To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
BAIN, Mr Murray Ian
For services to tertiary education and digital learning
Mr Murray Bain chaired the Governing Council of the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand from 2013 to 2020.
During this time, Mr Bain worked with the Chief Executive to transform the organisation from a paper-based institution to a fully digital organisation, resulting in both educational and commercial success. He drove investment into education technology and ensured Māori equity regarding access to and achievement in online learning. Now 30,000 learners annually are studying more than a thousand digital courses and education performance indicators match international best practice in distance learning. This proved invaluable during the response to COVID-19 in 2020, as Open Polytechnic was able to support other educational organisations through free access to its iQualify platform to support digital learning. He is Deputy Chair of Te Pūkenga’s subsidiary NorthTec and is also a Board member of Ara Institute of Canterbury and Southern Institute of Technology. He is Chair of the Central DHB Technology Advisory Services Board and Deputy Chair of TSB Bank. He was formerly Head of Banking for Trust Bank New Zealand and Chief Executive of the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology. Mr Bain is the founder and Principal of M.I.Bain & Associates, a specialist consultancy providing governance and strategic management advice.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
BAKER, Mrs Margaret Mary
For services to Special Olympics
Mrs Margaret Baker has been a key member of Special Olympics in New Zealand since 1985.
Mrs Baker has been the Sports Coordinator for the Hawke’s Bay Special Olympics programme for more than 30 years and Chair of the Special Olympics North Island Committee. She travelled overseas to the 1999 and 2011 Special Olympics World Games, where New Zealand athletes won more than 50 medals, as the head coach of successful New Zealand swimming and golf teams. She has been the Hawke’s Bay team manager for seven successive New Zealand Special Olympics National Summer games, held four-yearly, and regularly coaches golf, swimming and bocce. She introduced golf into the Hawke’s Bay Special Olympics programme. She organises day trips and weekends away for athletes to compete against peers, and organises fundraisers for various Special Olympics events, sports equipment and uniforms. Within her local community, Ms Baker is a Trustee of Hawke’s Bay Breast Cancer Trust and was Trustee of Clive War Memorial Pool from 1998 to 2013.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
BEAUMONT, Ms Carol Ann
For services to the union movement and women's rights
Ms Carol Beaumont has contributed significantly to the union movement and working women’s rights in New Zealand over 35 years.
Ms Beaumont has worked across the union movement in a variety of roles and leadership positions since 1983. She has been a campaigner, organiser and educator with executive positions on regional, national and international trade union committees. She has held several leadership roles including as a member of the Pay and Employment Equity Taskforce, Ministerial Advisory Committee on Employment Relations Education, Skills New Zealand Tripartite Governance Forum, Workplace Health and Safety Council, and an advisor on the Equal Employment Opportunities Board of Trustees. She was General Secretary of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions from 2003 to 2008, where she implemented innovative and new training programmes for union members and delegates and led a number of successful campaigns. She was a Member of Parliament from 2008 to 2011 and 2013 to 2014, notably campaigning against loan sharks. She has made significant contributions to improving economic employment and social outcomes for working women. She is a board member of the National Council of Women and was President of its Auckland branch from 2015 to 2020. Internationally, Ms Beaumont leads the work of the International Trade Union Confederation’s Global Organising Academy in the Asia Pacific region.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
BLACK, Mr David Ross (Ross)
For services to health
Mr Ross Black founded the Otago Rescue Helicopter Trust and was Chair from 1998 to 2019.
Mr Black spearheaded a $3.5 million fundraising drive for a dedicated rescue helicopter in the Otago area. The Trust now has four dedicated rescue helicopters. From inception until his retirement in March 2019, the Otago rescue helicopter service had transported more than 9,500 patients to hospital, benefitting the Otago and Southland community across farm and workplace, sporting, and vehicle accidents, sea and land rescues, major medical events and transfers from smaller hospitals. He was instrumental in obtaining a significant value in donated professional services, supporting the day-to-day operations of the rescue helicopter service, as well as ground-breaking equipment upgrades, such as night-vision goggles and GPS routes that enabled missions in conditions that would not have otherwise been possible. He was Trustee and Chairman of the Healthcare Otago Charitable Trust from 1999 to 2014, during which time he oversaw the implementation of an investment policy that built the Trust’s funds to more than $17 million and distributions to the community of more than $10 million for equipment, training, research and community projects. Mr Black was a Director of Canterbury Health Boards from 1996 to 2001 and Chairman of Otago DHB from 1998 to 2001.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
BROWNLIE, Mr James Anthony
For services to agriculture and education
Mr James Brownlie has owned Ngā Tuhoe Station in Ruakituri Valley since 1974 and was involved with the establishment of the East Coast Farm Cadet Scheme in 1980.
Mr Brownlie opened his farm to be used as a training and operations base for Search and Rescue exercises close to Urewera National Park. He began his ongoing involvement in mentoring trainees with the formation of the Agriculture Industry Training Organisation (Ag ITO). He was Chairman of the Ag ITO Gisborne regional committee from 1995 to 2010 and was elected to the National Board between 2003 and 2009. In 2006 he co-developed the Waipaoa Station Farm Cadet Training Trust, facilitating a commercially operating farm where trainees could live onsite for two years. He was instrumental in setting up the Trust’s ability to grant a formal agricultural qualification. The Trust is now a benchmark for agricultural training in the sheep, beef and supporting agencies sectors. He has provided guidance and contributed to governance for several Māori incorporated farms and farming clusters, including Whangara Farms, Onenui Station, Tauwharetoi Station, and the Te Taumata Cluster. Since 2012, he has been at the forefront of a syndicate of farmers developing and breeding a premier lamb export product, which has developed into a joint venture with the Alliance Group.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
BULL, Ms Jamie
For services to the performing arts and the community
Ms Jamie Bull has been involved with the performing arts for 45 years as a performer, director, choreographer, artist representative and mentor.
Ms Bull has been a pioneer of contemporary dance and was the founding director of New Zealand’s first professional contemporary dance company, Impulse Dance Theatre in 1975. She led the company as director, performer and choreographer for six years before going on to choreograph for most professional New Zealand dance companies between the 1970s and 1990s, working on several productions, toured internationally. She has worked on projects with a range of theatres including Downstage, Bats, Circa, the Court Theatre and Centrepoint Theatre. Her involvement in theatre included a keen interest in developing untrained performers to professional performance standards. She has directed several community theatre projects, including ‘Back Beach Time’ and ‘Blanket Coverage’, reproduced in many communities nationwide. She has held numerous community workshops and continues to teach movement classes for seniors. She has worked as an artist-in-residence with addiction and psychiatric services. Ms Bull has held a range of governance positions in the arts and her local community, serving on the Boards of DANZ Aotearoa, Kahurangi Māori Dance Theatre, Transition Town Ōtaki, Ōtaki Women’s Health Group, and has recently been instrumental in founding Zero Waste Ōtaki.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
CANARD, Mr Hugh Jason Paul
For services to conservation and paddle sports
Mr Hugh Canard was President of Whitewater New Zealand Incorporated from 1980 to 1990 and has been their Patron since 1992.
Mr Canard is a member of the Canterbury Regional Water Committee and has contributed to policy forums such as the Land and Water Forum and the National Objectives Framework Reference Group. For around 30 years he has provided guidance for many of the board members responsible for representing the interests of paddle sports, river recreation and river conservation throughout New Zealand. He has led hundreds of amateur kayaking and rafting trips for the Canterbury Whitewater Club. Over the past 40 years, he has been instrumental in securing Water Conservation Orders on the Kawarau, Buller, Grey, Rangitata and Mohaka rivers. With others, he purchased land alongside the Granity Rapid on the Buller River in order to retain public access. He has been a member of the Tasman Environmental Trust, National Water Strategy Working Group, Adventure Tourism Council, and the Tekapo Whitewater Trust. He has chaired the Nelson-Marlborough Conservation Board. He contributed to the establishment of the Sea Kayak Operators Association and developed certifications and codes of practice. Mr Canard is currently a board member of the Packrafting Association of New Zealand.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
CARNACHAN, Mr Garry Keith
For services to secondary school sport
Mr Garry Carnachan has had a significant influence in the governance of school sport in New Zealand since 2007.
Mr Carnachan was the Chief Executive of School Sport New Zealand from 2008 to 2020, during which time with various National Sports Organisations (NSOs) he provided an annual calendar of more than 200 national or North/South Island level events for secondary schools. He built significant and enduring relationships with Principals, NSOs, and other parties including Sport New Zealand and the Ministry of Education to ensure the safe and fulfilling delivery of sport to secondary students. He established the Sport in Education Programme in conjunction with Sport NZ to engage students through sport. He has tackled the controversial issue of poaching in secondary school sport, obtained agreement on a national Integrity Framework that has levelled the school sport playing field and will continue to protect school sport nationally. He is currently Vice President of Football New Zealand and a director on the board of the Taranaki Community Rugby Trust, a member of the New Zealand Community Trust Regional Advisory Committee, and a former director of AFL New Zealand, University and Tertiary Sport New Zealand. Mr Carnachan was previously Professional Development manager for New Zealand Rugby and Team Manager for both the Hurricanes and Junior All Blacks.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
CHAPMAN, Mrs Margaret Agnes
For services to rural women and rural communities
Mrs Margaret Chapman was National President of Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) from 2007 to 2010, leading the organisation through a period of rapid growth and change.
Mrs Chapman instigated the RWNZ Enterprising Rural Women’s Awards, now NZI Rural Women NZ Business Awards. She was National Councillor for the Canterbury region to RWNZ from 2001 to 2007. She was RWNZ Kakahu Branch President from 1993 to 1999 and South Canterbury Provincial President from 1998 to 2001 and again since 2010. She has chaired RWNZ Region 2 Area Committee since 2015, instigating several initiatives for or recognising rural women. She was a Trustee the Rural Communities Trust from 2007 to 2010 and of the New Zealand Landcare Trust. In these roles she advocated for ensuring rural access to social, health, welfare and education services. She has been Secretary of Geraldine Historical Society since 2013 and co-authored ‘Jessie Mackay – A Woman Before Her Time’ (1997), a historical study of a Kakahu poet. She has been Secretary/Treasurer of Kakahu Hall for 25 years. Mrs Chapman was a key driver of the Fairlie Mid-Winter seminars from 1998 to 2017, organised a national writing competition in 2011 to highlight women on the land, and instituted kid-friendly farm safety days within primary schools in 1996 in conjunction with ACC.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
ESERA, Reverend Iliafi Talotusitusi
For services to the Samoan community and Christian ministry
Reverend Iliafi Esera has been Pastor and Senior Pastor of the Faith Community Church in Whanganui since 1992, now Faith City Church (FCC).
Reverend Esera provides leadership for Faith City School, which was established as Faith Academy in 1979 with 25 students. Under his leadership the school rebranded and is now the largest inter-denominational school in the Whanganui area with 150 students. He is overseer for Faith City United Churches in Australia, New Zealand and Samoa. He became an executive committee member of the Assemblies of God in New Zealand (AGNZ) in 2001 and was elected Assistant Superintendent in 2003. He became General Superintendent of AGNZ in 2011, the first non-European appointment to the role. He currently oversees 600 ministers and 231 churches in New Zealand and is Apostolic Overseer of Great Life International Churches in Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Samoa. He has helped establish Māori Assemblies of God churches around the country. He established the Samoan Pastors and Leaders International Network in 2001, with more than 300 pastors across Australia, New Zealand, Samoa and the US. He has fundraised for numerous overseas Christian missions and natural disaster relief efforts in Asia and the Pacific. Reverend Esera heads the To’omaga Ministry who support people, particularly Samoans, with legal and family violence issues.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
GOWER, Ms Fiona Mary
For services to rural women and governance
Ms Fiona Gower was elected National President of Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) from 2016 until November 2020.
Ms Gower was a founder of RWNZ Waitanguru Branch, later initiated the Onewhero Branch, and then became a member of the Region 7 Top of the North Regional Management Team. In late 2013 she was elected National Councillor for Region 7 and worked in the Environment portfolio. As RWNZ President, she led delegations to the Associated Country Women of the World South Pacific Area Conference in 2017 and the World Conference in Melbourne in 2019. She represented RWNZ at the United Nations in New York, at the Commission for the Status of Women in 2018 focusing on rural women and girls. She helped lead and implement a restructure from RWNZ Council to a Governance Board, working with the RWNZ Leadership Team and members to acknowledge the history and traditions of RWNZ while moving it forwards. She has been a Trustee of New Zealand Landcare Trust Board (NZLT) since 2016 and became Board Chair in 2018. She established a partnership with NZI and several other award partners to expand the NZI RWNZ Business Awards. Ms Gower has developed quality relationships with government departments and Ministries, external and internal stakeholders, and other organisations to ensure that RWNZ retains a strong voice.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
GUY, Dr Anne Denise (Denise)
For services to infant mental health
Dr Denise Guy is a consultant Child Psychiatrist, a pioneer in the field of infant mental health (IMH), the social and emotional wellbeing of babies and young children from zero to four years.
Working in this area for more than 35 years, Dr Guy has supported the development of the IMH workforce across organisations including Naku Enei Tamariki, Whānau Āwhina Plunket, and Perinatal and IMH services in District Health Boards. She supervises practitioners working with families and young children across areas including mental health, early intervention and early childhood education. She is founding Trustee of Incredible Families, which delivers programmes for parents and clinicians. From here she coordinates training in the ‘Watch, Wait and Wonder Intervention’, addressing problematic infant-parent relationships. She has been a founding member of the Infant Mental Health Association Aotearoa New Zealand since 2006. As Vice President and President she developed two key initiatives, Facilitating Attuned Interactions (FAN), an internationally acclaimed model building relationships and reflective practice used by a variety of organisations, and Two Homes/Ngā Kainga e Rua which provides resources for the parents of babies and toddlers when they separate and/or live in two homes. Dr Guy currently holds teaching and advisory roles across the mental health sector.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
HASSALL, Mrs Susan Jean, JP
For services to education
Mrs Susan Hassall has been Headmaster of Hamilton Boys’ High School (HBHS) since 1999 and was the first woman in New Zealand to be appointed to the position of Headmaster of a boys’ school.
Under Mrs Hassall’s leadership HBHS has had many significant academic and sporting successes, with New Zealand Scholarship results placing the school amongst the country’s elite academic secondary institutions and achieving world titles in numerous sporting codes. She was committed to instilling a culture of integrity into the pupils of HBHS and under her leadership the roll has grown from 1,250 in 1999 to 2,300 in 2020. She was a founding member of the Association of Boys’ Schools of New Zealand in 2001 and has been a member of the Executive, Deputy Chair, Secretary and Treasurer since 2008. She was a member of the National Ministry of Education Gifted and Talented Advisory Group from 2003 to 2010. She was a member of the giftEDnz executive from 2008 to 2015, leading gifted education practice in New Zealand schools. From 2004 to 2014 she was Deputy Chair of the Waikato Secondary Schools Sports Principals Association, resuming this role in 2016. Mrs Hassall was appointed as Pro-Chancellor at the University of Waikato Governing Council in 2017 and joined the Board of Waikato Hospice in 2018.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
HAWKER, Mrs Anne Lynette, QSM
For services to people with disabilities
Mrs Anne Hawker was President of Rehabilitation International from 2008 to 2012 and chaired their Social Commission from 2000 to 2008.
Mrs Hawker played a leading role in Rehabilitation International’s work towards the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). She was President of the Disabled Persons Assembly New Zealand from 1993 to 1997, where she led and partnered a range of policy initiatives and championed all issues facing disabled people from employment, travel, education, health and accessibility. She advocated for the New Zealand Disability Strategy, which then became New Zealand’s negotiating mandate for the UNCRPD. She was Treasurer of the New Zealand Rehabilitation Association and the Disability Information Service in the early 1990s. She was New Zealand representative to the International Federation of Multiple Sclerosis Society from 1988 to 1993. She was CEO of the Head Injury Society in 1995/1996. She has been Principal Disability Advisory for MSD since 2007. With MSD she singlehandedly implemented the ‘Lead Toolkit: A guide for employing disabled people’, published in 2018. She has been instrumental in establishing the ‘We Enable Us’ network, providing leadership on effective and inclusive employed of disabled people in the public sector. Mrs Hawker has been a driving force behind ‘The Accessibility Charter’.
HONOURS
Queen’s Service Medal for Community Service, Queen’s Birthday 1989
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
JAMESON, Professor Emerita Paula Elizabeth
For services to plant science
Professor Emerita Paula Jameson is a leading plant scientist working at the University of Canterbury.
Professor Jameson’s work has been notable in combining internationally recognised research on the regulation of plant growth with leadership across the wider biological sciences. She was Chair of the Royal Society of New Zealand’s Marsden Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour Panel, a ministerial appointee to the Independent Biotechnology Council, and Principal Moderator for Tertiary Education Commission’s PBRF 2018. In 2004, she was appointed inaugural Head of the School of Biological Sciences (SBS) at the University of Canterbury. Through her direct leadership and mentorship, SBS became one of New Zealand's highest ranked groupings of biologists. She has been noted for her research expertise in physiological and molecular plant biology, her extensive list of publications, and her support supervising postgraduate students. Her key contributions include elucidating the myriad roles that the plant hormone group, the cytokinins, play in plant development. She has undertaken major collaborations with the applied sector in areas of forage, seed production and fruit development, as well as researching the regulation of flowering of New Zealand’s indigenous flora. Her achievements have been recognised with life fellowships from the agricultural, horticultural, and plant biology communities. Professor Jameson received the 2019 Marsden Medal recognising a lifetime of outstanding service to the science profession.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
JESSOP, Ms Esther Rata, QSM
For services to Māori and to New Zealand-United Kingdom relations
Ms Esther Jessop is the Honorary President of Ngati Ranana – The London Māori Club, having been a founding member in 1958 and former Chair.
Ngati Ranana has been a sought after group to perform at New Zealand commemorative events across the United Kingdom and Europe. Ms Jessop supported the New Zealand Olympic Team at the 2012 London Olympics and New Zealand Government and Defence Force delegations to World War One centenary commemorations in 2015, among other significant international events. She is regarded as a go-to person for advice on cultural protocols by a wide range of government officials and delegates either working in or visiting the UK. She has provided guidance and support to New Zealand High Commissioners. She is a Te Papa Foundation Trustee and continues to coordinate projects of cultural cooperation with UK and European museums housing Māori taonga and supported significant repatriations in 2008, 2016 and 2017. She coordinated the opening ceremonies and ritual protocol for the Oceania exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 2018. She has been Patron of Kohanga Reo in London since 1997. Ms Jessop was recognised with the Te Waka Toi Sir Kingi Ihaka Award for continuing service to Māori Culture in the UK and Europe in 2012.
HONOURS
Queen’s Service Medal for Community Service, New Year 1994
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
KEMP, Ms Takutai Moana Natasha (Takutai Moana)
For services to street dance and youth
Ms Takutai Moana Kemp has supported rangatahi to achieve through New Zealand’s street dance community and worked to address suicide prevention and Māori health outcomes.
Ms Kemp has been director of Hip Hop International (HHI) New Zealand since 2013, which holds the qualifying event for New Zealand crews to represent at the International World Hip Hop Championship, and has managed New Zealand delegations to World Championships since 2008. She is the national Hip Hop New Zealand Events Coordinator, which pioneered a special category of competition for schools to participate in the national championship. She has been a Trustee of Street Dance New Zealand and was instrumental in legitimising the industry, opening doors for arts sector careers and helping create systems to build future success for the street dance community. She became Auckland Regional Manager for Street Dance NZ in 2013. She has been CEO of Te Kaha o Te Rangatahi since 2008. She has worked with the University of Auckland to develop an innovative Rangatahi Mental Health Youth Hub in Manurewa to support wellbeing and address high suicide rates in rangatahi Māori from a Te Ao Maori perspective. She was invited to present the project at the World Indigenous Suicide Prevention Conference. Ms Kemp is CEO of Manurewa Marae and initiated exercise programmes for the wider Māori community.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
LUDBROOK, Mr Robert Henry
For services to family law and children's rights
Mr Robert Ludbrook is a lawyer who has had a long involvement in family law and children's rights issues.
Having been involved with community law initiatives in the United Kingdom, Mr Ludbrook was instrumental in the establishment of New Zealand’s first Citizen Advice Bureau and introducing free legal advice clinics. He was then instrumental in establishing Grey Lynn Neighbourhood Law Office, New Zealand’s first community law centre in 1978. He supported the establishment of the Council for the Single Mother and Child in 1973. He joined ACORD (Auckland Committee on Racism and Discrimination) and spoke on institutionalised racism in the legal system at a Law Society conference in the 1970s. In 1985, he helped establish Youth Law in Auckland, an advocacy service for children and young people, and remains involved today. He has worked on adoption reform throughout his career, assisting several voluntary organisations such as Jigsaw, Aotearoa Birthmothers, and Adoption Action with advocacy, legal advice and representation. He has lobbied government to facilitate changes to the 1955 Adoption Act, including taking a successful case to the Human Rights Tribunal with Adoption Action in 2016. Mr Ludbrook has published several works on a range of adoption, children and family law matters, including Ludbrook’s Family Law Practice in 1981, which he continued to update until 2019.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MCFARLANE, Mrs Mary Joan
For services to swimming
Mrs Mary McFarlane began her involvement with swimming officiating and administration in 1970 and has since officiated in various volunteer roles across local, national, and international level events for 50 years.
Mrs McFarlane coached at club nights before becoming an official timekeeper in the Otago region and then a Technical Official nationally. She qualified as a National Starter in 1983 and an Inspector of Turns in 2013. She has acted as a manager numerous times for Otago swim teams for New Zealand swim meetings and has held various administrative and leadership roles with Swimming Otago. She officiated at the Pacific Games in Samoa in 2019 and attended the 11th Oceania Swimming Championships in Fiji in 2016 and the Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa in 2015 in a technical capacity. She has continued to officiate at the New Zealand Open and New Zealand Age Group championships for many years and has officiated at the European Special Olympics and World Masters Championships. In 2019 alone she spent 232 hours volunteering on the pool deck of national events, more than any other New Zealand Technical Official. Mrs McFarlane was involved with the New Zealand Royal Life Saving Society from her high school years, becoming an instructor and examiner in 1954, and continuing to examine until 2005.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
PITTMAN, Dr Benjamin Frank
For services to Māori and art
Dr Benjamin Pittman has chaired Creative Northland since 2016 and been a Trustee and Secretary of Wairau Māori Art Gallery Charitable Trust Board since 2017.
Dr Pittman has played a key role with the Hundertwasser Art Centre with Wairau Māori Art Gallery Project Control Group and Project Action Team since 2014. He was a member of Haerewa Māori Advisory Board for Auckland Art Gallery. He was a member and Treasurer of Tai Tokerau District Māori Council and member of the New Zealand Māori Council in 2015/2016. He was marae Secretary and member of the Business Development Unit of Akerama Marae between 2013 and 2018. He has been Chairman of Te Pouwhenua o Tiakiriri Kūkupa Trust Board – Te Parawhau ki Tai since 2016, through which he has been involved with a UNESCO research project on soil health, regenerative farming and tikanga-based practices in partnership with Auckland University of Technology and NorthTec. He has been involved with Sydney Marae Inc. and the Māori Women’s Welfare League Poihakena Inc. in Australia. He developed Mana Pacific/Mana Pasifika, a Māori and Pacific Island cultural reclamation programme for use in various institutions in New South Wales. Dr Pittman has been sought after for Treaty of Waitangi presentations, facilitating and a member of claims team for Te Parawhau and Ngāti Hau.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
RIDDELL, Miss Fiona Jocelyn
For services to cardiac physiology
Miss Fiona Riddell has been the Charge Cardiac Physiologist at Auckland City Hospital since 1986 and is currently Chairperson of the New Zealand Society of Cardiopulmonary Technology.
Miss Riddell was inaugural Chairperson of the Cardiopulmonary Registration Board from 1996 to 2004, then chaired the replacement Clinical Physiologists Registration Board from 2005 to 2013. She has been instrumental in developing a national training framework and registration for the profession. Cardiac physiologists undertake a diverse range of services to support cardiology and cardiosurgical services. This includes fitting and analysing devices to measure heart rhythm and/or blood pressure, running a comprehensive pacemaker clinic service, and more recently sophisticated device monitoring for implantable defibrillators and cardiac resynchronisation devices. She has made a major contribution to pacemaker and implantable defibrillator research at Greenlane and Auckland Hospitals and was a member of the international team developing the subcutaneous defibrillator. Her efforts in fostering the nascent service has allowed comparable services to be established at North Shore and Northland Hospitals. Miss Riddell has established pacemaker services in the Pacific Islands, making 20 trips on a voluntary basis since 2001 to Fiji and nine trips in a specialist capacity since 2015 to Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
ROBERTSON, Dr Linda Janet
For services to Occupational Therapy and seniors
Dr Linda Robertson has worked in Occupational Therapy for 40 years and is considered a champion of teaching and applying "critical thinking" in Occupational Therapy.
In 2012, Dr Robertson published the key text “Clinical Reasoning in Occupational Therapy: Controversies in Practice”. In 2019, she developed "The Five Finger Framework" to help transition students from an academic environment to the realities of evidence-based practice. She has been an advocate for older people as a regional representative on the executive committee of the New Zealand Association of Gerontology (NZAG) for 15 years. She was made a Life Member of NZAG in 2020 for helping develop and grow the NZAG Otago branch. She has been a Board member of Age Concern Otago for 10 years. For more than 20 years she researched how occupational therapists can facilitate older people to age in their home environment and helped develop Abbeyfield's unique model of housing for older people in Dunedin. She researched the Steady As You Go community peer-led exercise programme for older people. Dr Robertson worked in collaboration with a group of Chinese seniors to develop resources to improve their understanding of the New Zealand healthcare system and how to access it. These resources have been widely distributed and in 2016 were translated into other languages.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
ROBERTSON, Itamua Muaiao'omalo Mataiva Dorothy (Mataiva Isaia-Robertson)
For services to women, youth and the Pacific community
Itamua Muaiao’omalo Mataiva Robertson was elected General Secretary of the Samoan Synod (Sinoti Samoa) of the Methodist Church of New Zealand from 2012 to 2019, the first woman to hold the role.
During this time, Mataiva set up the Social Issues Committee and, through the Puna’oa o le Soifua Manuia Trust, has led the delivery of family violence and suicide prevention training workshops throughout the Sinoti Samoa regions. From 2016 until 2022, she was elected as World General Secretary of the World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women (WFMUCW). She was National President of the New Zealand Methodist Women’s Fellowship from 2010 to 2012. She has worked towards the establishment of a National Samoan Women’s Centre, with a property being purchased in 2019 for this purpose. She chairs the Vaimoana Pasifika Charitable Trust in Taranaki, initiating the annual Taranaki Pasifika Day festival and helping develop the Taranaki Māori and Pasifika Trade Training Scheme. She helped organise the Samoan Methodist Youth National Education Expo in 2010, has coordinated Pasifika youth programmes, and is a member of various trusts disbursing education scholarships. Through the Response Trust based in Wellington, Mataiva has planned and travelled to Samoa to install water supply systems and provide practical techniques for disaster mitigation, setting up a plant nursery and hurricane protection systems.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
SALIZZO, Mr Riccardo Michele
For services to sports media
Mr Riccardo Salizzo has made a significant impact in the media industry over more than 30 years, beginning as a sports reporter with TVNZ.
Mr Salizzo’s production companies initially produced behind the scenes sports videos, including ‘The Good, The Bad and the Rugby’, which saw him recognised with a TV Sports Journalist of the Year award. He was the first person appointed as the All Blacks Media Liaison officer from 1992 to 1995 and is well regarded as a trusted media figure among athletes. He created and produced the two longest running sports shows in New Zealand. ‘Sportscafe’ ran from 1996 to 2008 on TVNZ and was awarded Best Sports Show in 2004. The subsequent show ‘The Crowd Goes Wild’, now in its 14th season, was awarded Best Sports Show in 2011, 2012, and 2013. He was a Director of Auckland Blues Rugby from 2003 to 2008. He has mentored television personalities and volunteered in schools to coach and mentor young men in rugby for many years. Mr Salizzo has financially supported music foundation Play It Strange and continued to raise funds for the organisation. This has included proceeds from the 2017 book and documentary ‘I Know This To Be True’, featuring a range of New Zealand talent giving their perspectives on life.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
SHEPHERD, Mrs Noma Jeanne, MNZM
For services to the community
Mrs Noma Shepherd was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 1997 and has since continued to make significant contributions to the Kawakawa and Bay of Islands communities.
Mrs Shepherd chaired the Bay of Islands Community Board from 1997 to 2006 and was Secretary and then Chair of the Kawakawa Domain Board from 1997 to 2007. She was a key driver of the project to establish Te Hononga Hundertwasser Memorial Park building, a cultural community centre, which opened in 2020. She joined the Trust established in 2007 and became Chair in 2011, overseeing the process of obtaining a suitable site, development of a building design, and the establishment of Memorandums of Understanding with local councils and iwi, among other stakeholders. She has been President of the Bay of Islands Senior Citizens Club since 2003. She has chaired the Kawakawa Memorial Museum Library Charitable Trust since 2009. She has run a monthly history club for several years, hosted weekly computer classes for five years, and contributed to local history books. She was area coordinator for the annual Cancer Society Daffodil Day from 2005 to 2015. Mrs Shepherd has served six four-year terms as President of the Taumarere Opua Women’s Institute.
HONOURS
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, New Year 1997
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
SIMPSON, Professor Harold John (John)
For services to art education
Professor John Simpson was head of the School of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury (UC) for more than 30 years, driving a modernisation of the art education on offer.
Professor Simpson adopted the ideals of Bauhaus and introduced an ‘intermediate’ year during which students worked in all media, specialising in fields of their choice in subsequent years. He introduced further specialisations into the School, including film, photography, and graphic design. Art History was established as a department of the School, offering courses for BA and BFA degrees and later at doctoral levels. He was Vice President of the Canterbury Society of Arts for nine years and was on the Society’s Council for 28 years. For six years he served on Board of the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council. He was chief examiner of both School Certificate and University Entrance Practical Art for almost eight years, introducing the Bauhaus option into the art history part of the curriculum. He co-founded the Design Association of New Zealand and served on the Executive. He was a member of government appointed design committees for decimal coinage and bank notes, and the Advisory Council for the selection of New Zealand postage stamps. Professor Simpson gave works from his collection to Christchurch Gallery Te Puna o Waihetū in 2017.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
TAKLE, Ms Darien Ruth
For services to the performing arts
Ms Darien Takle has worked in the performing arts in New Zealand and internationally for 50 years.
Ms Takle is particularly known in the industry as mentor and generous supporter of young actors, filmmakers, playwrights. She taught acting classes for many years, writing and directing plays for her students. She has been involved with numerous theatre, musical theatre, film and television productions in New Zealand, Australia, England since the early 1970s. After a period with the first cohort of the Mercury Theatre, she travelled to the United Kingdom where she toured with the musical ‘Godspell’ and formed her own theatre company in London. She has performed as Dorothy in the ‘Wizard of Oz’ (1974), Edith Piaf in ‘Piaf’ (1981), Eva Peron in ‘Evita’ (1984), Fantine in ‘Les Miserables’ (1990), the Headmistress in ‘Heavenly Creatures’ (1994), Ruth Scarry in ‘The Lost Tribe’ (1984) and Xena’s mother in ‘Xena Warrior Princess’ between 1995 and 2000. Recent work with Auckland Theatre Company includes ‘You Can Always Hand Them Back’ (2016) and ‘Lysistrata’ (2015). In 2003 her female lead role in Gregory King’s ‘Christmas’ won Best Performance in a Feature at the 2003 New Zealand Film Awards. Ms Takle has been widely featured in iconic New Zealand screen programmes ‘Kaleidoscope’, ‘Marlin Bay’, ‘Shortland Street’, ‘Mercy Peak’, ‘Burying Brian’ and TVNZ’s ‘12 Bar Rhythm ‘n Shoes’.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
TEPANIA-PALMER, Ms Gwendoline (Gwen)
For services to Māori and health
Ms Gwen Tepania-Palmer (Te Aupouri, Ngati Kahu, Ngati Paoa) has been a transformational leader for Māori Health organisations and Health Sector Governance.
In 1989 Ms Tepania-Palmer was appointed by the National Heart Foundation as the first director to create a specific response to Māori heart disease, created Te Hotu Manawa Māori, now Toi Tangata – Specialists in Positive Health, Fitness and Nutrition. As National Clinical Manager of Māori Health Funding in the Transitional Health Authority, she instituted a Rheumatic fever reduction programme in Northland which led to the development of Kaupapa Māori Health and social services provider Ngāti Hine Health Trust. She has helped develop a marae-based nutrition programme, which led to the establishment of Ngāti Porou Hauora and two marae-based GP clinics, a Māori Nursing Midwifery Service and four Māori health services centres in the Auckland region. She played a significant role in the creation of Te Roopu Taurima, a Māori disability support service. She was instrumental in the development of Māori health business boards in Te Taitokerau, Ngāti Whātua and Tainui, for the delivery and monitoring of all health services in those tribal areas. She was Executive Manager of Auckland University’s Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Te Kupenga Hauora. Ms Tepania-Palmer has given 18 years of governance Māori health leadership to Waitemata and Auckland DHBs and was a director of the Health Quality and Safety Commission.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
TRUSTTUM, Mr Philip Spencer
For services to art
Mr Philip Trusttrum is one of New Zealand's leading painters of large-scale impressionist works, working across a wide array of themes that remain embedded in everyday subjects.
Mr Trusttrum is represented in the collections of all major public galleries in New Zealand. He has exhibited internationally in Sydney, Melbourne, Taiwan and New York. His work was included in The Real Art Roadshow in 2007, a mobile exhibition for secondary school students of original artworks by leading New Zealand artists. He was the first New Zealand artist to be reviewed in the New York Times and the second New Zealand recipient of the prestigious PollockKrasner Foundation Scholarship. In 2000 he was commissioned to paint ‘Passport to the New Millennium’, an 84 metre long piece for the Christchurch Convention Centre. He has completed a number of other public commissions including stained glass windows, tapestries and murals. In 2010 and 2018 he made generous gifts to the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwheto, totalling 14 major paintings and a large drawing. He has donated paintings for fundraising to St Andrews College and Christchurch Hagley Tennis Club. Mr Trusttrum is an honorary patron of Friends of the Christchurch Art Gallery and the Oxford Art Gallery.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
WATSON, Mrs Beverley Celia (Bev)
For services to race relations and youth
Mrs Bev Watson has made a significant contribution to promoting positive race relations in New Zealand since the 1990s.
Mrs Watson has made a significant contribution to the youth of New Zealand through her work in designing, implementing and sustaining a national annual speech competition on the importance of race unity. She has been Director of Race Unity Speech Awards and Hui since 2001 and the competition now extends to hundreds of secondary schools nationally. She was a member of the Executive of the National Council of Women from 1997 to 2015 and was a member of the National Executive during the same period for the United Nations Association New Zealand. She was instrumental in establishing the Human Rights Network and was its co-founder and first secretary in the late 1990s. As a member of this network she became involved in a range of human rights issues and through action with partners in the Network has been able to raise awareness of a broad range of issues, including the religious persecution the Baha’i community. She has advocated for families of Iranian diaspora and members of the Baha’i minority religion in Iran, leading delegations to Ministers and liaising with the NGO sector. Mrs Watson helped draft the first National Statement on Religious Diversity in 2007.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
WILLS, Mr Bruce William Massy
For services to agriculture and the environment
Mr Bruce Wills has made regional, national and international contributions to the agricultural sector and the environment.
Mr Wills has held key leadership roles in shaping and guiding the sheep, beef and wool industries, as well as in apiculture, horticulture and deer farming. He has led by example with his own environmental and farming practices. He was National President of Federated Farmers from 2011 to 2014. During this time, he rebuilt the organisation’s membership and led the farming sector in a new strategic direction to address farming’s environmental footprint. He was a past Trustee of the Todd Foundation, Hawke’s Bay’s ecological restoration and pest control programme Cape to City, and the New Zealand Farm Environment Trust. He currently Chairs Apiculture New Zealand, Queen Elizabeth II National Trust, Motu Economic Public Policy Research, and the Primary Industry Training Organisation’s Transitional Board. He is a past Chair of the New Zealand Poplar and Willow Research Trust and the East Coast Balance Farm Environment Awards. He is a director of Ravensdown and two of New Zealand’s National Science Challenges, Our Land and Water and Resilience to Nature’s Challenges, and a director of Horticulture New Zealand. Mr Wills has represented New Zealand on international farming and trade forums as a Board member of the World Farming Organisation.
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
WOODHAMS, Mr Neil Bernard
For services to people with Multiple Sclerosis
Mr Neil Woodhams is a leading advocate for New Zealanders with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
Mr Woodhams has an extensive career in healthcare management at governance and management levels, including as a senior executive for the Midland Regional Health Authority and Chief Operating Officer of Auckland DHB from 2000 to 2002. In 1994 his wife was diagnosed with MS. Since then he has actively advocated for improved health options for people with MS, volunteering nearly 100 hours each month to MS services. He joined the MS Auckland Committee in 2002 and was President from 2007 to 2020. He was Vice President of MS New Zealand from 2005 to 2006 and 2014 to 2020 and elected President in 2020. He organised joint funding with the Health Research Council for the definitive study of MS prevalence in New Zealand. In 2004 he wrote a paper that became the blueprint for the establishment of New Zealand Multiple Sclerosis Research Trust, which he helped establish in 2015 and remains a Trustee. He was a member of the Pharmac Consumer Advisory Committee. He was General Manager of the first Māori Primary Health Organisation Te Kupenga O Hoturoa. Mr Woodhams has been a Trustee since 2014 of the Fono Trust, the largest provider of Pacific health and social services in Auckland.
To be an Honorary Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
SCHOLZ, Dr Wolfgang
For services to engineering and metals-based industry
Dr Wolfgang Scholz has contributed to the New Zealand and global metals-based industry for 35 years.Dr Scholz set up the New Zealand Welding Centre in 1987 as a division of the New Zealand Heavy Engineering Research Association (HERA).
He developed an extensive program of welding engineering education and research and over 14 years he grew this HERA division into New Zealand's centre of excellence for welding engineering. He has produced comprehensive national training material and courses for welding to meet the requirements of NZQA and international organisations. Through membership of the International Institute of Welding (IIW), he has helped develop Australasian and international technical standards and guidelines. He was HERA Director from 2000 until his retirement in 2018 and is currently Trustee and Secretary/Treasurer of the HERA Foundation charitable trust. As Director he oversaw research programmes in structural engineering research, development of design standards for steel buildings and for fabrication as well as sustainability assessment. This research strengthened the competitiveness of the local industry and preserved local jobs. His 'HERA Position on Public Policy' document formed the basis of many productive engagements with stakeholders from industry, government and NGOs. Dr Scholz has made a major contribution in coordinating, integrating and helping to develop metals industry sub-groups, especially in structural steel engineering and fabrication.