To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
AKERS, Mr Clive Alan
For services to rugby and historical research
Mr Clive Akers is a leading rugby football archivist and historian in New Zealand.
Over several decades Mr Akers has contributed in various voluntary roles to the operation of the New Zealand Rugby Museum in Palmerston North. He has been on the Management Committee since 1975 and Chairman since 1994. As Chairman he oversaw the move to the permanent site within Te Manawa Museum, which opened for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. He has curated for the museum and was made a Life Member in 2012. As an author he has produced seven major rugby history books, notably including ‘Monro: The Life and Times of the Man who gave Rugby to New Zealand’ (2008), ‘The New Zealand Rugby Register 1870-2015’ (2016), and ‘Balls, Bullets and Boots’ (2016) on rugby in New Zealand during World War One. Since 1994 he has been the lead author of the annual ‘New Zealand Rugby Almanack’ publication. Mr Akers is a member of the Association of Rugby Historians and Statisticians.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
BEGBIE, Mr Ian George
For services to aviation and motorsport
Mr Ian Begbie is a member of the Mid Canterbury Aero Club and since the 1980s has been a key driver of the improvement of the Ashburton Airfield facilities into a well-tended provincial airport with well-supported infrastructure.
Mr Begbie has given thousands of hours of his time to the development of the airfield, particularly the construction of further hangars, having personally constructed 115 hangar door sections. He has been involved with the Ashburton Aviation Museum since its inception in the 1970s and his company performed the engineering work on the museum’s first hangar on a pro bono basis. He is a Life Member of the museum and has contribution to additional engineering projects, including the design of a trailer to convey the museum’s 1950s Canberra Jet Cockpit section to remote displays. He was President of the Ashburton Motorcycle Club from 1968 to 1993 and is a Life Member. He was an instructor for motorcycle learners in the 1970s and spent 20 years with the Templeton Speedway riding solos and sidecars, holding a few records in his time. Following the Kaikoura earthquake in 2016 Mr Begbie was instrumental in helping establish an air-link where locally sourced emergency aid was flown in by local pilots to the Kaikoura strip.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
BURNS, Ms Marian Theresa (Marian Sinclair)
For services to music
Ms Marian Burns has worked as a teacher, musician, composer, and conductor for more than 25 years.
Ms Burns has been in primary school teaching for 32 years and has been the Music Specialist at Marina View School, West Harbour since 1994. She has had a long involvement with the Auckland Primary Principals’ Association Music Festivals since 1989 as a conductor. She has produced numerous school events, supported various charitable causes, composed for the New Zealand film industry, has mentored numerous students, and on occasion purchased instruments when a child’s family could not afford them. In the early 1980s she worked with the North Shore Youth Orchestra, Auckland Secondary Schools Orchestra, The Bays Orchestra for Adults, and the Auckland Symphony Orchestra. She has performed on a range of television shows, has toured with Highway of Legends, the Topp Twins, and extensively both nationally and internationally with Operatunity. She has received several awards throughout her career including The Benny Award from the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Golden Fiddle Awards, Australasia. Ms Burns composed the song ‘Beautiful Soldier’ in 2015 commemorating the role New Zealand soldiers played in World War One, which has since been featured in numerous ANZAC ceremonies throughout New Zealand.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
CAVIT, Ms Kristina
For services to youth and the community
Ms Kristina Cavit is the founder and Director of The Kindness Institute (TKI) and has spent the past eight years working with marginalised communities facing stress and trauma in New Zealand and around the world.
Ms Cavit and her team deliver mental health, mindfulness and yoga based programmes for individuals, schools, youth who have been expelled from school, youth justice, and women in prison. Since the establishment of TKI in 2016 she and her team have worked with more than 800 youths, with many having gone through TKI's term-long mental health and mindfulness programme. Her work with young people has contributed to a decrease in anti-social and often criminal behaviours, an increase of compassion and empathy, and a significant reduction in stress. From 2014 to 2016 she delivered mindfulness and yoga programmes for Ngā Rangatahi Toa, a creative initiative for marginalised youth. She also founded Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH) New Zealand in 2012, which supports almost 4,000 orphaned and abandoned children in Latin America. Prior to this she lived at the NPH orphanage in the Dominican Republic for two years, assisting with management, education and development. Ms Cavit has delivered numerous talks to support people to explore mindful leadership, stress reduction, volunteerism and social change.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
CHALLINOR, Dr Deborah Ann
For services to literature and historical research
Ms Deborah Challinor is a historian and a best-selling author of historical fiction, whose books have been published in Australia and the United Kingdom and translated into German, Russian and Czech.
Ms Challinor’s military history PhD thesis on the Vietnam War was eventually published as the book ‘Grey Ghosts’ in 1998, which drew from more than 50 oral histories of New Zealand combatants. She was invited by publisher HarperCollins to co-write the book ‘Who’ll Stop the Rain?’ (2000), which documented the ongoing experiences of New Zealand veterans and their families still suffering the effects of the defoliant Agent Orange used during the Vietnam War. She published her first historical fiction novel ‘Tamar’ in 2002, which has since been reprinted domestically six times and published overseas. She has published a further 15 novels, each of which have appeared in New Zealand bestseller lists until 2012 when she switched to an Australian publisher. Her novels have been set against defining moments in New Zealand’s history, including the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, the Otago goldfields, the 1931 Napier earthquake, the Māori Land Wars, World Wars One and Two, and other conflicts and events. In 2015, 2016, and 2017 Ms Challinor was New Zealand’s highest selling author.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
CHAPPELL, Ms Catherine Anne
For services to contemporary dance
Ms Catherine Chappell has dedicated herself to dance for 32 years, as a choreographer, artistic director, pioneer, dance tutor, professional dancer, mentor, producer and trustee.
As the founder and Artistic Director for twenty years of Touch Compass, New Zealand’s first inclusive dance company, Ms Chappell has provided career pathways for disabled artists and enabled them to have significant careers both nationally and internationally. As one of only a few arts practitioners awarded the 2012 Creative New Zealand Choreographic Fellowship, she researched and developed aerial bungee dance in New Zealand for performers with and without a disability. She was an instigator and choreographer for a series of Dance Box short films that highlighted profound life-changing moments in people’s lives. These films have won accolades and awards and have screened to thousands of people in New Zealand, Australia, England and the United States. With extensive experience in tutoring in the tertiary sector, Ms Chappell taught contemporary dance for more than a decade for the Bachelor of Performing and Screen Arts, Unitec and developed a comprehensive contact improvisation training programme. Contact improvisation has since had a significant impact on dance practise in New Zealand.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
CLARKE, Mr Brian Eric
For services to the State
Mr Brian Clarke has throughout his public service career led the development of innovative projects that have both improved customer satisfaction and strengthened integrity and security of government-held information.
Mr Clarke worked in the justice sector for 31 years, rising to the position of Registrar-General and Chief Electoral Officer in the Lower Hutt Office. He joined the Department of Internal Affairs as Registrar-General, Births Deaths and Marriages in 1995. In the 21 years with DIA he held a number of leadership roles, culminating in his role as General Manager, Strategic Projects, Information and Knowledge Services from 2013 until his retirement in 2017. Key contributions during Mr Clarke’s career have included the organising of the 1984, 1987 and 1990 General Elections, the computerisation of the Births Deaths and Marriages Registry between 1998 and 2001, the establishment and leadership of the Government Chief Privacy Office, the establishment of a Chief Security Office for DIA, and the implementation of the Enterprise Content Management project for DIA.
HONOURS
New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
CLARKE, Ms Jacqueline Emma (Jackie)
For services to the entertainment industry
Ms Jackie Clarke has been in New Zealand’s entertainment industry for more than 35 years.
In the 1980s Ms Clarke co-founded iconic pop comedy group When The Cat’s Been Spayed, releasing two albums and touring the country for ten years. For the past twelve years, she’s been part of acclaimed vocal group The Lady Killers. Individually she has toured with artists such as Dave Dobbyn and Annie Crummer, and recorded with artists such as The Darlings, Don McGlashan, Midge Marsden, Mika and Jan Hellriegel. Her stage career has included starring in large-scale productions of ‘Joseph’, ‘Mamma Mia’, ‘Anything Goes’, ‘Sweet Charity’ and ‘Mum’s the Word’, as well as premieres of New Zealand works such as ‘The Underwatermelon Man’, ‘C The Musical’, ‘Dominion Road’ and ‘Hairy Maclary’. She has performed with all of New Zealand’s major orchestras, was a regular fixture at Auckland’s Christmas in the Park concerts, and has been part of the Jubilation gospel choir for 18 years. Her television work includes acting in the comedy series ‘Skitz’ and its spinoff ‘The Semisis’, presenting documentaries such as ‘Wise Women and Song’, ‘War Songs’ and ‘Twins’, hosting ‘Saturday Night Live’, and judging ‘Showcase’ and ‘New Zealand Idol’. Ms Clarke is a New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation Ambassador and a host of the annual Kids For Kids national concert series.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
COCHRAN, Squadron Leader Peter Anthony
For services to the New Zealand Defence Force
Squadron Leader Peter Cochran has been a key figure in Royal New Zealand Air Force pilot training and the maintenance of flying standards for more than 40 years, and particularly since 1990.
Squadron Leader Cochran enlisted in the RNZAF in 1966 and became a Qualified Flying Instructor in 1973, instructing on the Harvard, Devon and Strikemaster aircraft. He engaged in an instructor exchange with the Royal Australian Air Force. He re-enlisted in the RNZAF in 1990 and was posted to the Central Flying School, where he served for the next 22 years with the exception of four operational tours to the Middle East and Afghanistan. He was a member of the ‘Red Checkers’ display team for sixteen seasons. While not currently flying, he remains the RNZAF’s most experienced pilot in recent years, having amassed in excess of 11,000 flying hours. The majority of these were spent on the professional development of flying instructors where his skill, high standards and safety conscious approach has positively shaped the culture of flying training in the RNZAF. After retiring in 2012 Squadron Leader Cochran returned to service in 2015 as a member of the Active Reserve, and is currently engaged as a part-time simulator operator with the Helicopter Synthetic Training Centre.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
CONNOR, Associate Professor Bronwen Jane
For services to the treatment of neurological disorders
Associate Professor Bronwen Connor is a neuropharmacologist whose research has developed new protective and regenerative treatments to combat neurological diseases and brain injury.
Associate Professor Connor has worked at the University of Auckland since 2000. She is head of the University’s Neural Reprogramming and Repair Lab and director of its NeuroDiscovery Facility. Leading a research team, her work has continued to investigate gene therapies and stem cell replacement therapies for conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease, Huntington’s Disease, stroke and depression. Her pioneering work on the treatment of neurological disorders has included development of a process through which adult skin cells are transformed into neural stem cells. As her procedure harvests skin cells from the patient themselves, this removes the risks of immune rejection typically associated with stem cell treatments. She has also pioneered the use of pharmacological agents such as anti-psychotic drugs for treatment of multiple sclerosis. Her research has also identified potential new drug targets for the faster treatment of patients suffering from depression. Associate Professor Connor is the Director for Educational Outreach for the Centre of Brain Research and has developed and led the Being Brainy programme, a platform of online learning modules on the human brain for students in Years One to Eight being used in more than 150 schools.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
DANIELS, Ms Dianne Eileen (Di)
For services to digital literacy education
Ms Di Daniels has led initiatives to provide digital literacy education and free computer hardware to thousands of families in low decile school areas since 2003.
In 2001 Ms Daniels began volunteering with the 2020 Communications Trust, assisting with its newly created Computers in Homes programme. She was appointed the programme’s National Coordinator from 2003 to 2016. During this time more than 19,000 New Zealand families have received digital literacy training and access to free computers. Under her leadership trainers for the project were recruited from within the communities they served and classes were held in diverse community settings such as marae, churches, libraries and other community hubs, which was successful in reaching more digitally excluded demographics. From 2009 to 2014 she led the Trust’s Stepping UP programmes, a series of more than 30 free learning modules allowing new users to build on their initial Computers in Homes training with targeted tuition. She is currently Social Responsibility Manager at Remarkit Solutions, where she leads the Digital Wings project. The project acts as a point of connection with major corporations, businesses and organisations to supply computer hardware and training to under-served communities, and from August 2017 it has partnered with Spark to provide modems and free broadband.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
DAVEY, Dr Judith Anne
For services to seniors
Dr Judith Davey is the Lower North Island’s Regional Representative for the New Zealand Association of Gerontology (NZAG).
Dr Davey is currently a Senior Research Associate of the Institute of Governance and Policy Studies at Victoria University of Wellington. She was Director of the New Zealand Institute for Research on Ageing from 2002 to 2007. She has published extensively across academic papers, books, book chapters, and commissioned reports on income, transport, work, care and housing issues for older people, and provided advice to numerous policy making bodies in the public, private, and voluntary sectors. She has been a member of the Age Concern New Zealand policy team since 2012, providing advice on relevant research and contributing to submissions relating to older people. She has been a volunteer visitor for Age Concern’s Accredited Visiting Service for a number of years. She is currently working with Age Concern and the University of Auckland on a National Science Challenge: Ageing Well study that is examining how older people from a range of cultures experience loneliness and assessing the effectiveness of the Accredited Visiting Service. Dr Davey is part of the research team for the MBIE-funded project ‘Maximising workforce participation for older New Zealanders: opportunities, challenges and prospects’.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
DELLACA, Mr Andrew Kerry (Kerry), JP
For services to children and sports governance
Mr Kerry Dellaca has been a Board member of Cholmondeley Children’s Centre since 2005 and Chairman since 2012.
Mr Dellaca has overseen the rebuilding of the Chomondeley Children’s Centre following the Christchurch earthquakes and led a fundraising campaign that saw the $6 million facility delivered debt free. He has held a number of roles with the Buller Cricket Association, including representative player, Secretary from 1980 to 1990, Treasurer from 1977 to 2008, and as Buller delegate to Cricket New Zealand meetings. As Treasurer he oversaw a turnaround in the Association’s finances and operations to become one of the highest ranking in New Zealand Cricket’s District Associations. He was Chief Financial Officer for Cricket New Zealand from 1998 to 2010 and General Manager of domestic cricket from 2010 to 2012. He is a past Chairman and Executive member of the Canterbury Cricket Association. He was the inaugural Chairman of Christchurch Metro Cricket from 2012 to 2014. He has also had governance involvement with the Buller Basketball Association, Westport Golf Club, and Banks Peninsula Trotting Club. Mr Dellaca was Chairman of Westport South School Board of Trustees from 1989 to 1995.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
FANSLOW, Associate Professor Janet Lynn
For services to the research and prevention of family violence
Dr Janet Fanslow is an Associate Professor in the section of Social and Community Health at the University of Auckland’s School of Population Health.
Associate Professor Fanslow has been researching family violence for more than 20 years and her work has been instrumental in proving its high rate of prevalence and exploring means through which it can be prevented. Her early work in this field, funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC), was instrumental in establishing recognition of family violence as a treatable health issue. She was Principal Investigator of the HRC-funded New Zealand Violence Against Women Survey (NZVAWS) in 2003, the largest study of violence against women undertaken in the country with 2,855 women consulted in face-to-face interviews. She is now co-director of the New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse, which collates and publishes data and research on the issue, offering a suite of specialist information to practitioners, researchers and policy workers in the field helping to inform programme delivery and assist with funding applications. She is the author of a number of reports and guidelines regarding family violence, child and partner abuse, and elder abuse and neglect. Associate Professor Fanslow was appointed to the Expert Advisory Group on Family Violence in 2013.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
GARDINER, Ms Ainsley Amohaere
For services to film and television
Ms Ainsley Gardiner is an award-winning producer of several high profile feature films, short films and television programmes.
Ms Gardiner’s debut as a producer was with Brian Challis’ 1998 short file ‘The Hole’, which screened at a number of international festivals. In 2000 she was Production Manager of the feature film ‘Hopeless’ and producer of its spinoff television series ‘Love Bites’. In 2003 she produced her first feature film, Grant Lahood’s ‘Kombi Nation’. She has produced Taika Waititi’s short films ‘Two Cars One Night’ and ‘Tama Tū’ and the features ‘Eagle Vs Shark’ (2007) and ‘Boy’ (2009). In 2004 she co-founded production company Whenua Films as a medium for bringing indigenous storytelling to the screen. She has produced eight further shorts, four acclaimed feature films including ‘Fantail’ (2013) and ‘The Pā Boys’ (2014), and programmes for television. From 2007 to 2009 she was co-presenter of the Māori Television programme ‘Iti Pounamu’, which showcased acclaimed New Zealand films. She made her directorial debut with the 2009 short film ‘Mokopuna’, which won Best Short Film at the Dreamspeakers indigenous film festival in Canada. Her current company Miss Conceptions has focused on producing films by women writers and filmmakers. Ms Gardiner was inducted into the Academy of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards in 2010.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
GEMMELL, Dr Sharon Ellen Barcello, JP
For services to Māori and education
Dr Sharon Gemmell was a Trustee of Te Atiawa Manawhenua ki Te Tau Ihu Trust until 2003 and was involved in progressing their successful Waitangi Tribunal Claim.
Dr Gemmell was one of the principal negotiators for the Aquaculture Settlement for Te Tau Ihu o Te Waka a Maui. She was a key driver of the establishment of Te Kakama Ltd in 1998 in Blenheim as an Iwi Education training establishment for second time learners. Te Kakama later became Koru Institute of Training and Education in 2003, and she has continued as Director having held the role with Te Kakama previously. Koru has seen hundreds of students gaining qualifications from the community and has received a number of business awards since 2006. She was Chairperson of the Marlborough Advisory Komiti that worked with the Marlborough District Council on issues affecting Māori and in developing relationships with iwi. She was Chairperson of the working party in the early 1990s that developed and established the Marlborough Community Law Centre, overseeing the raising of funds and liaising with various groups. She became inaugural Chairperson of the Law Centre once established. Dr Gemmell has had a long involvement with the Blenheim New Zealand Māori Council and was appointed Chairperson in recent years.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
GRAHAM, Ms Leanne
For services to the software industry
Ms Leanne Graham is a technology entrepreneur who is recognised internationally as a leader in the field of Software as a Service.
Ms Graham was Division Manager of Exonet 6 from 1999 to 2001, when she purchased the division and became co-founder of Enprise Solutions, which is an ERP software service provider. After eight years as Enprise’s General Manager of Global and Sales and Marketing director, she was appointed General Manager of Sales and New Zealand Country Manager of Xero where she remained for three years. During this time she introduced the ‘Recruit, Educate, Grow’ market strategy, which within a year of the strategy’s implementation had engaged nearly all accounting firms in New Zealand with Xero’s software. She also oversaw the strategy’s rollout for Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. She founded strategic investment company Cloud Rainmakers Ltd and became CEO of the fledgling software provider GeoOp in 2013. She led GeoOp through multiple rounds of capital raising until its listing on the NZAX. Through Cloud Rainmakers and her advisory service iExecute SaaS Ltd she has helped a wide range of software companies develop and grow to export success. Ms Graham is Chair of Australian ASX business Velpic and sits on advisory boards of multiple cloud accounting software companies in non-English speaking countries.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
HALL, Mr Matthew Chadlow
For services to conservation and fishing
Mr Matthew Hall has been a member of the Central South Island (CSI) Fish and Game Council since its inception in 1991 and has twice been Chairman.
Mr Hall was a member of the CSI’s Steering Committee in developing the draft Salmon Management Plan and is CSI’s advocate to the Salmon Enhancement Trust. He is currently a member of the Fish and Game New Zealand Council and was Chairman from 2011 to 2012. He was inaugural Chairman of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy Ashburton Zone Committee from 2010 to 2014. In this role he led a process of community consultation in the Hinds catchment and led the committee through the establishment of the first Zone Implementation Programme and later an addendum to instruct the development of a regulatory plan. In 2017 he organised and co-chaired the Salmon Symposium in Ashburton, which attracted national interest and international speakers. He has been a foundation member since 1981 of Save the Rivers Mid-Canterbury. He has made significant contributions towards establishing Water Conservation Orders on the Rakaia and Rangitata Rivers. He is Secretary and Life Member of South Rangitata Reserve Inc. Mr Hall was a foundation member of Ashburton Rangitata Instream Users Group.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
HANCOCK, Mrs Sheran Pauline
For services to pipe bands
Mrs Sheran Hancock has been Education Group Leader of the Royal New Zealand Pipe Band’s Association since 2009.
Mrs Hancock has taught hundreds of students how to play the bagpipes and has developed teaching programmes for youth. She is currently an itinerant music teacher at Palmerston North Boys High School. She was Pipe Major of the Feilding Pipe Band from 1984 to 2009. During this period the band attended more than 120 contests over 12 years and consistently placed in the top three. She was Pipe Sergeant of the Manawatu Scottish Number Two Pipe Band, which won the New Zealand and Australian National Championships in 2010. She has led bands at numerous community events, parades and civic receptions, including ANZAC commemoration services. She played a key role in the successful bid to hold the 2016 New Zealand Pipe Band Championships in Feilding. She initiated the Manawatu Tattoo event at Manfield Stadium and directed the events in 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2017. These events played to sold out audiences and all proceeds used to assist youth education and pipe band activities. Mrs Hancock established the Foundation New Zealand Youth Pipe Band in 2010 and is manager/director. The band has toured Australia, Canada and the United States.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
HARTSTONE, Mrs Christine Merle
For services to equestrian sport
Mrs Christine Hartstone has been voluntarily involved in the organisation and administration of equestrian sport, notably pony club, eventing and dressage in the Waikato area for more than 30 years.
Mrs Hartstone’s involvement began in 1981 with the Te Uku branch of the Pony Club in Raglan as Secretary/Treasurer. She has been Treasurer and District Commissioner of the Hamilton Pony Club, and Treasurer of the Waikato Area Pony Clubs. She has been involved at the national level with Equestrian Sport New Zealand with the dressage and eventing disciplines. She has been scoring the New Zealand Pony Clubs Association’s National Dressage, Horse Trials Championships and Timberlands team event since the mid-1980s. She has played a key role as Event Secretary of Kihikihi International Horse Trials since 2004, one of the most popular and successful horse trials in New Zealand, with the event winning a number of awards over the years. She played a key role in Dressage New Zealand realising their vision to present an international event similar to the Sydney Concours de Dressage International in 2010, and has acted as Secretary for the event since inception. Mrs Hartstone coordinates resources for the volunteer group and competitors for the dressage section of the annual Horse of the Year show.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
HEWITT, Miss Andrea
For services to triathlon
Miss Andrew Hewitt is a New Zealand triathlete who has had podium finishes at the World Championship Series five times in the past seven years, including Grand Final medals in 2011 (gold) and 2014 (silver).
Miss Hewitt began her sporting career as a competitive swimmer and surf life saver before converting to triathlon and winning a bronze medal at the New Zealand U23 Championships and being selected for the National Team. After competing in triathlon for less than half a year she won the U23 World Championships in Gamagori, Japan. She has since gone on to win a total of 27 medals at World Cup, World Triathlon Series and World Championship events, including a bronze medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. She has posted 25 consecutive top ten placings in elite races dating back over the past two years. She has represented New Zealand at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. In 2017 she was ranked number two in International Triathlon Union tables and launched the Andrea Hewitt Foundation the same year to support young triathletes. Miss Hewitt is Patron of the Canterbury Triathlon Academy and had coached sessions with junior triathletes in Christchurch since joining the sport in 2005.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
HURIA, Ms Gabrielle Ann
For services to Māori and governance
Ms Gabrielle Huria has been Chair of Māori and Pacific mental health provider Emerge Aotearoa since 2014, leading the organisation to become a NGO leader in mental illness, addiction and social/emergency housing.
Ms Huria managed the communications strategy for Ngai Tahu during the negotiation and post-settlement periods, ensuring iwi members were kept well informed about the status of negotiations. She instigated and was initial editor of the tribal magazine Te Karaka and volunteered her time to run film and communications courses for young Māori. She has held director positions with several organisations since the 1990s and was Chair of Tahu Communications and the Whanau Ora Te Waipounamu Regional Leadership Team. Following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake she established the Mana Waitaha Charitable Trust, which developed the infrastructure and land zone reform at Tuahiwi to enable tribal members to live on their traditional land. She raised more than $90,000 to fund the infrastructure development, helped the marae purchase a property, has secured funding for build six homes, and developed and led a three-year programme to ensure all homes in Tuahiwi were insulated and all earthquake issues resolved. Ms Huria is Acting Chair of her local marae at Tuahiwi, where she has led the development of a strategic plan and fundraised to build the whare extension.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
JEFFERIES, Ms Margaret Eleanor
For services to the community
Ms Margaret Jefferies is Chair of Project Lyttelton, a grass-roots organisation engaged in innovative community projects, and has been involved as a volunteer for 13 years.
Project Lyttelton’s wealth of initiatives have included various festivals, waste reduction, a community-grown dinner, school and community gardens, dual purpose welcome and reusable shopping bags for new residents, Harbour Voucher gift voucher programme for local businesses, and worm farm bins for processing kitchen waste. In 2005 Ms Jefferies introduced the Lyttelton Harbour TimeBank, in which people in the community can trade their skills and time on an equal basis – one hour’s gardening equals one hour’s house painting. The TimeBank has around 780 members and as of 2015 around 2,000 hours of people’s time was being exchanged on average per month. The Lyttelton TimeBank has inspired the establishment of 30 other time banks around New Zealand. She is a member of the Leadership in Communities programme and a Board member of Living Economies Educational Trust. She previously chaired the Lyttelton community radio station and helped set up the Lyttelton Harbour Business Association. Ms Jefferies set up three national conferences called Spirit at Work, which looked at spirituality in the workplace.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
KENDERDINE, Mrs Dianne Millicent
For services to the community and the cheese industry
Mrs Dianne Kenderdine began work as a social worker in 1970 and joined the Anglican Trust for Women and Children (ATWC) in 1977, later being appointed Chairperson from 2000 to 2013.
As Chairperson Mrs Kenderdine oversaw the restructuring of the Trust’s assets to provide financial security to continue delivering services to the community. She was instrumental in the professionalisation of the Trust in terms of how it was structured and run. She was instrumental in recruiting a capable Board before stepping down as Chairperson and remains a current Board member. As an active member of the Friends of the ATWC she has helped organise and volunteer at numerous fundraising events and has been a rostered volunteer cook for the Granger Grove programme for more than 20 years. While a member of the Selwyn College Parent Teacher Association in the early 1990s, she implemented the Breakfast in School programme. She taught Community Education cooking classes for 28 years. She was a Brownie Leader from 1982 and was District Commissioner for Selwyn from 1985 until the early 1990s. Mrs Kenderdine has been Secretary of the New Zealand Specialist Cheesemakers Association since its inception in 2003 and a driving force of the awards organising committee since the inaugural Champions of Cheese awards.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
KING, Ms Hilary Isobel
For services to special education
Ms Hilary King has worked in special education in Auckland, around New Zealand and internationally for the past 27 years, with a particular focus on music, drama and the arts.
Ms King has a background as a performer and worked at Arohanui Special School from 1988 to 1991. She was approached to join the Ministry of Education’s Psychopaedic Initiative in the 1990s. This team was tasked with providing education for students who had been institutionalised for years and were only now taking part in school life, requiring the development of innovative and highly specialised teaching practices. Over a number of years she was instrumental in providing education through music for students with severe disabilities. She has since contributed to special education at various schools and as an independent consultant. She has presented workshops throughout New Zealand and internationally, written numerous original songs for programmes she has created, and has researched and provided resources for teachers to enhance student participation and engagement. She produced the annual Auckland Special Education Concert for a number of years. She has networked with international consultants on special education, who have travelled to New Zealand to share their expertise. Ms King has championed the use of smartboards and sensory rooms in special needs schools in New Zealand.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
LLOYD, Mrs Ethelwyn (Eth)
For services to administrative professional development
Mrs Eth Lloyd has been involved with the Association of Administrative Professionals New Zealand (AAPNZ) on a voluntary basis since 1997 and has played a key role creating career pathways for administrative professionals.
Mrs Lloyd was Co-Convenor of the AAPNZ International Conference in 2000. She previously held roles at AAPNZ Wellington Group level including Education Officer, Vice-President, and Co-Group President. In 2001 she became Central Regional Leader at National Executive level being elected AAPNZ National President in 2002. She was the key driver developing AAPNZ’s Certification, launched at the end of her presidency in 2004. From 2004 to 2012 she was a Director of AAPNZ Professional Development Ltd, including time as Chairperson. As current Chairperson of the World Administrators Summit Advisory Council, she was the New Zealand Delegate at the 2003 summit in London and helped organise summits in Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and currently Frankfurt Germany. She is an international keynote speaker for Executive Secretary LIVE. Since 2004 Mrs Lloyd has managed her own professional development consultancy, Enderby Associates Ltd, working with administrative professionals in government and private sectors.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
LONGBOTTOM, Ms Sarah Jane
For services to youth and the arts
Ms Sarah Longbottom is the founder of Ngā Rangatahi Toa, a youth development organisation that teams trained teaching-artists with high-risk rangatahi, using creativity and a whānau-centred approach to educate and inspire young people removed from the education system.
Ms Longbottom has been in education since 2003 and has been a leader in alternative education for almost a decade. She established Ngā Rangatahi Toa in 2009 in response to her time working in alternative education in South Auckland, having observed a lack of creative arts access for youth who have been excluded from school. Ngā Rangatahi Toa performing arts programmes are co-designed with rangatahi and whānau and merge the arts with positive youth development to foster a strong sense of self and confidence. Public events are held to showcase the talent and stories of the young people and change the narrative of ‘at-risk youth’. She has been recognised nationally and internationally for her leadership in education and empowerment through creativity. She was awarded the New Zealand International Woman of Courage Award by the United States Department of State and the Embassy of the United States of America. Ms Longbottom was named Arts Regional Trust Creative Entrepreneur of the Year and was a 2013 Vodafone World of Difference recipient.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MARIU, Mrs Laura Tui
For services to rugby league
Mrs Laura Mariu has represented New Zealand in the sports of karate, softball, touch rugby, tag football, and rugby league.
Mrs Mariu debuted as a Kiwi Fern at 19 and has since represented New Zealand in all five Women’s Rugby League World Cups since its inception in 2000. She was appointed Captain for the 2017 World Cup squad, which were runners-up. She has been a member of three winning World Cup teams in 2000, 2003, and 2008, and two ANZAC Test matches in 2015 and 2017. She has represented Auckland and Counties Manukau Zone at the National Women’s Tournament and with the New Zealand Māori Wahine Toa team. She has competed as a member of and coached the Papakura Women’s team and has been involved locally with the Otahuhu and Papakura rugby league clubs. Mrs Mariu has promoted sport in her community and volunteered her time to coach the Te Kura Māori o Ngā Tapuwae school girls’ rugby league team.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MARTIN, Ms Rochelle Lisa
For services to rugby and Fire and Emergency New Zealand
Ms Rochelle Martin had a career in rugby spanning 17 years and including three Women’s Rugby World Cup victories before retiring from international women’s rugby in 2006.
Ms Martin joined the Wellington regional women’s rugby union team and the Black Ferns in 1994. She relocated to Auckland and played for the regional team for eight years, including as Captain for their 2005 Lion Foundation Women’s Rugby Provincial victory. As a Black Fern she held the positions of Vice Captain and Captain of several international touring squads, including those which won the 1998, 2002, and 2006 Women’s Rugby World Cups, the Canada Cup in 1996 and 2005, and the Churchill Cup in 2004. She played as a national representative for a total of 14 years. She has been involved with the New Zealand Fire Service since 2001 and is currently Acting National Manager Recruitment and Assistant Area Manager. She is a member of Women in Fire and Emergency New Zealand, the National Women’s Advisory Committee, and a previous Board member of Women in Firefighting Australasia. Ms Martin is a member of the Fire Service’s National Recruiting Team and was the New Zealand Fire Service’s Sports Person of the Year in 2002 and 2005.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MCCARRISON, Mrs Dorothy Bell
For services to counselling and restorative justice
Mrs Dorothy McCarrison was a member of the Ministry of Justice Restorative Justice pilot programme in 2001 and for the past four years since her retirement from the Education Review Office has worked as a Family Violence specialist, facilitating more than 50 family violence cases in the past year alone.
Mrs McCarrison led the establishment of the Auckland Restorative Justice Trust Restorative Justice Provider group in Auckland, chaired its management committee, and has led professional development training for its facilitators. She has held a range of Board positions including on the Auckland University of Technology Restorative Advisory Board, the Youth Horizons Trust, Lifeline Auckland, and the National Lifeline Board. She was a Board member of the New Zealand Institute of Counsellors and set up the Auckland chapter of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors in 1986. She was a pioneer as a professional school counsellor and has been an external examiner for the Masters in Counselling at Auckland University. She was a leader in early childhood education and established the Play Centre movement in South Taranaki in the 1960s. She wrote many of the early standards for the Play Centre movement and supervised training in the central districts region. Mrs McCarrison is an elder of St Luke’s Church in central Auckland.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MCDONALD, Professor Elisabeth
For services to the law and education
Professor Elisabeth McDonald is a legal researcher and writer with 28 years’ experience as a university lecturer and has made a significant contribution to the review and reform of evidence-based law in New Zealand.
Professor McDonald has held several teaching and administrative positions at Victoria University’s Law School for a number of years and was appointed a Professor at the University of Canterbury’s Law School in 2016. In the late 1990s she contributed to the Law Commission’s Women’s Access to Justice Project and on reform of evidence law in New Zealand. She has been highly influential in the development of feminist legal perspectives in New Zealand and was co-convenor of the Feminist Judgments Project Aotearoa, later co-editing the project’s book published in 2017. From 2009 to 2011 she researched new approaches to the prosecution and punishment of rape in New Zealand in collaboration with the Law Commission, which culminated in the publication of the 2011 book ‘From “Real Rape” to Real Justice: Prosecuting Rape in New Zealand’. This book influenced the Law Commission’s recommendation of new processes and is now considered the country’s most authoritative text on the subject. In 2014 Professor McDonald received a Marsden Fund grant to research the myths and misconceptions surrounding the concept of rape, and their impact as barriers to fair trial processes.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MELLISH, Ms Rebecca Elizabeth (Liz)
For services to Māori and governance
Ms Liz Mellish has made significant contributions to mentoring Māori business in the Wairarapa, Greater Wellington and Nelson regions.
Ms Mellish was made a Trustee of the Palmerston North Reserve Trust in 1994 and has chaired the Trust since 2012. She has been an Executive Committee member of the Federation of Māori Authorities and chaired the Te Ture Whenua Māori Technical Advisory Group. She is a director of Hikoikoi Management Ltd, MetLifeCare Palmerston North, and of the property development company Haukawakawa Ltd. She is a Trustee of Wharewaka o Poneke Charitable Trust and a director of its commercial arm Wharewaka o Poneke Enterprises Ltd. She has been Chair of Roopu Tiaki and Natural Resources Advisor for Te Atiawa Iwi. She has held various Trustee roles including with Ngahuru Charitable Trust, Wellington Tenths Development Trust, Port Nicholson Settlement Trust, Matiu Island Charitable Trust, Wellington LUX Light Festival, and Featherston Booktown. She has been advisor to Whaiora Masterton for its Whānau Ora service, member of the Lion Foundation Central Region Grants Committee, and a member of the Greater Wellington Regional Council’s Ara Tahi committee. Ms Mellish was appointed to the Māori Heritage Council of Heritage New Zealand in 2017.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MURPHY, Ms Helen Ann
For services to prisoner welfare and rehabilitation
Ms Helen Murphy has dedicated many years to supporting prisoners on release into the community in both paid and voluntary capacities.
Ms Murphy currently serves as a Board member for the Howard League of Penal Reform New Zealand and sits on the Community Justice Panel. She was Programme Administrator of The Sycamore Tree Programme from 2005 to 2012, a Restorative Justice programme involving the community and Rolleston Prison inmates. She has volunteered with the Pathway Charitable Group since 2005. Since 2008 she has been employed by the Prisoners Aid and Rehabilitation Society (PARS) in Canterbury, where she is currently office manager and a community support worker. The workload for PARS has significantly increased since Australia changed its deportation criteria. Many of the returning ex-prisoners have not lived in New Zealand for many years and have no local support network. Ms Murphy welcomes the Australian ex-prisoners at airport and makes arrangements for food, medical help, ID documents, accommodation and possible employment. Ms Murphy has been active in publicising the plight of released prisoners via the media, giving radio interviews and being involved with international conferences and research projects.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
NICHOLAS, Mrs Samara Daisey
For services to marine conservation and education
Mrs Samara Nicholas has been a conservation advocate for marine ecology for more than 15 years.
Mrs Nicholas was a founding trustee for the Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust in 2002, which has created programmes to educate New Zealand children and communities about marine and freshwater conservation. She is the founder of the Experiencing Marine Reserves (EMR) programme and is the Trust’s national EMR coordinator and programme director. The Trust’s EMR programme was initially run in Northland to give children an opportunity to experience marine reserves through guided snorkel tours. With support, donations and grants she has since led the expansion of the EMR programme to eight regions throughout New Zealand with a team of up to 30 coordinators. More than 42,600 children, teachers and whānau have participated in the EMR programme to date. The Trust also administers the Whitebait Connection programme designed to restore whitebait populations and protect habitat and spawning sites. The Trust annually hosts a national marine and freshwater conference. She has led the development of a range of community engagement events in marine reserves. She has led the snorkelling component of the Sir Peter Blake Trust’s Young Blake Expeditions within the South Pacific. Mrs Nicholas is Chairperson of the Whangarei Harbour Marine Reserve Advisory Committee.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
NISBETT, Mr Grant Wallace
For services to sports broadcasting
Mr Grant Nisbett has had a career in broadcasting since the late 1960s and has been a sports commentator for rugby, cycling, boxing, bowls, and cricket.
With the advent of Sky Television Mr Nisbett took up the head position commentating for All Blacks tours throughout New Zealand and internationally, as well as commentating for cricket tests. He is considered one of the doyens of rugby commentary with close to 300 commentaries on All Blacks matches alone and is recognised for his enduring professionalism. He is currently Media Liaison Manager with New Zealand Racing. He was a member of the judging panel of the Sport Wellington Annual Awards for a number of years. He is a long-time member of Poneke Rugby Club and has made significant contributions to fundraising events. He is a current player and committee member of the Seatoun Bowling Club. He has undertaken numerous speaking engagements throughout New Zealand, particularly at rugby club events, on a pro bono basis. Mr Nisbett has been a guest speaker or MC for fundraising events for the likes of Lions, Jaycees, and community sports clubs, as well as for universities, community centres and hospitals.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
NIXON, Mr Keith
For services to Fire and Emergency New Zealand
Mr Keith Nixon joined the New Zealand Fire Service in 1974 and has been a career fire-fighter primarily in the Hutt Valley community for 43 years.
Mr Nixon helped establish the New Zealand Firefighters Welfare Society in 1987 and was elected to the Board. He was elected Chairman of the Society in 1992 and has continued in this role to the present day. He has worked tirelessly to ensure firefighters are supported in times of need, notably following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake when he led a team from the Society to work with the fire service welfare team and support all firefighters involved in the incident for several months. He has been an executive officer of the New Zealand Professional Fire-fighters Union and the Fire-fighters Credit Union. Within his local Stokes Valley community Mr Nixon has been involved with the RSA, rugby club, Our Lady of the Valley Parish, and the Serious Crash Unit.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
O'BRIEN, Mr William John (Bill)
For services to victim support and the prevention of domestic violence
Mr Bill O’Brien has made significant contributions to violence prevention programmes and supporting victims’ rights over a number of decades.
Mr O’Brien has been a Trustee and Manager of the Sophie Elliott Foundation soon after its inception in 2010. The Foundation works to reduce levels of domestic violence through education and to help young people foster healthy relationships through its Loves-Me-Not programmes in schools. He is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Foundation and represented the Foundation on a joint working party with the New Zealand Police and Ministry of Social Development. He co-authored the book ‘Loves Me Not – How to Keep Relationships Safe’ with the Foundation’s founder Lesley Elliott and provided support to Mrs Elliott in the writing of her book ‘Sophie’s Legacy’. He has donated all of his royalties from both books to the Foundation. He has written more than 30 books, four of which have specifically given victims a voice. He previously had a 35 year career with the New Zealand Police. He was a key driver of the successful implementation of the ‘Keeping Ourselves Safe’ programme, which has been run in primary schools for the past 30 years. Mr O’Brien helped establish and chair Victim Support Dunedin and was a foundation member of the New Zealand Council for Victim Support Groups.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
PANAPA, Ms Christine Rewa
For services to sport and Māori
Mrs Christine Panapa was the President for the NZ Womens Rugby League Inc Kiwi Ferns Team from 1996 to 2014.
During this time Mrs Panapa organised the annual National Women’s Tournaments and international fixtures. The Kiwi Ferns Women’s Rugby League team played in four world cups between 2000 and 2013, winning three of the tournaments. Mrs Panapa oversaw fundraising for the team and the organisation during this period. She has had a long-standing involvement with New Zealand Māori Rugby League Inc. She has been a member of Te Mahurehure Cultural Marae Society since 1969 and has served as Chairperson since 1999. As Chairperson she formed a Building Committee and raised $1.8 million for a new marae complex. She was also instrumental in the rebuilding of Ahikiwi Marae in Dargaville and Ngati Mahia in Awarua. She has been a Trustee for the past ten years of Whanau O Tumanako Trust in Manurewa, a Social Services Provider working mainly with gang connected youth. She has been a member of the Māori Women’s Welfare League since 1990 and has held the roles of President and Secretary. Mrs Panapa has been Treasurer of Paekitawhiti Asher Trust since 2000.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
PHILLIPS, Ms Tracy Joy
For services to the New Zealand Police and the community
Inspector Tracy Phillips joined the New Zealand Police in 1990 and has delivered a number of projects beyond the scope of her assigned roles.
Inspector Phillips was the driving force behind the introduction of the Tac Comms programme, developing a ‘train the trainers’ course which she has delivered in nine of the twelve Police Districts to date. She is Coordinator of the Pan Auckland Police Horse Group and has organised mounted horse patrols, despite there being no official Mounted Horse Group within Police, at various public events such as parades to foster positive public interactions. She has been a strong advocate in supporting the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Intersex (LGBTI) community’s relationship with the New Zealand Police. She has ensured LGBTI-friendly policies exist within Police, that a Diversity Liaison Officer network is operational, as well as supporting the Pride Parade for the past four years. She initiated the ‘Paint the Cells’ project at Counties-Manukau District Custody Unit in 2015, enlisting artists from the community to brighten conditions for staff and detainees. Inspector Phillips ran an operation on behalf of New Zealand Police to repatriate New Zealand deportees from Australia, following changes to Australian federal legislation in 2015 that meant 585 New Zealanders faced deportation, with 200 held in immigration detention centres.
HONOURS
New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
POFF-PENCOLE, Mrs Isabelle Paulette Nicole
For services as a translator and interpreter
Mrs Isabelle Poff-Pencole joined the National Council of the New Zealand Society of Translators and Interpreters in 1999 and held various voluntary positions with the National Council over 15 years, including Officer, Treasurer, Vice President, and President.
During this time Mrs Poff-Pencole played an instrumental role in the professionalization of the Translation and Interpretation sector in New Zealand. She wrote the guidelines for official and legal translation services and negotiated a new professional liability insurance scheme for all members. She helped introduce new categories of membership to attract and upskill paraprofessional translators and interpreters and worked on the new codes of ethics and practice, as well as a benchmarking system. She joined Alliance Française Palmerston North (AFPN) in the late 1990s and under her leadership the AFPN has become a sizeable French language and cultural centre with approximately 800 members and 200 students. She joined the Committee of the Federation of Alliances Française of New Zealand in 2000 and has held the positions of Vice President and President. Mrs Poff-Pencole has concurrently worked as a voluntary community interpreter for local refugee and migrant populations and set up free French literacy classes for children to study and retain their native language.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
PRESTON, Ms Wendy
For services to performing arts and youth
Ms Preston is a teacher, choreographer, director and producer with 38 years of leadership in creative community development.
Ms Preston was a dancer and teacher with the Limbs Dance Company. She has worked for decades as an arts educator through dance and theatre with an extensive range of the community, including Māori and Pacifica rangatahi. She was a founding director of the Unitec School of Performing and Screen Arts and TAPAC (The Auckland Performing Arts Centre). In 2006 she was a co-founder of MIXIT, a community development initiative using creativity to support the life skills and social integration of refugee and migrant youth living in Auckland, and has been the project’s Director for 13 years. MIXIT’s weekly creative workshops include dance, drama, music, and aerial acrobatics. MIXIT also runs social activities and an annual summer performance project. A youth leadership programme has been developed and a growing Alumni team continues to contribute. MIXIT is an established non-profit charitable trust and Ms Preston has completed a book on the foundations, values and history of the project, which was published in 2017.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
RAYNER, Mr John Gordon (Gordon)
For services to kayaking
Mr Gordon Rayner has been involved with kayaking for 45 years.
Since the early 1990s Mr Gordon has represented kayakers at local authority hearings and tribunals to protect Central Otago rivers from development, damming, jet boats, and mining. He was a key driver in the development of the Hawea Whitewater Park near Wanaka in collaboration with Contact Energy. He was a founding member of Central Otago Whitewater in 1989 and from 2000 began coaching whitewater kayaking for youth in Alexandra and later other parts of Central Otago. He also manages a beginner kayaking programme in Alexandra. He obtained grants, sponsorship and established fundraising opportunities enabling the club to purchase equipment and provide travel assistance for junior kayakers to attend national and international events. A number of juniors from Alexandra have represented New Zealand at Australasian and world championship levels. He organises an annual whitewater camp on the Hawea river, introduces junior kayakers to grade three whitewater on a weekly basis during the summer, organises local slalom and freestyle events, and has helped organise seven national and secondary school slalom championships in the lower South Island. Mr Rayner has represented New Zealand at world championship level in slalom, freestyle and rafting, and is the current world masters slalom champion in his age group.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
RUKA, Mr Millan Tame
For services to conservation
Mr Millan Ruka established Environment River Patrol in 2010, obtaining vehicles, equipment, a river boat and kayaks to access waterways to GPS photograph, document, and report effluent discharges, direct stock trampling, and spoiling waterways.
Mr Ruka has submitted more than 700 reports to local councils, government agencies, media, businesses, schools, and communities regarding the need to help waterways. He has presented at seminars and environmental forums and written multiple submissions towards local and national policy documents. He has instigated hundreds of kilometres of fencing to exclude stock from waterways. Northland Regional Council employed extra land management staff and allocated funds to assist owners to fence waterways, directly in response to his reporting work. He has advocated for his hapu of Poroti and Mangakahia to have their values recognised in improving water quality. He has been Poroti Springs Coordinator for Whatitiri Māori Reserves Trust since 2010. He has been a committee member of Waimarie oWhatitiri Marae Trust since 2013. He is a support member of the Integrated Kaipara Harbour Management Group. At the New Zealand River Awards 2016 Mr Ruka received the Voice of the River award.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
SAVILLE-SMITH, Dr Katherine Julie (Kay)
For services to seniors and housing
Dr Kay Saville-Smith is a sociologist whose research focuses on optimising the interface between households, communities, industry, and local and central government.
Dr Saville-Smith has directed Centre of Research, Evaluation and Social Assessment since 1994. Her research into housing need, retirement villages, house condition, sustainability and accessibility, and downsizing, fuel poverty and leaky homes is solutions-building. The cross- disciplinary and organisational research teams she leads work with vulnerable people, private, public and community sectors to find ways to better build, allocate and adapt housing. She led ground-breaking public good research into older people’s house repair and maintenance needs; housing, community resilience and good aging; and downsizing and older people finding the best fit in their housing decisions. Currently leading programmes in both the Ageing Well and the Building Better Homes Towns and Cities National Science Challenges, she has advised the Mental Health Commission, councils, and Commission for Financial Capability. She has served on ministerial advisory committees on warm homes and house prices respectively as well as the Lifetime Design Foundation Council. She is a Trustee of Marlborough Sustainable Housing Trust and a judge for the Cawthron Marlborough Environment Awards. Dr Saville-Smith has been instrumental in maturing the community housing sector into a robust, capable sector delivering decent homes to over 13,000 households.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
SCOTT, Ms Anne Elizabeth
For services to quilting
Ms Anne Scott has promoted the craft of patchwork and quilting in New Zealand and for 25 years has been editor and publisher of the quarterly magazine New Zealand Quilter, which she founded.
The New Zealand Quilter was published from 1992 until its final edition in July 2017. Ms Scott was inaugural Secretary when Wellington established its first quilting guild in 1990 and held this position for a number of years. She has supported exhibitions across New Zealand and promoted these exhibitions internationally. She also established Minerva Books, a craft, fashion, textile and quilting online and storefront bookshop based in Wellington. Through Minerva Books and New Zealand Quilter she has donated awards to recognise quilters’ creative excellence. Since 1998 she has curated touring exhibitions of New Zealand quilts for Canada, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. She served on the Advisory Board of the International Quilt Study Centre at the University of Lincoln, Nebraska from 2000 to 2003. For a number of years Ms Scott travelled to Laos to teach quilting and sewing skills to disadvantaged women as part of an income generation project.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
SEDLEY, Mr Steven
For services to the Jewish community and music
Mr Steven Sedley, a child survivor of the persecution of Jews in Hungary, migrated to New Zealand soon after World War Two.
From 1998 to 2003 Mr Sedley served as President of the Wellington Jewish Community Centre (formerly known as the Wellington Hebrew Congregation). He is the founding Chairman of the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand, which was established in 2006 in Wellington. The Centre tells the history of the Holocaust though the lives of the refugees and survivors who came to New Zealand and seeks to empower individuals to stand against prejudice and apathy. Over the past 10 years the Centre has received more than 15,000 visitors, mostly school groups. He has been involved with the education team and acted as a role model for new volunteers. In 2017 he led the first adult education programme on the Holocaust in association with Victoria University. He was the inaugural President of the Hutt Valley Chamber Music Society. He was involved in organising a series of Kristallnacht concerts, which have attracted audiences from the wider community. He has written on the German Jewish immigrant composer Richard Fuchs, the Jewish philanthropists Annie and Max Deckston, and Jewish writers in New Zealand. Mr Sedley is a trained Volunteer Support Worker for New Zealand Red Cross Refugee Services.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
SIMPSON, Ms Judy Ann (Jude)
For services to the prevention of domestic violence
Ms Jude Simpson facilitates family violence workshops across New Zealand for MSD, Police, District Health Boards and other organisations.
Ms Simpson published the book ‘Lost and Found: A Woman’s Living Proof’ in 2005, which outlined her personal experiences with abuse. She works as a family violence prevention advocate for the Ministry of Social Development’s ‘It’s not OK’ campaign. She was the project lead which saw Mangere College become the first school in New Zealand to become an ‘It’s not OK’ school. She is the lead facilitator and educator of the ‘How to Help’ workshops for those working in the family violence field. She is the lead Family Harm Facilitator for Police at the Royal New Zealand Police College and was responsible for the design and delivery of a new Family Harm and Prevention Police Recruit Course Curriculum. She has provided expert advice to Senior Police management on victim psychology and best practice approaches to reduce victimisation. She was Family Violence Prevention Advocate for Presbyterian Support Northern from 2007 to 2014. Ms Simpson designed and facilitated an eight-week programme called ‘Whakamanahia Wahine’ for the Department of Corrections, focusing on low risk women offenders in the Bay of Plenty.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
SMITH, Ms Deborah Jane
For services to children and art
Ms Deborah Smith is a respected photographer who has been active since 1985 and has been involved in advocacy and advisory roles within the wider arts community.
Ms Smith co-founded Cloud Workshop in 2008, which runs art workshops for bereaved children and those with life threatening illnesses in their family. She has self-funded and run workshops eight times a year for groups aged five to eighteen, all free of charge. She has used her contacts within the arts and creative communities to assist with the workshops and to create an environment that is fun, safe, respectful, and empowering for the participants. The workshops have provided a place of respite and a venue for discussion, allowing children to talk with others who might have similar feelings to their own, while also encouraging them to express their ideas through imaginative visual art projects. The Michael Lett Gallery and Gibbs Art Farm have been involved with the workshops. Ms Smith has also given time to assist teenage students with their art portfolios and assisting them through difficult times.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
STANLEY, Mrs Lesley
For services to education and the support of children
Mrs Stanley has worked in special education as a psychologist since the early 1980s.
In 2000 Mrs Stanley joined the Special Education Service Early Intervention Team in Tauranga supporting pre-school children with disability or behavioural issues and their families. She identified the need for an evidence-based parenting programme to support parents in New Zealand and discovered “The Incredible Years” (IY) programme developed by Dr Carolyn Webster-Stratton in the United States. She trained as a facilitator in the Incredible Years Parent Programme in 2003 and began to deliver the programme to groups of parents in Tauranga. Having achieved positive results with children and parents, she proposed to the Tauranga management of Special Education to train more staff to deliver the IY programme. She co-established the Tauranga IY Guardian Group to provide governance for this programme. She undertook further training in The Incredible Years Teacher Programme and accreditation as an Incredible Years Mentor in both the Parent and Teacher programmes. More than 20,000 parents and 13,000 teachers have subsequently had access to the programmes after she convinced the Ministry of Education to deliver the programmes nationally. She became a member of the Positive Behaviour for Learning Action Plan as national Practice Leader for IY and between 2010 and 2013 Mrs Stanley trained the national workforce to deliver the IY Teacher programme.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
STANNETT, Mr Brian Henry
For services to wrestling
Mr Brian Stannett has been involved in the sport of wrestling since 1955, as a competitor and then as an administrator, coach and referee at a national and international level.
Mr Stannett represented New Zealand in wrestling at the 1969 Australia/New Zealand Championships. At a local level, he has been district coach, judicial panel member and Chairman/President of Waikato Wrestling. He was the New Zealand National Coach for three terms, including for the 1974 Commonwealth Games, where the New Zealand team won one gold and two bronze medals. He was National President of the New Zealand Olympic Wrestling Union from 2003 to 2008. He has also served as National Selector, National Treasurer, Judicial Panel member and Director of Promotions. In 1997 he qualified as an international judge referee, is known as one of New Zealand’s top mat officials, regularly adjudicating at international events. Mr Stannett is currently Treasurer of the Oceania Olympic Wrestling Association, Patron of the Te Awamutu YMI, and New Zealand Secretary General of the New Zealand Olympic Wrestling Union.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
SUASUA, Mr Darryl Bill
For services to rugby
Mr Darryl Suasua has contributed to rugby development, mentoring and planning in a voluntary and professional capacity across amateur and professional levels.
Mr Suasua was coach of the Black Ferns from 1996 to 2002, leading them to their 1998 and 2002 Women’s Rugby World Cup victories. He was appointed the inaugural selector and manager of the first ever Women’s World XV team, who played a test series against New Zealand in 2003. He is currently Mitre 10 Cup Counties-Manukau Head Coach, having been appointed in 2016. In 2009 he coached the Black Ferns 7s team to place as runners up in the Women’s 7s World Cup. He has been a member of the Auckland Marist Brothers Old Boys Club for more than 20 years, where he has been a player and coach of both the Men’s and Women’s Premier teams. He has won Men’s Premier Club championships as coach with the Bombay Rugby Football Union in 2014 and 2015. He has also developed a knowledgeable and capable coaches squad who work across all teams at Bombay. Mr Suasua is co-author of the World Rugby Sevens coaching courses and of the World Rugby levels one, two and three coaching courses.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
SURAPONG, The Venerable Suthep
For services to the Cambodian community
The Venerable Suthep Surapong has volunteered for the New Zealand Cambodian communities for the past 32 years.
Abbot Surapong is Chairman of the Wellington Cambodian Buddhist Trust and has been a long-time advisor for the Wellington Khmer Association. When he arrived in Wellington in 1985 he played a significant role in supporting the resettlement of Cambodian refugees. He was involved in the fundraising to purchase a rough patch of land overlooking Island Bay, which was cleared of gorse and levelled by working parties, and where the Wellington Cambodian Temple was eventually constructed. He has advised fellow monks and members of the Wellington Cambodian Buddhist Trust in setting up Buddhist teaching and language classes for the elderly and New Zealand-born Cambodian children. He has sponsored 15 Buddhist monks to work or stay in New Zealand, supporting them in attaining English language proficiency and university degrees. When a congregation outgrew its accommodation in Mangere East temple in Auckland, he helped raise money to purchase land in Takanini in 2003, where a new complex is being completed. He was appointed founder and Honorary Chairman of the Auckland Khmer Buddhist Association and the Takanini temple. Abbot Surapong also helped establish a temple in Palmerston North in 2013.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
TANKERSLEY, The Very Reverend Pamela Jean
For services to the Presbyterian Church and the community
The Very Reverend Pamela Tankersley has been involved in the leadership of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand (PCANZ), including as Moderator of the General Assembly and as Moderator of the Council for World Mission.
Reverend Tankersley was Parish Minister in three parishes in New Zealand between 1987 and 2003. She was appointed Global Mission Coordinator of PCANZ from 2010 to 2012, during which time she strengthened relations with partner churches in India, Asia and the Pacific. She was elected as a member of the General Committee of the Christian Conference of Asia from 2005 to 2010. She has made key contributions to increasing women’s voice in the church. She has represented the New Zealand Association of Presbyterian Women at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women for three consecutive years. Locally in Palmerston North she has been a driving force behind the establishment of budget cooking classes, a children’s playroom, and organising children’s activities. Reverend Tankersley has personally taken in young women escaping violent relationships, providing accommodation and sustenance until they were able to move on safely and into work.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
TASKER, Miss Janette Maisie (Jan), JP
For services to the community and education
Miss Janette Tasker has been involved with the Methodist Church in a number of roles at Parish level, with the Auckland Synod Executive for 20 years, and nationally.
Miss Tasker was Chair of the Board of Ministry from 1997 to 2007, served on the Council of Conference, the Stationing Committee, the Budget Group, and is currently a member of the Law Revision Committee. She was Vice President of the Methodist Church of New Zealand from 2012 to 2014. She has held leadership roles with Girls Brigade, both locally and with the National Executive for 14 years. She was Deputy Principal of Target Road Primary School from 1987 to 2011, where she made a significant contribution to special needs education. She oversaw growth of the department to two dedicated classrooms and was a driving force behind the purchase of a house, which was relocated to the school grounds as the ‘Sunshine House’ for the special needs department. Miss Tasker trained teacher aides to support the particular needs of the children, who were mainstreamed into classrooms with their peer groups for part of the school day.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
TAYLOR, Senior Constable Phillip Richard
For services to the New Zealand Police and the community
Senior Constable Phillip Taylor has been involved with the New Zealand Police since 1972, making significant contributions as a Police Dog Handler from 1996 and to the Rotorua Pistol Club on a voluntary basis.
Senior Constable Taylor is the longest serving narcotic detector dog handler in the New Zealand Police Dog Section. He has played instrumental roles in the success of major narcotics operations in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato. He played a key role in developing a new detector dog harness, which is now the national standard and has been distributed in the Pacific. He has represented the Bay of Plenty Police District at the National Police Dog Championships, achieving podium results, and represented New Zealand at the Australasian Police Dog Championships in 2016, placing third equal. He has been a member of the Rotorua Pistol Club for a number of years. As a long serving committee member he has helped manage facilities and organise club, regional and national events. He frequently travels to other clubs across the country to assist with running events. As the Club is one of the most active in New Zealand it hosts most of the national and international competition shooting events and Senior Constable Taylor ensures all events are run to an international safety and security standard, all on a voluntary basis.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
TIMMS, Ms Alison Mary (Ali)
For services to local government and the environment
Ms Ali Timms was initially a Councillor for three terms from 2001 and then Chairperson from 2010 to 2016 of Environment Southland.
Ms Timms oversaw a period of change to address discontent amongst ratepayers, which involved a change of management in 2012 and the institution of a plan to rebuild relationships within the community. In response to Southland’s intensified land use she advocated the need for the Council to ensure water was managed in an environmentally sustainable way. She initiated an innovative scientific physiographic study of the region, which was a world first and provided critical information on the quality of water in specific areas. She engaged farmers to have input into developing practical rules, which became the basis of the region’s Water and Land Plan. She was Chair of the Southland Regional Transport Committee and was instrumental in the formation of the South Island Regional Transport Committee Chairs Group. She played a key role in initiating the development of a 10 year strategy for the region with the Southland Regional Development Strategy Governance Group. She was actively involved in setting up stakeholder groups to restore Waituna Lagoon. Ms Timms has chaired the Mid Dome Wilding Trees Charitable Trust since inception in 2006, which is working towards the eradication of wilding pines.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
WALLS, Mr Royce Gary (Joe)
For services to the horse racing industry
Mr Joe Walls has been involved with New Zealand’s thoroughbred industry for close to 50 years and has been Chairman of New Zealand Bloodstock for the past 12 years.
Mr Walls has made major contributions to building brand recognition for New Zealand thoroughbred horses and increasing international bloodstock sales, as well as being at the fore of major stallion syndication enabling New Zealand breeders to compete against European and American counterparts. He established an internship programme for young New Zealanders working in the sector to gain experience internationally. He first took on the role of auctioneer in 1972 and stepped down in 2017 as the senior auctioneer at Karaka Sales Complex in Auckland. He has been an auctioneer at international yearling sales in Australia, Singapore, and South Africa. He played a significant role in the development of the National Yearling Sales to become a world-class event in Auckland. He was involved in establishing incentive racing programmes and horse race sponsorships, notably including the New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series, numerous Oaks and Guineas events, and the Karaka Million incentive races. From 2011 to 2014 Mr Walls was a Director on the independent Board of New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
WILKINSON, Mr Jonathan Donald (Jonny)
For services to people with disabilities
Mr Jonny Wilkinson founded and is CEO of the Tiaho Trust, a disabled-led organisation that provides information and empowerment services to Northland’s disabled community, and has overseen its development.
Mr Wilkinson established the Northland Disability Information and Advisory Services Collective consisting of 15 organisations. He brokered an agreement between Mid North Shuttle Services, Tiaho Trust and the Ministry of Education to transport disabled children to and from school. He established Dovetail Tourism to encourage people with disabilities to experience tourist attractions in the Northland region. He initiated the Northland annual celebrations for the International Day of the Disabled Person and the inclusion of New Zealand Sign Language at the Waitangi Day formal celebrations. He has held a range of governance roles which have included membership of the Community Advisory Group for Manaia Primary Health Organisation, President of Disabled Persons Assembly (DPA) Northland and member of DPA National Executive Committee from 2002 to 2007. He is currently Deputy Chair of the Disability Advisory Group for Whangarei District Council, which he also played a key role in establishing, and is former Chair and current Trustee of Achieve 2B Trust. He is Deputy Chair of Talklink Trust Board. Mr Wilkinson has been a member of the working party for reviewing New Zealand’s Disability Strategy.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
WRIGHT, Mrs Mary Anne
For services to gymnastics
Mrs Mary Wright has contributed to gymnastics in Canterbury and nationally, and is one of the world's top international World Games and Olympic gymnastics coaches.
After successfully competing herself as a gymnast and diver, Mrs Wright took up coaching gymnastics as a teenager. She was the youngest ever elite-ranked New Zealand coach and judge. She became Head Coach at the Christchurch School of Gymnastics, which she developed into a successful and competitive club. At 24, she was the youngest ever coach of the New Zealand gymnastics team, and she subsequently assisted with coaching them to compete in numerous World Championships, the 1978 Commonwealth Games, and Pacific Rim Championships. She has coached individual gymnasts at several Olympic Games, including as the New Zealand Women’s Coach for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. She is the only New Zealander to have coached Commonwealth, Olympic and World Games gymnastics medallists. In the 1970s she moved to California to further her coaching career, and established strong working relationships with United States clubs to enable training opportunities for New Zealand gymnasts. Much of her support of New Zealand gymnasts has been on a voluntary basis. Mrs Wright was appointed by Gym Sports New Zealand as Performance Coordinator in 2016.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
WYLIE, Mrs Julie Christine
For services to musical play therapy
Mrs Julie Wylie is recognised nationally and internationally for her contributions to musical play therapy.
Mrs Wylie founded the New Zealand Musical Parenting Association 22 years ago. She is the founder of the music programme and senior music specialist at the Champion Centre for children with special needs at Burwood Hospital, Christchurch. She has presented music workshops and papers internationally in China, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Australia, the United Kingdom, Lithuania, Estonia, and Finland. She has received awards for her music leadership and international awards for her music resources. She runs her own music school, Julie Wylie Musical Play, for mothers and young children from babies up to eight years. She is a director for an international online training programme in Musical Play and Play Therapy. In 2006 she was instrumental in developing the Diploma in Early Childhood Music with the Institute of Registered Music Teachers New Zealand. Mrs Wylie has been a member of a number of organisations including the Society of Music Education, the New Zealand Society of Music Therapy, and an examiner for Registered Music Teachers New Zealand.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
ZHANG, Mr Yikun
For services to New Zealand-China relations and the Chinese community
Mr Yikun Zhang has served the Chinese community in Auckland as founder and Chairman of Chao Shan General Association from 2015 and Honorary Chairman of Chao Zhou Association since 2002.
Through these organisations he has organised a range of events and initiatives for the Chinese community, which have included working with New Zealand Police to provide safer community guidelines, organising concerts for seniors, free Chinese clinics and community lectures, and fundraising for the Chinese Gold Rush Memorial Park. He established a youth branch of Chao Shan and a scholarship scheme for young achievers. He has worked to improve cultural and economic links between New Zealand and China. In 2016 he organised a number of New Zealand enterprises to attend the Canton 21 Century Maritime Silk Road International Expo in China. In 2017 he organised an economic and trade cooperation conference between New Zealand and Hainan China. He holds the position of Honorary Chairman for the Cambodian Chinese Kung Luck Association, the New Zealand Teochew Nang Association, and the Hainanese Association of New Zealand. Mr Zhang played a key role in securing hosting rights for Auckland to hold the 20th Teochew International Convention in 2019.
To be an Honorary Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
DUXFIELD, Mrs Kumiko Imai
For services to the Japanese community
Mrs Kumiko Duxfield is the Secretary and former Vice President of the New Zealand Japan Society of Auckland.
Under the umbrella of the Society, Mrs Duxfield has been responsible for organising a number of cultural initiatives including a Japanese tea ceremony club, Japanese language classes for New Zealanders and a haiku and shodo competition. She established and continues to administer the biannual event, Taste of Japan, which showcases Japanese culture to as many as 25,000 people. She organises funding, secures the venue, oversees up to 120 volunteers and up to 30 vendor stalls. She organises performers from Japan and New Zealand and leaders to host cultural workshops. In 2017 a successful Fukuoka Day commemorating the 30th anniversary of Auckland’s Sister City relations was held as part of the Taste of Japan event. In 2004 Mrs Duxfield founded the Haere-mai Taiko Group, the first Japanese drumming team in New Zealand. The group welcomes all ethnicities to participate and initially made their own instruments, until they had raised enough money to buy drums from Japan. Taiko drumming has now become part of many opening ceremonies for sporting and cultural events. The Haere-mai Taiko Group were official entertainers for all Japan games at the Rugby World Cup 2011 and performed at the World Masters Games in 2017.
To be an Honorary Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
LEALEA, Mr Saimoni (Sai)
For services to Pacific communities
Mr Sai Lealea has been the Chairperson of the National and Wellington Fijian Language Week Komiti since 2013, leading the planning, promotion and delivery of Fijian Language Week programmes.
Mr Lealea was a member of the Arts Council of New Zealand between 1988 and 1994 and chaired the Pacific Arts Committee. During this time the Pacific community was facing removal from the Creative New Zealand Arts Council and he played a key role in mobilising the Pacific communities through New Zealand to make submissions to the government to ensure a Pacific voice was retained. He has completed terms as Chair of the Pasifika Education Centre in Auckland and Chair of the Pacific Advisory Group of Wellington City Council. He was a Trustee of Arts Access Aotearoa from 2001 to 2004. He has provided support to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and other government officials on Fijian language and protocols for visits to Fiji. He has served on government Pacific advisory groups to education, justice, Te Papa Tongarewa, and PHARMAC. In 2013/2014 he led the development and launch of a Fijian Training Programme on Violence Prevention. Mr Lealea contributes to a Fijian language radio programme that shares information on government services and relevant news on political, economic and social developments.
To be an Honorary Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
VEIKUNE, Reverend Setaita Tokilupe
For services to the Pacific community
Reverend Setaita Veikune became the first Pacific minister to superintend an English-speaking multicultural synod, the Manukau Synod, of the Methodist Church of New Zealand in 2006.
Reverend Veikune then became the first female Parish Superintendent Minister for the Auckland Manukau Tongan Parish in 2010. From 2009 to 2014 Reverend Veikune was the first woman elected to be Synod Superintendent Minister for Vahefonua Tonga O Aotearoa (VTOA) National Synod, managing a congregation of 36 churches throughout New Zealand. During this time she forged closer working relationships with the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga in New Zealand and other Tongan churches. She instructed a review and redevelopment of the VTOA Sunday School curriculum in 2013, covering all levels in the Tongan language. She was appointed in 2015 as Director of Mission Resourcing, Pasifika Ministries of the Methodist Church of New Zealand, which encompasses oversight over the Tongan, Samoan, and Fijian Ministries. She was the first Pacific woman to be appointed President Elect of the Methodist Church of New Zealand in 2017. She has chaired the social services arm of VTOA as well as a number of VTOA steering groups and committees. Reverend Veikune has been President of the Tonga District Methodist Women’s Fellowship and the Auckland Manukau Parish Women’s Fellowship.