COLLIER, Dr Reuben Tuwhakahekeao, MNZM
To be a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
For services to Māori and education.
Dr Reuben Collier (Horouta, Mātaatua, Te Arawa, Tainui) was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2017 for his services to the television industry and Māori.
Dr Collier is a nationally recognised custodian of Māori war commemoration, particularly as a member of the Ngarimu VC and 28th Māori Battalion Memorial Fund Board since 2021 and Deputy Chair of the 28th Māori Battalion B Company History Trust. He has provided strategic guidance to iwi, the New Zealand Defence Force, Crown institutions and international partners on taonga and legacies of national importance, and is regularly sought for his expertise for the staging of nationally significant events. He has represented New Zealand internationally as a cultural and historical authority through engagement with international archives, commemorative partners and scholarly networks, advancing global understanding of Māori contribution to New Zealand’s wartime history. He has made enduring contributions to academia, developing how indigenous research, creative scholarship and mātauranga Māori operate within tertiary education. His original theoretical frameworks have reshaped and advanced research supervision and doctoral practice, influencing national research capability and ensuring indigenous knowledge systems are sustained and strengthened. His contributions have become embedded within national institutions, archives, governance structures and academic practice. Dr Collier was awarded the Pou Aronui Medal by the Royal Society Te Apārangi in 2025 for his contributions to the Humanities.
HONOURS
- Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, New Year 2017
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CROWTHER, Professor Caroline Anne
To be a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
For services to maternal and perinatal health.
Professor Caroline Crowther is a leading researcher of maternal and perinatal care, who has significantly influenced policy changes and global recommendations for clinical practice.
Professor Crowther led a randomised trial in 2005 that showed detection and treatment of gestational diabetes significantly reduced perinatal death and birthing problems. Her research led to routine diabetes testing during pregnancy and lowering the threshold for intervention, changing international guidelines for care of preterm birth and mothers with gestational diabetes. With colleagues, she conducted a trial providing clear evidence that repeat doses of corticosteroids to mothers at risk of preterm birth reduced breathing difficulties and other serious problems in their babies. In 2015 she developed guidelines used in New Zealand and Australia on these findings, which also informed World Health Organisation guidelines published in 2022. She significantly contributed to research proving magnesium sulphate given to women expecting a very preterm birth reduced the risk of cerebral palsy, with an estimated 11 cases now prevented in New Zealand annually. She has applied rigorous evaluation to emerging medicines, ensuring that ineffective or harmful treatments are not adopted into practice. Professor Crowther founded and led the Interdisciplinary Maternal Perinatal Australasian Clinical Trials (IMPACT) Network in 1994, and was a foundational editor for the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Collaborative Review Group.
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FARMER, Dr James Alfred, KC
To be a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
For services to the law.
Dr James Farmer is a highly regarded commercial barrister, having argued many complex, precedent-setting cases for more than 40 years.
Dr Farmer led New Zealand’s largest-ever civil case, successfully representing the Statutory Managers of Equiticorp during a 13-month trial. He served on the Board of Air New Zealand shortly after it was privatised. He was appointed Acting Chair during the Ansett crisis in 2001, leading negotiations with the government that saved Air New Zealand from insolvency. He represented the Commerce Commission in two major cases, setting precedents which positively affected competition in national markets. He has contributed to professional legal organisations including the Auckland District Law Society and the New Zealand Industrial Relations Society, which he founded and served as President. He led the establishment and was a founding member of the New Zealand Bar Association, serving as President twice. He was Professor of Law at the University of Auckland in the 1990s and Lecturer of Law at the University of Cambridge in the 1970s. He has held significant sports governance roles including with Team New Zealand’s America’s Cup Campaigns in the 2000s, the America’s Cup Race Management Board, and as Deputy Chair of the New Zealand Sports Tribunal. Dr Farmer has volunteered for many community law projects, has mentored Pacific Island lawyers, and undertook public interest briefs in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court pro-bono.
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FAUMUINĀ, Miss Beatrice Roini Liua, ONZM
To be a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
For services to sport and governance.
Miss Beatrice Faumuinā is a former athlete who has held governance roles in sport and business, and has worked in international relations.
From 2015 to 2018 Miss Faumuinā was the New Zealand Trade Commissioner and Consul General in New York, and was a member of the New Zealand and Samoa Trade Investment Commission. She has held many national governance roles, including as a Trustee of the Spark Foundation, a member of the Women in Sport Aotearoa Steering Committee and a member of the Westpac Sustainability Exert Advisory Panel. She was Deputy Chair of The Trusts Area from 2021 to 2024, and helped coordinate assistance provided to families evacuated to the Arena during the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods. Over her athletics career, she represented New Zealand at four Olympics Games, five Commonwealth Games, and six World Athletics Championships. She was a member of the Athletes’ Commissions for the International Association of Athletics Federations, and the New Zealand Olympic Committee. She served two terms as Director of Sport New Zealand, where she helped shape High Performance Sport New Zealand’s design of wellbeing initiatives to manage athlete mental health. She was co-host of ‘Straight Up with Niva and Beatrice Faumuinā’, which was a finalist for best original podcast at the 2023 Voyager Awards. Miss Faumuinā was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.
HONOURS
- Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, Queen’s Birthday 2005
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KEIHA, Emeritus Professor Pare Areta, QSO
To be a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
For services to Māori and education.
Emeritus Professor Pare Keiha (Te Whānau o Taupara o Te Aitanga-a Māhaki, Rongowhakaata) has contributed extensively to education and Māori development and was appointed a Companion of the Queen’s Service Order in 2008 for his services to business, education, and Māori.
Dr Keiha was Dean of Te Ara Poutama at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) from 1997 to 2024, the longest serving Dean of a Māori Studies faculty in New Zealand’s history. During his tenure, the faculty experienced sustained growth and the introduction of master’s and doctoral programmes. He established the country’s first Māori Media degree and devised a major scholarship for Māori and Pacific students. He held many other senior roles at AUT including Pro Vice-Chancellor for Māori Advancement from 2004 to 2024 and Pro Vice Chancellor for Learning and Teaching from 2009 to 2019. He has continued to hold numerous board roles, including chairing the Māori Patents Advisory Committee since 2014, and membership of the Auckland Philharmonia Trust Board since 2018. He was a member of the Royal Society of New Zealand’s first three Centre of Research Excellence (CoRE) Fund committees and is a board member of Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, the Māori CoRE hosted by the University of Auckland. Dr Keiha was a lead member of the econometrics team established to provide advice to the Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki claims before the Waitangi Tribunal.
HONOURS
- Companion of the Queen’s Service Order, New Year 2008
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MANUEL, Mr Riki Henare
To be a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
For services to Māori art.
Mr Riki Manuel (Ngāti Porou) has been dedicated to Toi Māori (Māori arts) since the late 1970s when he began his career as a carver at the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute, Rotorua.
Mr Manuel opened his gallery and workshop, Toi Mana Māori Gallery, in 1984. He promoted artists from across New Zealand and ran workshops in the Christchurch Arts Centre until the gallery’s closure in 2011. He was a founding member of Te Uhi ā Mataora, a national collective of Taa Moko artists established in 2000, and is recognised with helping the renaissance of the art form. He was one of the first artists with the Toi Iho trademark in 2002, the only trademark that recognises and authenticates Māori artists and their works. He has produced a range of significant commissions, including a waka for Millenium celebrations in Christchurch, carvings for several marae projects in the North and South Islands, contributions for Kaikōura's cultural art trail, and various pieces presented to international leaders. He is a supporter of Kapahaka and has been a past regional and national performer. Mr Manuel currently supports Kapahaka in local Christchurch schools through fundraising and creating designs for uniforms.
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MOGRIDGE, Mr Bryan William, ONZM
To be a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
For services to children's health, governance and philanthropy.
Mr Bryan Mogridge was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 1999 for his services to the wine industry and has continued making significant governance contributions in several areas.
Mr Mogridge was appointed a Trustee of the Starship Foundation at its inception in 1992 and retired in December 2025. He chaired the Foundation from 1995 to 2017, overseeing the funding of high impact developments and improvements to children’s health services. This included the operation of the Starship Air Ambulance, a child-sized MRI, family rooms and new surgical facilities, and the establishment of the Family of Five Corporate partners. In 2015 he drove the establishment and growth of the Starship Endowment Fund, which has grown from $8 million to $49.5 million. He has been Chairperson or CEO of 25 companies and provided governance experience to a further 23 companies, including being a non-executive director and Chair of BUPA ANZ from 1998 to 2023, and non-executive director of Mainfreight since 2003. He has been Trustee of the Committee for Auckland since 2001 and Chair from 2001 to 2005, and a Trustee and Chair of the Massey University Foundation since 2016. Mr Mogridge was a Trustee of the Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Board from 2017 to 2023 and a current Trustee of the Energy Education Trust since 2003.
HONOURS
- Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, New Year 1999
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SMITH, Ms Chloe
To be a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
For services to the screen industry.
Ms Chloe Smith is a leading film and television producer and line producer, with a 43-year career in the New Zealand screen industry.
Ms Smith has been involved in 47 major projects, including Academy Award winning films ‘The Piano’ (1993) and ‘The Power of the Dog’ (2021), and internationally renowned television series including ‘Spartacus’ (2010). She collaborated with American producers on ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ (1995) and ‘Hercules: The Legendary Journeys’ (1995), helping establish world-class production and post-production facilities in New Zealand. She has worked to promote local talent and storytelling, particularly as producer for ‘Dark City – The Cleaner’ (2024) and ‘Sione’s Wedding’ (2006). She helped establish the New Zealand Cinematographer’s Society Gender Diversity Programme, which has placed 29 women in paid crew roles on professional productions and created pathways for women in the industry. She has been a member of the Screen Production and Development Association New Zealand (SPADA) and Women in Film and Television New Zealand (WIFTNZ). She has contributed to ‘The Blue Book’ guidelines, a collaboration between SPADA and the Screen Industry Guild, outlining standard guidelines for screen production crews and allied crafts in New Zealand. Ms Smith was awarded the WIFTNZ Award for Outstanding Contribution to the New Zealand Screen Industry in 2006.
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SOUTER, Ms Hilary Anne
To be a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
For services to the advertising industry.
Ms Hilary Souter has led the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) as Chief Executive since 2005, developing and maintaining an effective New Zealand advertising regulatory system, considered an example of best practice internationally.
Ms Souter has worked in the wider media industry for more than 30 years. With the ASA, she has overseen work on Advertising Codes of Practice relating to alcohol, gambling and food to support national efforts to reduce harm and promote public wellbeing. She led the overarching Advertising Standards Code, operating through principles of Social Responsibility and Truthful Presentation. Her industry understanding helped the ASA adapt through a period of rapid media evolution. She led implementation of guidelines surrounding social media influencer marketing in 2020, an AdHelp initiative. She built strong relationships with stakeholders across the industry, government, NGOs, public health and consumer groups to foster engagement and compliance with standards. Under her leadership, industry compliance with ASA decisions is high with 98 percent compliance in 2025. She led ASANZ as a founding member of the International Council of Advertising Self-Regulation in 2016, of which she has been a Vice President and is currently President. Ms Souter has contributed to the New Zealand oversight committee for online safety and harms and is a member of the industry advisory group for Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Marketing and International Business.
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THOMPSON, Mr Peter John
To be a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
For services to philanthropy and rugby.
Mr Peter Thompson has been managing director of the Barfoot and Thompson real estate company since 2005 and as an active philanthropist has led long-term sponsorship of the Starship Foundation.
Under Mr Thompson’s leadership, more than $6 million dollars have been raised for Starship since 2003. More broadly, Barfoot and Thompson have sponsored Mercy Hospice, major Auckland and Northland sports teams, community organisations and charities and events such as Ironman, Auckland Writers Festival, Auckland Marathon and Diwali celebrations. He drove Barfoot and Thompson’s sponsorship of the World Masters Games in 2017 and has been involved as a sponsor with the New Zealand Olympic Committee since 2010. He has been Chairman of the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame and a Trustee of the Young Enterprise Foundation for Business since 2021. He has been a Director of the Auckland Business Chamber since 2019. He has been a member of the Barbarians Rugby Club since 2008 and a key sponsor. He was Chairman of College Rifles Rugby Club from 1993 to 2007, helping instigate the first artificial turf at the club. He has coached or managed numerous rugby teams from school age with College Rifles to provincial sides for Auckland Rugby Union (ARU), also sitting on the ARU Board from 2008 to 2016. Mr Thompson is a Life Member of many of the sports organisations he is involved with.