bank and administration buildings. Mr McQueen is regarded as a pillar of Christchurch City Mission, guiding the organisation through expansion while responding to major events in the Canterbury region.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MOHSIN, Emeritus Professor Asad
For services to the Muslim community and education
Emeritus Professor Asad Mohsin has been a distinguished academic in hospitality and tourism management, bringing international experience to his role.
Professor Mohsin served as the President of the Waikato Multicultural Council and Waikato Muslim Association between 2014 and 2023, initiating the first Multicultural Day in Hamilton, now held annually. He was a Founding Member of the Waikato Intercultural Fund Board and was a Member of the Tourism Waikato Advisory Board between 2005 and 2006. He was the President of the Waikato Muslim Association from 2017 to 2023, leading the organisation to arrange the first New Zealand Muslim Leaders Symposium in 2018. As a Trustee of the Hamilton Multicultural Services Trust since 2018, he has engaged through the Settlement Centre Waikato to help migrants and refugees to connect with New Zealand culture, community and events. He was the Assistant Director of the New Zealand India Research Institute with Victoria University of Wellington from 2012. He retired in 2024 as a Professor in Tourism and Hospitality Management and the Assistant Vice Chancellor of Community Engagement at the University of Waikato. Professor Mohsin facilitated a $30,000 annual scholarship fund through an MOA between the University of Waikato and the Waikato Muslim Association for annual awarding to four Muslim students, following the 2019 Christchurch terrorist attack.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MOLLOY, Ms Janice
For services to wildlife conservation
Ms Janice Molloy has been supporting fishers and the wider seafood industry in their journey towards seabird-safe fishing for more than 20 years.
Ms Molloy was instrumental in bringing together fishing industry leaders, environmental organisations, government agencies, scientists, and recreational fishing interests in 2002, leading to the establishment of the Southern Seabirds Trust. She has been Convenor of the Trust since its establishment, promoting a collaborative approach to reduce the capture of New Zealand’s seabirds through fishing activities. Under her guidance, the Trust encourages fishers to take ownership of the problem and find solutions by giving them the knowledge and the practical support they need to address seabird captures. This has created change in fishing practices, demonstrating that conservation through cooperation can achieve results. Ms Molloy’s contributions have had direct implications for coastal communities in New Zealand, helped the New Zealand commercial fishing industry improve its environmental performance, and assisted the wider international community in its responsibility for the sustainable management of the world’s oceans and fisheries.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
OFNER, Ms Sheryll Ann
For services to education
Ms Sheryll Ofner has been Principal of Selwyn College, Auckland since 2008, following a career in teaching since 1980 and Deputy and Second Principal positions with Rosehill and Howick Colleges respectively between 1996 and 2008.
Ms Ofner spearheaded a significant transformation of Selwyn College from a position of poor academic performance and a falling roll. She has led development of a Visible Learning approach, called Selwise, putting in place processes around student mentoring, achievement and personal growth. She has been recognised nationally for this work and has presented in Denmark, Australia and Iceland on Selwise, with other international schools visiting to see Selwise in action. Selwyn College’s transformation has included its roll increasing from 600 to more than 1,300 and high student involvement in sport on a per capita basis, with results achieved at a national level in several sporting codes. She was appointed by the South Pacific Board of Education as Chief Examiner for the South Pacific Form Seven Certificate History exam. She has chaired the NZQA History Advisory Group, responsible for developing unit standards and influencing the direction of history teaching and assessment nationally. She co-authored several history text books published in the 1990s. Ms Ofner was a member of the Ministry of Education Social Sciences Expert Panel.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
PARR-BROWNLIE, Professor Louise Claire
For services to neuroscience
Professor Louise Parr-Brownlie (Ngāti Maniapoto, Te Arawa) is internationally recognised for her pioneering research that has provided insight into treatment and care for people with Parkinson’s Disease.
Professor Parr-Brownlie is a neuroscientist and Professor with the Biomedical Sciences’ Anatomy Department at the University of Otago. She is an expert in understanding how activity in the motor thalamus, motor cortex and basal ganglia, control normal movements and is altered in the disease. Her published work is widely cited, and she has been an invited speaker at several international conferences, including at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Gordon Research. As Deputy Director, then Director of the Ageing Well National Science Challenge from 2018 she helped transform the Challenge into the first Te Tiriti o Waitangi-led Challenge. She has been a member of the Biomedical Research Committee with the Health Research Council of New Zealand since 2021. She has held several national leadership roles, including as Chair of Rauika Māngai (Māori Leaders across the National Science Challenges) and as Deputy Chair of the Neurological Foundation of New Zealand’s Science Advisory Committee. Professor Parr-Brownlie has been a Science Advisor for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment since 2023.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
PATO, Mr Daniel Oshana (Danny)
For services to the hairdressing industry
Mr Danny Pato is an internationally renowned, multiple award-winning hairdresser who has raised New Zealand’s profile in the industry.
Since 2019, Mr Pato has won 14 international awards from the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, France, Canada and Australia, including twice being named International Hairdresser of the Year. He was New Zealand Hairdresser of the Year every year from 2016 to 2023 and was inducted into the Australian Hair Industry Awards Hall of Fame in 2023. He co-founded a salon in Ponsonby in 2006 and has successfully grown the business, which employs 16 staff. He has delivered a range of educational presentations in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Philippines and Australia and is a regular contributor to national and global publications. He has sponsored the AUT University Rookie graduate fashion shows for the past eight years. He created The Directory, a free database of New Zealand’s creative industries, to facilitate collaborative work. He was an Advisory Board member of Hair Expo Australia and Servilles Hairdressing Academy. He has raised money for various local and national charities through several initiatives, including discounted haircut events and charity auctions. He offers free wig styling for cancer patients. Mr Pato has been Hair Director for catwalk shows, campaigns and editorial shoots for local and international designers, celebrities and magazines.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
PATTERSON, Mrs Kirsten Pauline Eddy
For services to governance and women
Mrs Kirsten Patterson has contributed to governance in New Zealand particularly as Chief Executive of the Institute of Directors since 2017.
As Chief Executive Mrs Patterson led the launch of Chapter Zero New Zealand, New Zealand’s arm of a global initiative which is guided by the World Economic Forum’s principles to equip directors with knowledge and resources to mitigate risk around climate change. Chapter Zero New Zealand has grown from 850 supporters since establishment in 2022 to more than 2,000 supporters in 2024. She is Chair of the Brian Picot Ethical Leadership Advisory Board at Victoria University of Wellington, helping foster ethical leadership among future leaders. As a founding member of Women in Sport Aotearoa, she has been involved with the Wellington Homeless Women’s Trust and the New Zealand Rugby Foundation. She chairs the charity Voices of Hope which provides a storytelling platform for better understanding of mental health challenges. She launched the ‘Across the Board’ podcast in 2023 which received the Bronze Award for Best Documentary Podcast at the New Zealand Podcast Awards and a Silver Award at the New York Festivals Radio Awards in 2023. Mrs Patterson chairs the Global Network of Directors Institutes and has been a Board member of the International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF) Oversight Council for Internal Audit Standards since 2023.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
PETERS, Mr John Kenneth
For services to governance and palliative care
Mr John Peters has been Chairperson of the two Nelson Tasman Region Hospice Trusts since 2013, continuing to volunteer his time even after moving to Horowhenua.
Mr Peters was Chair during the fundraising and building of the Nelson Tasman Hospice, achieving this with no residual debt and remaining reserves, and has overseen a significant growth in the service for the community. He was elected Deputy Chair of Hospice New Zealand in 2014 and re-elected in 2017, before stepping down in 2019. During this time, he chaired the International Forum on Palliative Care in 2015 and 2016. He was CEO of the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board from 2004 to 2012, during which time the Nelson Hospital’s Cardiology Unit was established and the Integrated Health Facility was constructed in Golden Bay. He oversaw a return of the DHB to five years of surplus after several years in deficit. Mr Peters has held governance roles in the private sector including Independent Chair of the Nelson City Council’s Audit Risk and Finance Committee and Strategic Development Committee between 2014 and 2022, and Global Director of Information for the New Zealand Dairy Board from 1998 to 2001.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
PICKARD, Mr Ian Martyn
For services to Fire and Emergency New Zealand
Mr Ian Pickard has served more than 50 years with Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) as a member of several fire brigades, starting in the Timaru Fire Brigade in 1971.
Mr Pickard became Station Officer in Timaru in 1979. He was the inaugural Chair of the New Zealand Firefighters Welfare Society, an organisation operated by firefighters for the wellbeing of firefighters and their families. As Chair, Board member and Trustee for 30 years, he was instrumental in the purchase of the first lot of the Society’s holiday homes and establishing the ‘Healthcare99’, a healthcare plan for firefighters and their families. As Chief Fire Officer of the Dunedin Fire District from 1995, he deployed Community Safety Teams to place emphasis on fire prevention, and fire risk reduction, a shift from emergency response. As Assistant Fire Region Commander of Operations of the Southern Fire Region from 1997 to 2004, he led the 71 volunteer brigades and two career Fire Districts in the Southern region. He led the rollout of the Station Management System, a software system which allows for tracking and planning of work across all fire stations. Mr Pickard has volunteered and led teams with the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination team during adverse weather events in numerous countries, including the 2016 Tropical Cyclone in Fiji.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
POTAKA AYTON, Mrs Billie-Jean
For services to education and Māori
Mrs Billie-Jean Potaka Ayton (Ngāti Whakaue) has been the Principal of Kaiti School for 16 years and has significantly increased the school roll from 130 students in 2009 to 450 students today.
Kaiti School in Te Tairāwhiti caters to years 1 to 8, with the roll consisting of 90 percent of students identifying as Māori and seven percent identifying as Pacific Peoples. Under Mrs Potaka Ayton’s leadership, the school has experienced consistently high attendance rates, high levels of student success and higher levels of engagement from whānau. She has led curriculum changes to reflect the students and their whakapapa. She has supported and developed bilingual Māori Immersion learning, leading Kaiti School to be awarded the Supreme Award at the 2011 Māori Language Awards. She encouraged the students on a campaign to restore the name of Tūranganui-a Kiwa to their region from Poverty Bay in 2013, resulting in the dual name change of Tūranganui-a-Kiwa / Poverty Bay in 2019. Recognising the importance of whānau and the environment for tamariki, Kaiti School became the first Whānau Ora school, providing programmes and pathways to uplift whānau. This resulted in Kaiti School being a finalist of the 2015 Prime Minister’s Education Excellence Awards. Mrs Potaka Ayton is a member of the Education Review Office’s Principals Advisory Group and the Springboard Trust.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
POUWHARE, Ms Tania Mateohorere-Carole
For services to Māori and Pacific communities, and the environment
Ms Tania Pouwhare (Ngāi Tūhoe) has been contributing to Auckland Council’s The Southern Initiative (TSI) since establishment in 2015.
Ms Pouwhare served as a Social Intrapreneur of TSI between 2015 and 2020 before becoming the General Manager where she co-founded Amotai, an organisation that works with government, iwi and corporate sectors to provide procurement opportunities for Māori and Pacific businesses. In her role of Social Intrapreneur she led TSI’s work on employment, skills and procurement across Māori and Pacific entrepreneurship and labour market policies and ran test solutions for big systems-change challenges. She has worked with Auckland City Council on their Sustainable Procurement Strategy, resulting in the inclusion of a social procurement criteria in the tendering processes, which has enabled Māori and Pacific businesses securing Council contracts and local people securing employment. This has enabled businesses such as TROW Group to win several significant contracts, providing employment opportunities for local Pacific people while providing environmentally friendly services, including diverting tonnes of waste from the landfill and salvaging products to be given new life within the community. She was instrumental in the establishment of Randwick Park Residents Group’s Stepping Stones programme which maintains parks in Randwick, and provides experience for people into employment, in collaboration with Downer. Ms Pouwhare is Co-Chair of the Māori Economic Development Advisory Board.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
RAE, Miss Sarah Jane McDonald
For services to choral music
Miss Sarah Rae has been involved with the Invercargill Schools’ Sing Out for 33 years, initially with Waihopai Primary School Choir and from 1996 as Musical Director, leading around 700 students from 20 schools annually to prepare for the three-night festival.
Miss Rae has directed the Southland Girls’ High school (SGHS) choir ‘Femme’ on a voluntary basis since 2006, concurrently with her role as Head of Performing Arts at SGHS. Femme is recognised as one of the top 20 secondary school choirs nationally and has been a frequent finalist of the Big Sing. She spearheads fundraising for the choir, organises workshops with national and international mentors, and organises community performance opportunities. She was director of the Southland Youth Choir from 1995 to 2004 and is the director of the mixed voice choir The Ensemble which she established in 1995. She has directed the Foveaux Harmony Chorus (FHC), part of the international Sweet Adelines organisation, since 1995. She coordinates the FHC/Invercargill Licensing Trust scholarship for female singers aged 13 to 25. She was a coach and educator with Young Women in Harmony, a national initiative providing musical education for women under 25. Miss Rae has been musical coordinator of the Invercargill Proms music event since 2016, which raises funds for local charities.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
REID, Mr Ian Dugald
For services to musical theatre
Mr Ian Reid is currently Patron and Life Member of Musical Theatre New Zealand (MTNZ), having been President from 2009 to 2014 and Vice President from 2004.
Mr Reid began his voluntary involvement with community theatre in 1967 with the Napier Operatic Society, where he remains involved as a Life Member. He was Secretary of the Napier Operatic Society for 20 years and has worked as production manager and stage crew. He received a national merit award from MTNZ in 2003 for his services to community theatre, prior to joining their Board. While on the MTNZ Board, he formed strong relationships with other organisations including Entertainment Technology New Zealand and Entertainment Venues Association of New Zealand. For eight years he was a member of the MTNZ Consortium committee, which was instrumental in bringing major big budget musicals to be staged in New Zealand, such as ‘Les Miserables’, ‘Miss Saigon’ and ‘Phantom of the Opera’. Mr Reid has supported youth through the national Nola Speir Youth in Theatre Award at the MTNZ annual conference and has sponsored youth to attend MTNZ training workshops.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
RICHARDS, Mr Alan Kenneth
For services to the New Zealand Police and education
Mr Alan Richards has given 61 years’ service to policing and police training both in New Zealand and overseas.
Beginning with the Metropolitan Police in London, Mr Richards joined the New Zealand Police in 1974. He began his involvement with the Royal New Zealand Police College (RNZPC) in 1986 and has since dedicated his career to Police training and adult education, currently as National Coordinator Workplace Assessment since 2011. He designed and now administers an adult education certificate for new instructors and develops training plans and arranges attestations for past police officers wanting to rejoin. He designed and delivered police training courses in Timor Leste, Bougainville, and in Niue in 2016. He was instrumental in designing a training course, ran in Gisborne, to help reduce barriers for Māori applicants to join the Police. He is regarded as the guardian of protocols for the New Zealand Police as the lead on the ceremonial aspects of Police Instructions for such events as state visits and graduations. He has been a main organiser of Remembrance Day commemorations since 1989. He has served on RNZPC committees and has been a member of the kapa haka group since inception. Mr Richards gives his own time to present histories for the Police Museum to in-person visiting groups and online.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
ROYAL, Mrs Norefjell Jacquiline Marama Tanga (Marama), JP
For services to Māori and governance
Mrs Marama Royal (Ngāti Whātua ki Tāmaki) has chaired Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust since 2017, having been a Director from 2010 and Deputy Chair from 2015.
In 2023 and 2024, Mrs Royal led Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei to establish strategic agreements and relationship agreements with Foundation North, Sky City Auckland, the University of Auckland, Eden Park and the Ministry of Pacific Peoples. She has facilitated growth of the iwi through such relationships, providing employment, education, tourism, leisure and entertainment opportunities. She led the launch of the Toi Ora Health Insurance Scheme in 2017, providing hapu registered members access to comprehensive health insurance, with the Toi Tupu Savings and Investments scheme being introduced in 2018. She has overseen the construction of new homes on iwi-owned land under the Kāinga Kaumatua iwi initiative. She chairs Pou Take Āhuarangi under the National Iwi Chairs Forum and leads the Tangata Whenua Response, Recovery and Resilience Iwi Leadership Group. She holds roles on the Board of Directors for Variety – The Children’s Charity, Pro-Care Co-Operative Board and is Pro-Chancellor of Auckland University of Technology. She chairs Sky City Community Trust, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Reserves Board, Ranginui 12 Trust and the Auckland Police Taumata. Mrs Royal’s earlier career includes 20 years with the Ministry of Justice and Courts and 18 years with Victim Support New Zealand.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
SANGSTER, Mrs Hilary Dawn (Dawn)
For services to governance
Mrs Dawn Sangster has been active in governance for more than 25 years and has contributed to supporting women in governance since 2011.
Mrs Sangster started her career in governance in education serving as a Trustee for the Maniototo Area School Board of Trustees for nine years and then serving on the John McGlashan College Board for seven years. She was appointed to the Community Trust of Maniototo in 2009 and in 2015 became the first Women Chair in its 41-year history. She has had a long involvement with Agri-Women’s Development Trust, firstly as a graduate of the inaugural Escalator Programme and then as a facilitator for several programmes designed to support confidence, governance knowledge and leadership for the primary sector. She was the third woman ever to be elected to The Alliance Group Board of Directors in 2011, where she served until 2023, inspiring and actively supporting other women to step into governance. She is a current director of the Farmlands Cooperative Society Ltd. and the Maniototo Irrigation Co., and is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Directors. Mrs Sangster is a director of her family farming businesses GlenAyr Ltd., a sheep and beef property in Maniototo and Nottingham Dairy Ltd. in North Otago.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
SIMON-KUMAR, Dr Rachel
For services to women’s studies, health research and to ethnic communities
Dr Rachel Simon-Kumar is an Associate Professor at the University of Auckland’s School of Population Health.
Dr Simon-Kumar’s research has shaped New Zealand scholarship on migration and multiculturalism, migrant women and adolescent health, and gender politics. Through her research expertise, she has advocated for the wellbeing of women and ethnic communities. Her extensive contributions in family and sexual violence have informed responses to research and policy gaps in New Zealand’s ethnic communities. She has been the recipient of several research awards including the Royal Society’s Marsden Fund, Health Research Council, and MBIE Endeavour Grant. She is the Co-Director of the Centre for Asian and Ethnic Minority Health Research and Evaluation (CAHRE) at the University of Auckland and advises on several government and non-governmental organisations including Statistics New Zealand’s Expert Group for Ethnicity Standard Review and the inaugural Ethnic Health Collective Strategy Group. She is Chair of Shama Ethnic Women’s Trust Board which provides support to more than 600 ethnic women, children and families on healthy relationships, parenting, and prevention of family and sexual violence. Dr Simon-Kumar was awarded the New Zealand Fulbright Scholar Award in 2022.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
SLOAN, Mr Roy Martin
For services to conservation and game hunting
Mr Roy Sloan was President of the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation (FWF) from 2012 to 2022 and remains general manager, having been involved in various voluntary capacities since 2005.
The FWF manages the Fiordland wapiti (elk) herd to achieve a high quality, low quantity hunting resource and improve outcomes for native flora and fauna, through an agreement with the Department of Conservation (DOC). He was instrumental in working with DOC to establish the world class management system for the wapiti herd. The deer management, funded by hunters and ballot applications, partners and sponsors, has focused on removing red deer and hybrids, with more than 18,000 deer removed from the 175,000-hectare wapiti range to establish ecological threshold levels. A further partnership was established between FWF and WithWild to provide venison to New Zealand restaurants, which helps fund a predator trapping network and backcountry hut maintenance. The FWF have been instrumental in preserving whio (blue duck) and other native birds through this programme. His leadership of FWF has provided a highly sought-after recreational hunting experience, improved conservation outcomes and a model for game animal management in New Zealand. He was instrumental in 18 tonnes of Fiordland Wapiti Venison being supplied to New Zealand foodbanks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr Sloan was a New Zealand Game Animal Councillor from 2014 to 2016.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
SMITH, Dr Hilary Anne
For services to linguistics and the community
Dr Hilary Smith has been involved with Volunteer Service Abroad Te Tuāo Tāwāhi (VSA) for more than 40 years.
Dr Smith made contributions for more than seven years as a VSA teacher and teacher educator in Tonga, Papua New Guinea, and Laos. She served as the Chair of the VSA Council between 1998 and 2007, has been a member of the VSA Appointments Panel, and has chaired local interest groups in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington and Te Papaiōea Palmerston North. She was President of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages Aotearoa New Zealand between 2008 and 2015, currently Chairs Applied Linguistics in Aotearoa New Zealand (ALANZ), and co-convenes the Languages Alliance Aotearoa New Zealand. Through her career in applied linguistics, she has supported numerous countries as a teacher and leader; these include Nepal, Indonesia, Timor-Leste and Fiji. Dr Smith has been working with the Gamilaraay Aboriginal community in New South Wales, Australia to support Gamilaraay language revival, resulting in the production of resources including multimedia materials and the first bilingual early reading books.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
SNELL, Dr Helen Julia
For services to nursing and diabetes care
Dr Helen Snell has been a trailblazer in improving the standards of diabetes clinical care and improving outcomes, as well as a driving force for Registered Nurses (RN) working in advanced practice roles.
Dr Snell became involved with early diabetes nursing at the Diabetes Lifestyle Centre at Palmerston North Hospital in 1989. She is currently Nurse Practitioner and Nurse Lead of the Diabetes and Endocrinology Service at Te Whatu Ora MidCentral Health. She developed the National Diabetes Nursing Knowledge and Skills Framework for the MidCentral District Health Board and the Ministry of Health to ensure a consistent approach to diabetes care delivery. She was project lead for the development of online diabetes learning modules for health professionals and consumers, initially launched in 2012 and which has been updated for current use. She was lead for a successful pilot Diabetes Nurse Prescribing project in 2011, which led to her overseeing the roll out of Diabetes RN prescribing nationally in 2012/2013. She has helped advance the scope of practice for RN prescribing and has worked on implementing the RN prescribing authorisation and training pathway for RNs across New Zealand. Dr Snell was the first non-physician President of the New Zealand Society for the Study of Diabetes (NZSSD) from 2019 to 2022.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
STEVENS-COTTLE, Mrs Sharon Carol
For services to dance and theatre
Mrs Sharon Stevens-Cottle has served Wairarapa’s dance and musical theatre communities for more than 50 years.
Mrs Stevens-Cottle began teaching the Dupree American Jazz Syllabus in Masterton in 1981 and was a Co-Director of The American Jazz Dance Association between 1995 and 2020. She was Director of the Phoenix International Workshops, involving more than 1,000 dancers from around the country and choreographers from overseas. Through her studio, she has created opportunities for thousands of students to explore physical creativity and the enjoyment of dance and musical theatre. She has helped to fund scholarships for some students to perform and study overseas. In the 1980s, she produced Miss Wairarapa events to raise funds for CCS Disability Action. She volunteered as the Event Manager and Director for Masterton’s 150th anniversary celebrations in 2004. She was President of the Masterton Amateur Theatre Society from 2014 to 2018. She was made a Life Member of the Masterton Theatre Company, received a community service award from the Masterton District Council, and a teacher’s scholarship from the Dupree Jazz Dance Affiliation. In 2017, Mrs Stevens-Cottle received an award for services to musical theatre from Musical Theatre New Zealand.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
STYLES, Mr Michael Leslie Burton (Mike)
For services to people with dyslexia and education
Mr Mike Styles has worked to improve the lives of individuals with dyslexia and promoted neurodiversity acceptance since the mid-2010s.
Mr Styles has been a driving force behind numerous initiatives aimed at improving dyslexia education and support systems in New Zealand. He has delivered workshops, seminars and speaking engagements at local, national and international levels. He led a major national research project to investigate how dyslexia impacts on learners in tertiary education and developed a support programme for tertiary learners. He led a team from government agencies and education organisations to implement the Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark, with many tertiary education organisations adopting the standards since launch. He has conducted research on the rate of dyslexia in NEETs (Young people Not in Education, Employment or Training) and in prison inmates. He developed a process to screen apprentices with dyslexia/neurodiversity who were unable to pass their registration exams and provide them with an alternative way of securing their registration, assisting more than 250 young people since 2019. He co-established the Dyslexia/Neurodiversity Community of Practice in 2021, a forum of more than 300 educators who support learners with dyslexia. He self-published the book “Congratulations – You Have Dyslexia! Great Minds Think Differently”. Mr Styles joined the Board of Trustees of Kāpiti Youth Support in 2019.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
TE AHO, Associate Professor Linda Naumai
For services to Māori and legal education
Associate Professor Linda Te Aho (Ngāti Koroki Kahukura, Ngāti Mahuta, Waikato) has contributed significantly to legal education at Te Piringa Faculty of Law, University of Waikato.
Associate Professor Te Aho established the Māori and Indigenous Governance Research Centre at the Faculty and has long served as Associate Dean Māori. As an appointed guardian for the co-management of the Waikato River ecosystem in 2012, she was instrumental in developing the vision for the river’s holistic restoration. She was appointed to the Ministerial Advisory Group in 2014 to provide technical advice on proposed reforms to Te Ture Whenua Māori 1993, chairing the group in 2015. She is a technical advisor on Māori legal issues in relation to lands and freshwater for iwi, Crown agencies and government departments. Her publications, ‘Towards a Rangatiratanga Framework for Governance of Waterways’, and ‘Te Mana o te Wai’ have contributed to debate on proposed reforms to the Resource Management Act. She is a member of the Te Arataura Tribal Executive for Waikato Tainui, and a trustee for Ngāti Koroki Kahukura. She is a member of Ngārimu VC and 28th Māori Battalion Memorial Scholarship Fund Board. Associate Professor Te Aho has served as a Director of Tainui Group Holdings, and as a negotiator for Ngāti Koroki Kahukura Treaty Claims.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
TRAIL, Mr Gary Raymond
For services to martial arts, particularly Jiu Jitsu
Mr Gary Trail has contributed to Jiu Jitsu in New Zealand for 50 years.
In 1966 Mr Trail commenced training in both judo and jiu-jitsu at the New Zealand Judo College in Auckland. He won three gold medals in the inter-club jiu-jitsu tournament circuit between 1969 and 1971. He graduated with his 1st Dan black belt in 1971 and took over management of the College in 1972, renamed the ‘New Zealand Budo College’ acknowledging the four different martial art styles being taught there. He and two other instructors amalgamated their clubs to re-establish the functions of the ailing New Zealand Jiu Jitsu Association Inc. (NZJJA). He became President of the NZJJA for 11 years, and was made a Life Member in 1985. He wrote and published ‘The History of Jiu Jitsu and its Counterparts’. He established the Bream Bay Jiu Jitsu Kai in 1977 and the Far North Jiu Jitsu Kai in 1986. He has delivered 50 seminars at numerous venues over the years. He was inducted into the New Zealand Martial Arts Hall of Fame in 2002 and, in 2006, the Australasian Martial Arts Hall of Fame and the World Karate Union Hall of Fame. In 2020 he was awarded ninth degree (Ku-Dan) in jiu-jitsu. Mr Trail’s teaching has produced more than 35 jiu-jitsu black belts.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
TREMBATH, Mr Keith Winton
For services to the community, agriculture and education
Mr Keith Trembath was involved with farm training from 1978 to 1998 as a Board member and Chairman of Auckland Federated Farmers Cadet Scheme and later as Chair of the Waikato Agricultural Industry Training Organisation (ITO).
Mr Trembath was an Agriculture ITO director from 1994 to 2000, overseeing growth in the numbers of young people completing the programmes, and was a member of the Fencing, Wools of New Zealand and Field Days sub-committees. He was on the National Council of Federated Farmers from 1987 to 1992 and Deputy Chair of Federated Farmers for Hauraki Coromandel from 2004 to 2014. He was a Hauraki District Councillor from 2002 to 2007 for the Paeroa Ward, serving time as Deputy Chair and involved with committees including civil defence, Hauraki Rail Trail Scoping Group, Waste, Water and Roading. He has been a Trustee since 2004 of Waikato East Life Education Trust and Chair since 2010, during which time he was involved with the amalgamation of the East Waikato and Hauraki/Coromandel branches. As Chair, he has overseen the Trust raise close to $1 million and employ a full-time teacher working with 60 local schools. Mr Trembath was Deputy Chair of St John Paeroa Area Committee from 2004 to 2019, with responsibilities for welfare, establishing the Op-Shop and funding a new ambulance.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
TURSKA, Ms Kateryna (Kate)
For services to the Ukrainian community
Ms Kate Turska founded Mahi for Ukraine with a team of volunteers following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Mahi for Ukraine assists Ukrainian families in New Zealand affected by the war, reunites displaced relatives, raises awareness, and advocates for policies on immigration, as well as other support for Ukraine and its people. As the organisation’s spokesperson, Ms Turska has collaborated with Ukrainian community groups and organisations, non-governmental organisations, and government agencies. Her advocacy was pivotal in establishing the 2022 Special Ukraine Visa and extending the application period to March 2024, with nearly 1,900 visas granted. Her efforts also led to a residency pathway for the Ukraine special visa holders, enabling them and their immediate families to live, work, and study in New Zealand indefinitely through the Ukraine Resident Visa. In 2022, Mahi for Ukraine established the Refugee Relocation Trust to support settlement costs for war-affected Ukrainians. The organisation has been providing support to new arrivals for visa applications, residency processes, English language skills, CV writing, job searches, and cultural guidance. Ms Turska served as a member of the steering group for Te Whatu Ora’s Health initiative project for Ukraine Special Visa holders, and collaborated with the New Zealand Red Cross to launch the Pathways to Employment for Ukraine programme in 2023.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
VARGA, Ms Anita Gay
For services to women and the construction industry
Ms Anita Varga contributes to the construction industry through business and empowering women into the industry.
Ms Varga was the first woman to hold the Regional Manager position at Fulton Hogan through which she made structural improvements and development plans to positively impact her team. She has mentored and guided women into leadership roles and supported leaders to motivate young men and women into the construction industry. Passionate about development, she has encouraged multiple women into tertiary qualifications. She was instrumental in the introduction of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the Tauranga region and introduced specially designed equipment for pregnant individuals. She has been Chair of the National Association of Women in Construction New Zealand since 2022 and has been motivating young women within and into the construction industry in the Bay of Plenty region. As Chair she helps organise the annual National Association of Women in Construction Awards, which recognises and celebrates women in construction. In 2021 Ms Varga was awarded the Helen Tippett Award by the National Association of Women in Construction.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
VINING, Mrs Melissa Amy
For services to charitable fundraising and the community
Mrs Melissa Vining (Ngāi Tahu) established the Southern Charity Hospital Trust in 2019, with the aim of constructing a charity hospital to provide colonoscopies, day surgeries and dentistry services, following her late husband’s cancer diagnosis and experiences with treatment delays.
Mrs Vining has been a driving force behind the project, raising awareness for the hospital and coordinating support from various sources. She utilised her husband’s rugby connections to drive fundraising efforts, including a game with the All Blacks, ‘Buy a Brick’, and dinner events. She obtained support from the Invercargill Licensing Trust, who donated the land and building for the hospital. She has coordinated a range of specialists and nurses to donate their services. Construction began on the project in 2021 and the hospital was completed in April 2024. The Southern Charity Hospital is modelled on the Canterbury Charity Hospital and initially is providing colonoscopies to patients from the Southern zone. Mrs Vining has been a Trustee on the Southern Charity Hospital Board since inception.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
WALKER, Mrs Belinda Henderson
For services to the community
Mrs Belinda Walker has been contributing to the Kinloch community since returning from overseas to New Zealand nine years ago.
Mrs Walker established The Kinloch Families Trust, which drives community events and celebrations and has served as Chair since inception in 2021. The activities have ranged from Easter and Matariki community celebrations to the annual Kinstock Music in the Park Festival, to championing other community causes. She has also served as Chair of the Kinloch Community Association from 2018 to 2020. She has represented the community at council meetings and advocated for Kinloch families. Working with the local council, she has introduced sports equipment improvements for children including basketball hoops on tennis courts, a rugby goal post, cricket net and a bike park, and organised pop-up basketball sessions during school holidays. She has been leading fundraising efforts and negotiations with the local council to build a kindergarten which will double as a community space. Mrs Walker has led the development of a Community Plan for Kinloch, sports grounds resurfacing, road safety initiatives and continues to advocate for improvement of school bus services.