King's Birthday Honours 2026 - Citations for Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit

ADAMS, Emeritus Professor Peter Vaughan

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to music and music education.

Emeritus Professor Peter Adams is an educator and composer who has been a musical director of several music groups for more than 38 years.

Emeritus Professor Adams taught at the School of Performing Arts at Otago University for more than 30 years, where he established the Music Technology (now Music Production) subject. He has been musical director for several musical organisations in Dunedin, including the St Kilda Brass Band and City Choir Dunedin, of which he was made an Honorary Member in 1997. In 1972 he became a founding member of the Dunedin Youth Orchestra and has been conductor for the past 35 years. He has served as conductor for the New Zealand National Secondary Schools Symphony Orchestra. He was Director of the National Youth Brass Band on four occasions. He has served as a brass band Adjudicator and Assistant Chief Adjudicator nationally and in Australia. He has been musical director and principal conductor of the Waitaki Summer Music Camp since 2008, where students of all ages are accepted without audition to an intensive eight-day camp. He has composed several pieces for a wide range of instruments, including ‘Concerto Burlesca’ (2007), ‘Taiaroa Head’ (2010) and ‘Southerly Blasts and Airs’ (2025). Emeritus Professor Adams is active in the New Zealand Musicology Society.

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AH KUOI, Mr Freddie (Lemalu Freddie)

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to rugby league and the community.

Lemalu Freddie Ah Kuoi has been involved with rugby league as a national representative player and as a coach and administrator at the local level.

Mr Ah Kuoi made his international rugby league debut for the New Zealand Māori team at the age of 18 in 1975, before playing 28 tests for the New Zealand Rugby League Team. He captained the New Zealand Kiwis for six tests in the 1980s, and at the age of 23 was the youngest Pasifika player to captain the Kiwis. He led the team to a historic 3-0 win against the touring Lions team in 1984. He continued his involvement with his grassroots club, the Richmond Rovers, both during and after his professional career, coaching the Richmond Premier Team for 10 years. He was a founding director of the Richmond Rovers Rugby League Academy, a free development programme which has run for eight years to help young rugby league players to excel in all areas of life. After living in the United States for 17 years, Mr Ah Kuoi returned to New Zealand in 2015 and established the ‘WAI- Who Am I’ course, delivered through the Department of Corrections to help mentor and develop young offenders in the community through physical training and life coaching.

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ANSELL, Dr Lesley

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to midwifery.

Dr Lesley Ansell has had a career in midwifery, initially in the United Kingdom and since 1992 in South and Central Auckland.

While working in Middlemore Hospital, Dr Ansell observed a high rate of the childbirth emergency known as ‘shoulder dystocia’, involving the entrapment of the baby’s shoulders during birth which can lead to injury or death of the baby. She questioned the complicated, established manoeuvres in practice at the time and advocated an easier solution. The evaluative work and quantitative research that followed led to the technique ‘axillary traction’ becoming the basis of her master’s degree, demonstrating successful resolution of the problem. The Auckland midwifery and obstetric community quickly adopted this technique, which was easier to remember and more successful in resolving the problem. She continued to evaluate the success of the manoeuvre using quantitative research methods, with the results being published in the Australia and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in 2019 and subsequently in her doctoral thesis. Her work has been included in the development of New Zealand hospital guidelines, the Pacific Emergency Maternal and Neonatal Training Manual and the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology guideline. Dr Ansell’s expertise in the field is widely recognised and included in multiprofessional training in hospitals and midwifery education throughout New Zealand.

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BARBEZAT, Emeritus Professor Gilbert Olivier (Gil)

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to gastroenterology.

Emeritus Professor Gil Barbezat is internationally renowned in his specialist field of gastroenterology, retiring from university and public hospital practice in 2003 and remaining involved in public health advocacy.

During the 1980s and 1990s Professor Barbezat led and developed the Department of Gastroenterology at Dunedin Hospital when the field was emerging as a distinct sub-specialty, while developing an academic gastroenterology unit in parallel at the Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago. He was the New Zealand representative on the World Gastroenterology Body from 1986 to 2003 and served on the Executive of the New Zealand Society of Gastroenterology for 10 years, with two years as President. He chaired the Specialist Advisory Committee for Gastroenterology of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians for five years. He led development of guidelines for management of Helicobacter Pylori and Dyspepsia in New Zealand and chaired the National Dyspepsia Guidelines Core Committee from 1998 to 2004, continuing to provide advice after retirement to PHARMAC and other health professionals. His research contributions include 129 peer-reviewed publications. Professor Barbezat has contributed to local Otago organisations, including as Patron of Crohn’s Colitis Support Group from 1993 to 2003, Deputy Chair of Age Concern Otago from 2013 to 2017, medical advisor to Healthcare Otago Charitable Trust, and Patron since 2014 of Otago Medical Research Foundation.

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BEABLE, Mrs Barbara

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to athletics.

Mrs Barbara Beable (née Poulsen) has contributed more than 60 years to sport and athletics as an athlete, coach, and educator.

Mrs Beable won 16 senior individual New Zealand Championship titles between 1966 and 1978, including nine in the pentathlon and seven in shot put. She represented New Zealand at three Commonwealth Games, winning silver in the shot put in the 1970 Edinburgh Games. Her highest international ranking for pentathlon was 4th. She worked with her husband, Dr Michael Beable to create a unique training environment that saw many reach national and international success. As Head of Physical Education for 26 years at Queen Margaret College Wellington, she introduced modern fitness programmes that underpinned the sports and recreational programmes, and was a member of the pilot group that pioneered Physical Education as an academic subject. Alongside Dame Lois Muir and the Capital Shakers Netball team in the early 2000s, she worked as the strength and conditioning coach, introducing the players to techniques and processes that now form the basis of modern training programmes. Many of those players later became Silver Ferns, including some who still coach today. Since retiring to Wānaka in 2016, Mrs Beable has continued to coach at the Aspiring Athletics Club while endeavouring to raise funds to further develop facilities for the youth of Wānaka.

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BEABLE, Dr Michael Edward

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to athletics.

Dr Michael Beable has contributed more than 50 years to athletics as an athlete and a coach.

As a self-taught athlete, Dr Beable held the Wellington long jump record for 16 years and was selected twice for New Zealand international teams. He began formal coaching in 1974, in partnership with his wife, Mrs Barbara Beable. He has coached athletes to 133 national titles at New Zealand Open and Secondary School level. 55 have represented New Zealand, with some competing at Olympic and Commonwealth Games and World Championships. He held national coaching roles, including Head Coach for the 1981 New Zealand team to the Pre-Commonwealth Games International Meeting in Brisbane, and Auxiliary Coach at the 1990 Auckland Games. Between 1977 and 1983 he served on the Athletics New Zealand National Coaching Committee, where he helped shape coaching nationally with the production of the Athletics New Zealand Coaching Manual, from which the junior athletics’ Run-Jump-Throws programme was derived. He led development of the national coaching structure and Coaches Diploma. He continues to coach both school athletes with the Aspiring Athletics Club and high-performing senior athletes, including the current and four-time national New Zealand long jump champion. In 2022, Dr Beable was awarded Athletics New Zealand’s highest coaching honour, the Arthur Eustace Award for Coaching.

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BRADSHAW, Mr Wayne Lindsay

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to senior citizens and the community.

Mr Wayne Bradshaw has been a pivotal leader with Age Concern New Zealand, supporting and advocating for older people at a local and national level for more than 16 years.

Mr Bradshaw began his involvement with Age Concern Havelock North in 2010, using his business acumen to guide its merger with Age Concern Hawke’s Bay 13 years later. He volunteered for Age Concern’s National Board and successfully navigated the organisation through a period of financial turbulence in 2017. He was appointed Chair of Age Concern New Zealand in 2020 and was instrumental in leading their response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring the continued support to isolated and vulnerable older people. He developed the strategy which led the organisation through a re-branding in 2022, collaborating with 30 local Age Concern branches across the country, and helped build Age Concern towards long-term financial stability. He spent seven years volunteering as Board Member for Rugby League Hawke’s Bay, where he restructured the organisation out of financial instability. Mr Bradshaw was a Councillor for the Hastings District Council from 2007 to 2016, chairing the finance and community grants committees, and was a voluntary Board member of the Havelock North Business Association from 1995 to 2018.

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BROWNIE, Professor Sharon Mary

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to health and nursing education.

Professor Sharon Brownie has made enduring contributions to health and nursing education for nearly five decades.

At Lakeland Health, Dr Brownie worked with community stakeholders on major initiatives, including establishing whānau facilities at Rotorua Hospital. In the 1990s, she led the deinstitutionalisation of Templeton Centre, supporting 420 residents into community living and enabling psychopaedic nurses to gain full registration and retain employment. In 2003, she became Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP), working with the Board and College members to establish a policy unit, develop clinical guidelines supporting best practice in mental health and partnering with government to expand psychiatry training and the workforce. As Wintec’s Director of Health and Social Practice she oversaw more than 2,000 students across nursing, midwifery, counselling, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and social work. From 2021 to 2024, she led the establishment of Te Kotahi Oranga, a student-led primary healthcare clinic. She mentors up to 10 early-career academics, supporting PhD completion, publication, and grant success, while also supporting medical students at the Charles Sturt School of Rural Medicine. Dr Brownie is currently Deputy Chair of the New Zealand Nursing Council, an Honorary Research Fellow at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, and an Associate Editor of ‘Kōtuitui: New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences’.

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BUCKINGHAM, Mr Daniel Gerard (Dan)

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to people with disabilities and wheelchair rugby.

Mr Dan Buckingham has worked to raise awareness and improve outcomes for disabled people through sport, media and governance for more than 24 years.

Mr Buckingham represented New Zealand in wheelchair rugby from 2001 to 2016, and was part of the Wheel Blacks gold medal winning team at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games. He represented New Zealand in four wheelchair rugby World Championships, and was made captain of the Wheel Blacks for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. He was a presenter and producer for TVNZ’s coverage of the Rio 2016 Paralympics, helping greatly increase the exposure of the event. In 2020 he became Chief Executive of Attitude Pictures, known for its weekly programme on national television aiming to change attitudes towards disabled people in New Zealand. He was executive producer and producer for several television shows, including ‘Down for Love’. He is CEO of Able, an organisation creating accessible audiovisual media through captioning and audio description services. He was a founding member of the Disability Media Collective. He is Chair of the CatWalk Trust and a Board member of ACC and Spada. Mr Buckingham was President of New Zealand Wheelchair rugby, served on the disability advisory panel for Auckland Council and was a Board member for Drug Free Sport New Zealand from 2022 to 2023.

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BULLMORE, Ms Elizabeth Jane (Irihapeti)

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to seniors' health, particularly Māori.

Ms Irihapeti Bullmore (Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha, Kāi Tahu, Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, Te Rārawa-Ngā Puhi) is a community Māori nurse who has developed culturally responsive healthcare combining traditional Māori approaches with contemporary health systems, to support kaumātua and their whānau.

Ms Bullmore developed the Kahukura Kaumātua Programme, a monthly kaupapa Māori day programme blending clinical health promotion with cultural celebration. In 2017 she established Whare Tiaki, the first explicitly kaupapa Māori supported living facility for kaumātua in Ōtautahi Christchurch. She initiated and led the Te Tairanga Kaumātua Collective, a regular hui of health professionals working with Maori, advising on care and access to services for the older population. She contributed to landmark research reframing how frailty is understood within te ao Māori, acknowledging the concept of Waikare o te Waka o Meihana (the double-hulled waka framework). She has contributed to Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu, helping influence the delivery of Whanau Ora Navigators to positive health outcomes for almost 5,000 Māori. Her research around health and social isolation in older people has influenced community care nationally, and was included in wider international research involving adult home care in Canada and Finland. She helped design and deliver the first indigenous Falls Prevention programme, Taurite Tu. She is a part-time Lead on the new Puahou Tapuhi o Aotearoa Bachelor of Nursing at Ara Institute of Canterbury. Ms Bullmore chairs Te Roopu Kawawhakaruruhau-Cultural safety.

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CHIN, Dr Luk Sun

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to health and harness racing.

Dr Luk Chin has helped expand private health services in the Waikato region, bringing $150 million in investment over a 40-year period.

Dr Chin has contributed more than 50 years as an anaesthetist, pain and intensive care specialist. He practiced as an anaesthetist at Waikato Hospital until he was 75 years of age, and is currently still active in pain management. He helped establish Waikato Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit and Pain Service in 1975, at the time only the second in the country. In 1991 he co-led the development of the Anglesea Medical Centre in Hamilton, Waikato’s first same day surgical unit, now operating as an elective surgical hospital. He has since contributed significantly to the establishment of further private healthcare facilities in the region, including in Tauranga, Cambridge, and the Franklin Day Hospital in Pukekohe. He created a fund to provide financial assistance for future registrars wanting to advance their studies of anaesthetics. At 83 years of age, he is New Zealand’s oldest licensed harness racing trainer and driver, racing weekly and supporting junior drivers in the racing industry. Since 1980 he has trained horses to win more than 200 races, breeding them all rather than purchasing the horses. Dr Chin has been a winning driver over 100 times.

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DAVIDSON, Dr Paul John

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to documentary filmmaking.

Dr Paul Davidson has spent more than 45 years scripting, directing and compiling television or DVD documentary films recording the stories of ordinary New Zealanders and community institutions.

Dr Davidson’s works are regarded as valuable social history resources, with more than 200 films made, several of which have received national and international awards. His productions cover such areas as whaling days, aviation, rural life, mental health, hospice care, justice, technology, sport, engineering, music, religion, personal struggles and migrant stories. Initially based in Wellington, he has worked from his Blenheim studio for many years, funding his films from charitable bodies, private companies and community supporters. He completed several more films in Australia while completing a Doctorate in Visual Arts. He is a long-time member of Blenheim Lions and the Marlborough Historical Society, of which he is currently President. Dr Davidson’s heritage contributions have also extended to saving the unique Armstrong Whitworth Argosy aircraft and creating a small museum by Blenheim Airport dedicated to its history.

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DIPROSE, Mr Gary William

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to youth.

Mr Gary Diprose established the Springboard charitable trust in 2002 to support vulnerable young people in the Warkworth area.

In the early days of Springboard, Mr Diprose offered an alternative education programme for young people who had been excluded from mainstream school due to behavioural issues. He worked with local Police youth aid to expand the organisation to provide a wraparound support model for vulnerable children and their families. He has built Springboard up to purchase premises with an adjoining campground, with a full-time staff of around 40 and a fleet of vehicles supporting around 450 young people, having supported thousands over the years. The organisation now supports alternative education, a youth offenders programme, driver training, social worker support, mentoring and work placement programmes, and a programme working with young people who have left school and are not engaged in further education or work. Mr Diprose has directed Springboard to a high success rate of transforming the lives of young people affected by abuse, drug and alcohol addiction and dysfunctional family situations. As a result of Springboard’s work, the youth crime and re-offending rates in the Warkworth and Wellsford areas are at an all-time low. Springboard was recognised with AMP Capital People's Choice Award in 2017.

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DOUGLAS, Professor Richard George

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to rhinology.

Professor Richard Douglas is an internationally recognised rhinologist, a subspecialist Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) surgeon and a leading academic.

Professor Douglas was Head of Department of Surgery at the University of Auckland from 2015 to 2021. He established a thriving research programme in rhinology and skull-base surgery that has seen him supervise numerous doctoral candidates, both scientists and clinicians, and has contributed to New Zealand’s reputation globally in academic surgery. He currently leads an active research group and directs a clinical Fellowship programme in rhinology at Auckland City Hospital. His research, particularly on bacteria and mucosal immunity in chronic rhinosinusitis, has produced more than 200 academic publications. As a clinician, he delivers advanced sinus and skull-base surgery at Auckland City and Gillies Hospitals. He is a former President of the Australia and New Zealand Rhinologic Society and is active with the American Rhinologic Society and Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy. Professor Douglas founded the Tarāpunga Charitable Trust, through which he donated a mobile ENT van to provide outreach care across Northland, improving healthcare access for remote communities in Te Tai Tokerau.

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ENGLISH, Mr Mervyn Gerard

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to governance and the community.

Mr Mervyn English has contributed to the community, in public service and the conservation sector.

During his public service career, Mr English held leadership roles in the New Zealand Electricity Commission, State Services Commission and the Treasury’s State Owned Enterprises team. In his role as Deputy Director General of the Department of Conservation, he played a key role in the transition of governance and management of the Urewera region to Ngāi Tūhoe. He was director at the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority prior to retiring. Since retirement, he has served as a director of Invercargill City Holdings and a Strategic Advisor to Ngāi Tahu’s Murihiku Regeneration, assisting local rūnanga with regional development opportunities. He has served as a Trustee of the Dingle Foundation Wellington and Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoors Education Trust. He was raised on a Southland farm and grew up exploring the Southern Alps, becoming a proficient mountaineer. He has achieved multiple first ascents including the West Face of Mt Tasman. Following an accident on a Himalayan mountain face, Mr English led two seriously injured climbers to safety, over a complex three-day descent.

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FARAIMO, Mr Okesene Seanoa

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to the community, Tokelau language and culture.

Mr Okesene Faraimo is a community advocate and faith-based leader, who has also spent more than 25 years as a social worker.

Mr Faraimo works across three primary schools in Porirua, helping students and their families with education, attendance, housing and health. He works with the Taeaomanino Trust, the longest-serving Pacific Social Service provider in Wellington. He spent 10 years with the Wesley Community Action Group as a social worker for the Cannons Creek community. He has been an active member of the Porirua City Elim Church for 28 years and involved in the men’s ministry, providing pastoral support to men of all ages. He was Secretary for the Fakaoko Wellington Tokelau Society, and is a member of the National Tokelau Aotearoa Leaders Council, where he works to promote the revitalisation of Te Gagana Tokelau (the Tokelau language) and culture. He has supported Pacific Language Weeks and contributed towards the Pacific Languages Strategy 2022-2032. He played a key role in the development of the Pasefika Proud Kāinga Māopopo Report, a Tokelau framework addressing family violence. He was President and is now a Life Member of the Mafutaga Tupulaga Tokelau Porirua Organisation, promoting wellbeing through sports development programmes for Tokelau youth. Mr Faraimo was Board Chair and member of the Glenview Primary School Board of Trustees.

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FISHER, Mr Mark David

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to sexual health, particularly people living with HIV.

Mr Mark Fisher has worked to improve the lives of people living with HIV in New Zealand since 2014, and has advocated to end the stigma surrounding the disease.

Mr Fisher contributed to significant HIV and Hepatitis C testing databases in Australia and Canada, before relocating to New Zealand in 2014 to become Executive Director of Body Positive. Under his leadership, Body Positive launched the world’s first HIV-positive sperm bank in 2021, which has led to the birth of many healthy babies. He has led a national effort to expand access to HIV prevention tools like PrEP and PEP, and to increase access to HIV and STI testing, instrumental in reducing transmission. He led campaigns that push for the destigmatisation of people living with HIV, including ‘Undetectable = Untransmissible’, and a campaign highlighting zero risk of HIV transmission when on treatment. He has advocated for equitable policies including the successful end to the ban on blood donation for gay men. He has organised events that bring greater visibility to HIV in New Zealand, including the National HIV Treatment Seminar, and the annual AIDS Candlelight Memorial. Mr Fisher initiated the Te Whare Āniwaniwa Rainbow Hub project in 2018, and is Chair of the Te Whare Āniwaniwa Collective Trust.

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FLOWERS, Mr John

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to the community.

Mr John Flowers has dedicated more than 45 years of service to YMCA locally and nationally, and has contributed substantially to community organisations in Taranaki.

Mr Flowers joined the YMCA Taranaki Board in 1975, where he currently serves as Chair. He was elected to the YMCA National Board in 2002, and was appointed National President in 2006. He has represented YMCA New Zealand at international forums in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. He helped guide YMCA programmes that support youth development and community engagement, and led the creation of a purpose-built shelter for people experiencing homelessness. He has actively recruited new board members for YMCA Taranaki, offering mentorship to ensure the long-term sustainability of the organisation. He has served on several community boards, including the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter Trust, the Crown Health Enterprise and the Taranaki Diocesan School in Stratford. In 2023 he became a Trustee with the Taranaki Health Foundation, where he helped fundraising campaigns aiming to establish new healthcare facilities, including Taranaki’s first Cancer Centre. Mr Flowers remains active in his community, currently as a member of the Board for the Taranaki Musical Theatre Trust and the New Plymouth Golf Club.

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FLUTEY, Ms Kendall Maree

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to business and financial literacy.

Ms Kendall Flutey (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Kahunungu, Rangitāne) co-founded the financial literacy platform Banqer, teaching students concepts around income, interest, tax, property investment and insurance.

Since it was founded in 2015, Banqer has educated more than 700,000 students in financial literacy. Banqer received a Global Inclusion Award at the G20 Summit in Berlin and was named Hi-Tech Startup Company of the Year at the 2018 New Zealand Hi-Tech Awards. Ms Flutey is currently Chief Operating Officer of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, and was Director at Whai Rawa, Ngāi Tahu’s investment scheme. She has held governance roles with the New Zealand Financial Markets Authority, the Digital Council for New Zealand and the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission. She has been involved with Pillars Ka Pou Whakahou, where she supports children and families of people serving a prison sentence, and mentors for Startup Weekends helping aspiring entrepreneurs with business ideas. She currently holds several governance roles in the finance industry, including Commission Member for the Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme, and Trustee for the Booster Foundation Charitable Trust. In 2019, Ms Flutley was named Young New Zealander of the Year in the annual Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Awards.

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FRAUNDORFER, Dr Mark Robert

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to health, particularly men's health.

Dr Mark Fraundorfer has substantially contributed to urology and men’s health.

Dr Fraundorfer is Head of the Urology Department at Tauranga Hospital. He has advanced surgical practice in urology by pioneering minimally invasive techniques that have now become standard practice in New Zealand and worldwide. He has advocated for the reduction of stigma around men’s health issues, and promoted early detection of many men’s health conditions including prostate and testicular cancer and erectile dysfunction. He has led community education campaigns and engaged with the public to advocate for openness in men’s health. He has voluntarily run education seminars, held free men’s health clinics, and has contributed to public policy discussions that aim to reduce health inequities. He is a dive instructor, developed the first commercial dive training school in Tauranga, and was the Medical Advisor to the New Zealand Underwater Association (NZUA). He promoted dive safety as the Accident Investigator for the NZUA, investigating more than 120 fatalities. He instigated and led the development and funding of the Kathleen Kilgour Centre in Tauranga, an independent radiation oncology service which provides public cancer treatment to the wider Bay of Plenty. Dr Fraundorfer has been instrumental in expanding other medical services, including Grace Hospital in Tauranga and Wakefield Hospital in Wellington.

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GALE, Mr Patrick George John

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to education.

Mr Patrick Gale was Principal of Rangitoto College, the largest secondary school in Australasia with more than 4,100 students, from 2017 to 2025.

Rangitoto College achieved record-breaking academic results under Mr Gale’s leadership, including 324 NZQA Scholarships in 2024, representing eight percent of all scholarships nationwide. He implemented a "Summit Diploma" for Year 9 and 10 students, promoting a holistic approach to education by balancing academic achievement with extracurricular activities and community service. In response to concerns about NCEA Level 1, he led the development of a Rangitoto-specific "Year 11 Diploma" to ensure continuity and coherence for students. He has been Chair of the NCEA Professional Advisory Group since 2024, providing critical guidance on national educational reforms. He contributed to the Education Review Office’s Expert Advisory Group for the National Review of NCEA, helping shape significant changes to the qualification system, with a focus on equity and quality. He was Principal of Kaipara College from 2016 to 2017, where he raised NCEA Level 1 pass rates by 20 percent in just 18 months. At Rosmini College between 2003 and 2016, he implemented curriculum design for teachers across Years 7 to 13 and refined assessments, supporting an 83 percent University Entrance pass rate in 2015. In 2026, Mr Gale was appointed Headmaster at King’s College.

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GOVIND, Ms Sumati

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to governance and the community.

Ms Sumati Govind has served her community for more than 40 years, particularly through governance roles and philanthropy.

Ms Govind has served more than 27 years in governance roles across a wide range of sectors, including with the Mary Potter Hospice, the Hutt City Facilities Trust, and the Avalon Rugby Football Club. From 2007 to 2016 she was a Trustee of the Individual Retirement Plan, a Superannuation Scheme, with 23,000 members and $150 million in funds under management. From 2020 to 2024 she was a Trustee with the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board where she was key to determining how $1.4 billion in lotto profits were distributed to community groups nationwide. She was a Trustee with the Red Cross Foundation for nine years. She currently holds governance roles with Nuku Ora and Te Omanga Hospice. She is heavily involved with the Wellington Indian Association and in 1997 became the first woman to serve as Treasurer. She led many of the Association’s initiatives, including the Sangeet Sagar Concert, the Indian Women’s Forum and the Speaker’s Forum. She organised high-profile events as Chair of the Life Member and Awards Committee. Ms Govind, along with her husband, sponsor local athletes and have donated medical equipment to organisations including hospices, Life Flight Trust, Wellington Free Ambulance and the Neonatal Trust.

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GRIFFITHS-HUGHES, Dr Rachael Wendy

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to music.

Dr Rachael Griffiths-Hughes lectures in music at the University of Waikato, where she also directs the University Chamber Choir, and has been Director of Music at St Peter’s Cathedral in Hamilton since 2000.

Dr Griffiths-Hughes was conductor and musical director of the Hamilton Civic Choir from 2000 to 2014. She has been a Trustee of the Hamilton Civic Choir Foundation since 2018 and Chairperson from 2023. She chaired the Waikato branch of the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) from 2012 to 2019. She has been a Trustee of the Guyon Wells RSCM Fellowship since 2008, which makes grants to support the activities of the Waikato RSCM branch. She was named an Associate of the RSCM in 2017. She has founded and directed Vox Baroque since 2014, a group of instrumentalists and singers specialising in Baroque music in Hamilton, performing monthly. She plays harpsichord and organ for NZBarok and the early music ensemble Affetto. She has performed frequently in orchestral concerts, including with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. She has organised numerous ad hoc concerts in the Waikato region, arranging visiting musicians and performance venues. Dr Griffiths-Hughes was an adjudicator at the 2024 World Choir Games in Auckland.

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GROVES, Mr Colin Joseph Ronald

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to business, philanthropy and sport.

Mr Colin Groves has made significant contributions to business, entrepreneurship, philanthropy and sport in the Waikato.

Mr Groves arrived in New Zealand in 2009, involved with Tetra Laval Group’s acquisition of Downer McClunie Birch, which rapidly expanded from 30 to more than 200 employees. As a chartered accountant, he has utilised his extensive corporate governance experience across the sports, technology, and agriculture sectors. He develops future leaders through mentoring, generously contributing his time and expertise for the wider community. He has Cornish roots and facilitated a trade agreement between the Waikato and Cornwall Chambers of Commerce, strengthening international business ties. He has been heavily involved in local sport governance, particularly rugby, league and cricket. As the former Chairman and current President of Waikato Rugby, he played a key role in the organisation’s restructuring, the establishment of the Friends of Waikato Rugby Foundation, as well as contributing a significant lead role in New Zealand Rugby’s landmark Silver Lake partnership, on a pro bono basis. He is a founding director and current Chairman of Seddon Cricket Club, which has grown to 700 members in just five years. Mr Groves leverages his international networks to foster business partnerships amongst commercial and sporting organisations.

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HOLLANDER, Mr Joseph Simon (Joe), JP

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to the construction industry and the community.

Mr Joe Hollander has contributed to the governance of many organisations in the construction industry and has been active in his community.

Mr Hollander has held governance roles for many professional organisations working to improve the construction industry, including the New Zealand Green Building Council, the Building Research Association of New Zealand, and Site Safe New Zealand. He is a founding member of the New Zealand Organisation for Quality, where he has contributed to quality management and best practice for businesses. He was founding Chair of the Construction Clients Group. He has held governance roles with community organisations, including the New Zealand Institute of Management and NZIM Foundation, the Palmerston North Enterprise Trust, and has been heavily involved with Scouts Aotearoa and the RSA for more than 50 years. He has been a Justice of the Peace since 1995, serving on the Central Districts Justices of the Peace Association in several roles, including as President from 2015 to 2017. He was the Ministerial Education and Training convenor for five years and has been an Issuing Officer since 2012. Mr Hollander chairs the Palmerston North Defence Heritage Advisory Group, and led the establishment of the Royal New Zealand Engineer Corps Charitable Trust and the Engineer Corps Memorial Centre at Linton Military Camp, which he now runs.

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KAWANA, Mr Michael Ian Joseph (Mike)

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to Māori and the community.

Mr Mike Kawana (Rangitāne, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Kahungunu, Te Arawa) has been the Rangatira Kaumātua of Ngāti Hāmua and Rangitāne o Wairarapa since 2001, and has contributed significantly to his community.

Mr Kawana is regarded as an expert in Wairarapa kōrero, whakapapa and tikanga tuku iho (intergenerational customs), and frequently provides advice on tikanga for local events. As Cultural Advisor of Rangitāne o Wairarapa, he helped lead the Rangitāne Treaty Settlement process for 28 years until completion in 2017, and represents the iwi in health, police and local government matters. He is kaikorero and kapa haka tutor at Te Oreore Marae, and led Rangitāne as host of Te Matatini in 2005 and 2007. He served on the Masterton Police Advisory Board from 2005 to 2025, the Wellington Police Advisory Board from 2008 to 2025, and sits on the District Police Māori Focus Forum. He supported the Rangitāne collaboration with New Zealand Police on the alternative restorative justice Te Pae Oranga Project, and provided tikanga programmes for probation services and the Department of Corrections from 2005 to 2018. He provided guidance for the installation of tukutuku and carvings in the Masterton Police Station, and to the revitalisation of the Wairarapa Māori Warden network. Mr Kawana has been President of the Wairarapa Country Music Club, Chair of the Pioneer Rugby Club and Chair of the Maungarake Darts Association.

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KETU'U, Miss Fane Fusipongi, JP

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to Tongan language education.

Miss Fane Ketu’u is an educator and mentor, dedicated to the preservation of Tongan language, art and culture in New Zealand.

Miss Ketu’u has advocated for the preservation of Lea Faka-Tonga (the study of Tongan language) for more than 40 years, teaching in schools, communities and churches. She is the Tonga Stage Coordinator for the ASB Polyfest, a voluntary role she began in 2005. During that time, she has taught more than 40,000 students Tongan dance, music and language through their performances at the annual festival. She has worked with NZQA and the Ministry of Education on the development of Lea Faka-Tonga Achievement Standards, and helped establish Tongan language as a formal subject in NCEA and tertiary education. She has supported the Ministry for Pacific Peoples’ Pacific Language portfolio, particularly through their effort to preserve and maintain Lea Faka-Tonga and cultural performances. As a teacher and cultural coordinator at James Cook High School, she has created inclusive cultural events like MANAFest to support emerging cultural groups at the school. She teaches evening classes to provide further learning opportunities that support underachieving students, and supports wider family groups to reconnect with Lea Faka-Tonga. Miss Ketu’u has been a Justice of the Peace since 2014.

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KINGI, Ms Lisa Helen (Lisa Kingi-Bon)

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to rugby, particularly player welfare.

Ms Lisa Kingi-Bon has been Chief Executive of the New Zealand Rugby Foundation (NZRF) since 2012, supporting lifelong care for seriously injured rugby players and their families.

Ms Kingi-Bon has advocated for safer, more inclusive rugby environments, and has championed for player safety education. Through NZRF she has strengthened national support systems for players living with catastrophic injuries sustained through rugby. She works with players and their families as they navigate beyond their life-changing injury. She has advanced player safety initiatives alongside New Zealand Rugby and the New Zealand Rugby Player Association, including planning for brain health and concussion risk management, NZRF support for Research into Concussion, safety and prevention and injury management. Through NZRF, she championed an initiative to have defibrillators in every rugby club throughout New Zealand, approximately 475 clubs in total. She has been a rugby administrator for five Rugby World Cup tournaments, international and national teams, provincial unions and club rugby. She was VIP manager for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, leading dignitary hosting and protocol across the tournament. She was a Board member of the King Country Rugby Union and a Trustee of the Taupō City Council Rugby World Cup Organisational Group. In 2020 Ms Kingi-Bon became a member of the New Zealand Barbarians RFC.

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KOTHARI, Dr Shuchi Tarun

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to the screen industry.

Dr Shuchi Kothari is Associate Professor in Screen Production at the University of Auckland, who has advocated for Pan-Asian filmmakers in New Zealand for more than 20 years.

Dr Kothari co-wrote and co-produced the feature film ‘Apron Strings’ (2008), which was invited to 15 international film festivals. She co-produced NETPAC winning film ‘Kāinga’ (2022), and co-created ‘A Thousand Apologies’ (2008), New Zealand’s first Asian prime-time sketch comedy show. She was a juror for the New Zealand Screen Awards and the Show Me Shorts International Film Festival, and has been an industry assessor for the New Zealand Film Commission since 2009. In 2018 she co-founded the Pan-Asian Screen Collective (PASC), advocating for equitable representation of Asian screen practitioners in New Zealand. She was creator and convenor for the ‘Episode One Web Series Pilot Programme’, which enabled participants to develop and make a pilot episode. She has designed and run workshops for PASC, the Pasifika Screen Artists Guild, and delivered talks at Ngā Aho Whakaari (the Indigenous Screen Guild). Her work as a filmmaker, mentor and advocate was recognised by Women in Film and Television New Zealand’s ‘Outstanding Contribution to the Screen Industry’ award in 2022. In 2021, as Co-Principal Investigator, Dr Kothari received a Marsden Fund Standard Grant to research the first history of Asian New Zealand screen production.

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KUKA, Ms Janice

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to Māori health.

Ms Janice Kuka (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi) has been a leading figure and advocate for Māori healthcare in New Zealand for more than 40 years.

Ms Kuka was involved in the Kohanga Reo movement and through her role as a social worker in Tauranga Hospital contributed to the establishment of Kaupapa Māori services within the hospital in 1989. Her contributions in this area led to the creation of Māori nursing wards and mental health services. In 2010 she became Managing Director of Ngā Mataapuna Oranga, a Māori Primary Health Organisation (PHO) and Whānau Ora Hub. She has led the organisation to provide healthcare, social services, and cultural support to approximately 30,000 people and operate four GP clinics with more than 12,500 enrolled patients. She co-ordinated funding which extended the organisation’s assistance to whānau and communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. She expanded access to care by developing mobile clinics, which were successful in delivering health services across the Western Bay of Plenty. She is a member of several health boards including the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation, and is Chair of Turuki Health Care, Te Manu Toroa, and Pirirākau Hauora where she advocates for Māori-led health services and self-determination to improve Māori health outcomes. Ms Kuka has contributed to Waitangi Tribunal enquiries, representing Māori PHOs and advocating for Māori-led healthcare.

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LASSEN, Ms Vicky Maree

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to netball and Life Saving.

Ms Vicky Lassen has contributed more than 40 years of voluntary service to netball and Life Saving.

Ms Lassen has been a member of Hastings High School Old Girls’ Netball Club since 1986 where she played 15 seasons for the club, served as its coach, secretary, umpire, sponsorship co-ordinator, and committee member. She has coached netball at secondary school and regional representative levels while serving as administrator for several local netball associations. At Napier Girls' High School, she has coached, umpired and managed teams during her 30 years of service. For 16 of those years, she oversaw the netball programme which included 30 teams. She was a founding member of the Lower North Island Secondary Schools Management Committee in 1999 and has contributed to the tournament ever since. She has served in various coaching and administration roles for Hawke’s Bay Netball since 1987. She has been involved in Life Saving for more than 45 years, serving as an administrator, instructor, and national examiner for the Royal Life Saving Society New Zealand (RLSS). She received the Bar to Service Cross from the society in 2013. For her contributions to netball, Ms Lassen has received the School Sport New Zealand Service to School Sport Award in 2015 and Life Membership of the Lower North Island Secondary Schools Netball in 2024.

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LATTIMER-GREGORY, Dr Miles Richard James (Miles Gregory)

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to theatre.

Dr Miles Gregory is an entrepreneurial leader in the arts and theatre industry who has created internationally recognised innovative cultural experiences.

Dr Gregory was the founder and Artistic Director from 2015 to 2020 of Pop-up Globe, a full-scale temporary reconstruction of the Globe Theatre producing unabridged productions of Shakespeare’s works. Over its five Auckland seasons, national tour, and three Australian tours, the Pop-up Globe attracted more than 750,000 audience members and engaged more than 600 production staff and professional actors. Its education programme, offering discounted tickets to schoolchildren, brought Shakespeare to some 60,000 New Zealand students. He directed multiple critically acclaimed productions at the theatre. His bilingual production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, incorporating te reo Māori and Māori performance traditions, won eight Sydney BroadwayWorld awards. He co-founded HyperCinema in 2023, an immersive experience which incorporates artificial intelligence, film, and live performance. The experience opened in Auckland to international acclaim as the first live AI story-telling experience and was later installed as a permanent exhibition at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta in the United States. In 2025 Dr Gregory published the book ‘Bloody Good Shakespeare’, a guide to Shakespeare in performance drawn from his experience of directing more than 50 professional productions worldwide during his career.

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LEE, Ms Elizabeth Anne (Anne)

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to refugees, migrants and education.

Ms Anne Lee has provided educational and social support to refugees and migrants for more than 40 years.

Ms Lee has been manager of the Umma Trust since 2014, where she provides support for refugee and migrant communities to around 6,000 former refugees annually. She has led a number of highly successful initiatives, including working with VTNZ to deliver learner tests in mother-tongue languages to help refugee women obtain driver licences. She was a teacher at the Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre in 1985, primarily working to help youth integrate into secondary schools. She established the Volunteer Tutor Scheme to train 120 volunteers that tutored more than 200 refugee students annually. She trained tutors to work with teachers with large numbers of international students in their classrooms, and produced international student teaching resources. She advised on the Ministry of Education’s refugee policy, advocating for greater funding for refugee students. She established Refugee Education Advisors who could liaise with parents and communities, and was integral to the creation of the International Students Code of Practice. She held numerous roles with the Ministry of Education, including Chief Advisor Adult Literacy, and was the Ministry’s first Refugee Education Coordinator. As Chief Verifier ESOL, Ms Lee established and operated the ESOL funding verification system.

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LEIFI, Inspector Neru Grant (Nu)

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to the New Zealand Police and the community.

Inspector Nu Leifi (Ngāti Porou, Waimā) has served with the New Zealand Police since 1985, and is the Māori, Pacific and Ethnic Services Manager for Canterbury Police.

Inspector Leifi has been heavily involved with Police outreach to the Christchurch Pacific community, particularly in schools, university and the church. He has established partnerships with Pacific community leaders and has led initiatives to prevent family violence. He has strengthened Police connections in the wider Pacific through the Pacific Policing Programme. He mentored and trained Niuean officers and their Chief of Police and supported the development of Niue’s community policing. As an International Peace Monitor, in 2001 he joined Pacific Island Police, New Zealand and Australian defence forces and government agencies in supporting peacekeeping efforts and saving lives during the civil unrest in the Solomon Islands. As Forward Commander, he led the rescue of more than 100 people trapped in the Forsyth Barr building following the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes. He has served as a member of the Armed Offenders Squad since 1989, becoming an Operational Commander in Canterbury in 2020. From 2020 to 2022 he co-delivered ‘Countering Violent Extremism Through Community Policing’ to the Indonesian Police, Prisons and specialist teams in Semarang and Jakarta. Inspector Leifi has mentored Pacific youth in Christchurch and coached junior athletics and schoolboy rugby teams.

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LIND, Mr Douglas MacGregor (Greg)

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to conservation and Search and Rescue.

Mr Greg Lind has contributed to conservation in southern New Zealand for more than 40 years.

Mr Lind was the founding Chair and is current Co-Chair of the Southern Lakes Sanctuary, a conservation group of six trusts undertaking predator control over 800,000 hectares of land in the Queenstown Lakes District. He established the Routeburn Dart Wildlife Trust in 2014 and was Trustee until 2024. The trust protects native wildlife in the upper Lake Whakatipu region. He founded and led the Catlins Search and Rescue Group from 1986 to 1990 and the Stewart Island Search and Rescue Group from 1991 to 1994. He established the Queenstown Heritage Trust in 2013, which led projects to renovate the Arrowtown Gaol and Bullendale Dynamo. He worked for the Department of Lands and Survey from 1984 to 1987 and worked for the Department of Conservation (DOC) from inception in 1987 until retiring in 2019. During his time with DOC, he led the largest district, Fiordland National Park, managing complex biodiversity programmes, recreation assets, and concession portfolios. He concluded his time as Operations Manager Te Anau from 2015 to 2019. Mr Lind’s work as Area Manager for the Southern Islands laid the groundwork for some of New Zealand’s most successful predator eradication programmes, including the Campbell Island rat eradication.

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LOHENI, Mrs Filomena (Talaleomalie Mena)

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to Pacific fashion.

Talaleomalie Mena Loheni founded Mena Designs in 2002, a design company which has altered the fashion landscape in Samoa.

Mrs Loheni is a seamstress and established Mena Designs to help alter garments in Samoa, taking koha in exchange for alterations. The company expanded to New Zealand in 2006 becoming a household name amongst the Pacific community in New Zealand. Mena Designs has been showcased globally including in Fiji, Japan, Canada, and the United States of America. In 2007, Mena International became the first Pacific business invited to showcase at New Zealand Fashion Week. She is a mentor to up-and-coming designers, and trains others in the art of tailoring. Through Mena Designs she has contributed to Miss Samoa New Zealand and Samoa, several sports in Samoa including boxing, rugby league and weightlifting, and contributed to relief for Samoa following the 2009 tsunami. Many other organisations have benefitted from Mena Designs’ support including PACIFICA Women West Auckland, Habitat for Humanity New Zealand, and Aoaga Fa’a Samoa early childhood centre in Auckland. Mrs Loheni has been a long-serving Parish Member of St Joseph’s Grey Lynn, where she also provides tailoring for members of the clergy.

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LOW, Associate Professor Chai Hop Mary (Mary)

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to accountancy education.

Associate Professor Mary Low is a leading accountancy academic, and has dedicated more than 35 years to the profession.

Associate Professor Low is Associate Professor at Waikato University’s Management School, where she held several roles including Head of School for Accounting, Finance and Economics, and Chair of the Department of Accounting. She was instrumental in the establishment of Waikato University’s Master of Professional Accounting, helping the university gain national and international recognition. She voluntarily mentors former, current and future students by coordinating outreach programmes in schools, and hosting networking events connecting established professionals and current students. She has built engagement between secondary schools and tertiary education by coordinating high school teacher training days, student revision days and visits to the university. She is an established international researcher and has contributed more than 50 scholarly outputs, including articles published in ‘The British Accounting Review’ and ‘Meditari Accountancy Research’. Her publications have been cited over 2,250 times, placing her in the top 10 for current accounting academics nationally. Her work on corporate social reporting and integrated reporting has shaped accounting practice and policy in New Zealand. Associate Professor Low has received Fellowships from Certified Practicing Accountant (CPA) Australia and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, recognising her services to the profession.

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MACKAY, Ms Shirley Anne

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to swimming.

Ms Shirley Mackay has contributed to swimming in the Auckland region for more than 40 years.

Ms Mackay served on the Executive Committee of Swimming Auckland in the late 1980s and was awarded Life Membership in 2010. She was President from 2016 to 2018, after which she was appointed as Deputy Chair and later Chairperson from 2020 to 2025. During this time, she led several major governance projects which modernised Swimming Auckland and developed its membership, including a regional merger with Swimming Northland. Since 1982 she has held various leadership roles at Waitakere Swimming Club and was recognised as a Life Member in 1988. In 2017 she was appointed Chairperson of the club for a second time and led a revitalisation of the club’s programme for swimmers of all levels, which cultivated the community of competitive swimming in the area. She continues to support the club as its Patron. She serves as a member of the Regional Chairs Group and Governance Working Group of Swimming New Zealand, helping shape national policy and structure for the sport. She organises swimming meets for the Central and West Auckland zones, which involves 13 clubs and provides opportunities for the development of young swimmers. Ms Mackay received both the Jackie Clarke Award and a Service Award from Swimming New Zealand.

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MAIRE, Mrs Elizabeth Jane (Liz)

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to conservation and education.

Mrs Liz Maire has made significant contributions to conservation and education in the Auckland region for more than 35 years.

Mrs Maire worked for the Department of Conservation from 2004 to 2014, engaging in conservation work alongside groups in the wider Auckland region, including the Supporters of Tiritiri Matingi, the Moturoa Island Restoration Society and the Hauturu Supporters Trust. She is an educator with the Tiritiri Matangi education team, developing and delivering programmes for thousands of students each year. As a foundation Trustee of The Forest Bridge Trust, she helped build a team that recently achieved a 54,000-hectare mustelid control across northern Auckland to provide protected habitat for kiwi and other native species. She developed the Trust’s inspiring education programme to raise children’s awareness of the impact pests and predators have on native species. This programme was delivered to all schools between Kaipara Harbour and the Pacific Coast. In 1989, she co-founded Women’s Outdoor Pursuits (WOPs), encouraging women to participate in outdoor activities by creating courses that develop skills and confidence, while promoting safety. She has volunteered with the Mountain Safety Council and Land Search and Rescue in Auckland. Mrs Maire has been a pest control volunteer at Shakespear Regional Park since 2010, working with park rangers to protect the many endangered species within the sanctuary.

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MARR, Mrs Terese Karen

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to ADHD support and philanthropy.

Mrs Terese Marr is the co-founder of the Runway Foundation and the TPT Group.

The Runway Foundation was established in 2015 in South Auckland and helps families navigate ADHD, its impacts on those diagnosed and their whānau. Mrs Marr is a Trustee and was unremunerated CEO of the charity from its inception until 2026. She led a dedicated team providing a range of services including kids’ clubs, youth coach programmes, parent support, counselling, awareness raising and events, supporting up to 400 children, youth and parents annually. She has personally led events, programmes and offered scholarships and mentoring, as well helping develop resources on ADHD. TPT Group began in 1999 and now comprises businesses in electronic security, IT, technology innovation, leasing and property. She was active in the initial growth of the business, which has provided the principal funding source of the Runway Foundation since inception, with around $1.5 million going to the charity from her and her husband’s businesses to date. The support of the Runway Foundation and other local South Auckland charities, enterprises and schools was formalised by the TPT Group Holdings Board of independent directors in 2023, agreeing to allocate at least $250,000 per annum ahead of shareholder dividend distributions. Mrs Marr joined the Board of Mission Without Borders in 2024, supporting families in Eastern Europe.

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MCDONALD, Ms Alison Mary

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to translation and interpretation services.

Ms Alison McDonald has contributed to New Zealand’s interpreter accreditation system, ensuring that migrants and refugees have access to public services.

Ms McDonald was initially employed as a contractor in 2016 to develop options and recommendations for requiring professional standards for interpreters working for the New Zealand Public Sector. She was invited to return to implement the agreed recommendations between 2021 and 2024. She has been pivotal in the development and implementation of the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) certification system in New Zealand. This initiative is significant in providing a nationally consistent, professionally recognised credential for interpreters and aligning New Zealand’s practices with international benchmarks. Her contributions have helped ensure the success of the Language Assistance Services Programme, which has significantly elevated the standards of interpreting services nationally. She liaised with all stakeholders, including the New Zealand Society of Translators and Interpreters, New Zealand tertiary institutions, NAATI and thousands of practicing interpreters in need of training and certification. Her efforts have resulted in hundreds of practitioners receiving training, and certification, enhancing access to public services for individuals with limited English proficiency. Ms McDonald was influential in the University of Canterbury’s creation of two postgraduate degrees, the Postgraduate Certificate in Translation and Interpreting and the Postgraduate Diploma in Translation and Interpreting.

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MCINTYRE, Mr Alan Stuart, JP

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to education.

Mr Alan McIntyre has contributed to primary education for more than 50 years and has been Principal of Owairoa Primary School since 1990.

As one of New Zealand’s longest-serving principals, Mr McIntyre oversaw Owairoa School’s roll increasing from 251 students to 1,050 at its peak. He was an early pioneer of international student programmes at the primary level, which fostered global education partnerships for his school and other schools internationally. He implemented an international teaching exchange programme and created a sister school relationship with Chaotian Primary School in Guangzhou in 2015 to further increase Owairoa School’s global awareness. He introduced modern educational initiatives, including the Digital Dream Lab classroom, where students learn science and technology through 3D printing, VR headsets, drones, and robotics. He implemented the ‘Super Start’ programme to introduce children to the school prior to their fifth birthday, to help them settle more quickly into school life. He is a mentor and advisor to fellow principals and was an active member of the Te Ara Bucklands Beach Kāhui Ako (Community of Learning). He represented New Zealand’s education sector in a trilateral school partnership between Guangzhou, Los Angeles and Auckland. Mr McIntyre has been a Justice of the Peace for more than 35 years and served a three-year term as Manukau City Councillor.

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MCLACHLAN, Mr Bruce

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to education.

Mr Bruce McLachlan has contributed to education and governance for more than 40 years.

Mr McLachlan taught in primary and secondary schools in Auckland for more than 30 years and was Principal of two Auckland Schools between 2001 and 2017. He gained international attention for introducing the concept of Free Play while Principal of Swanson School, giving presentations on various platforms since 2014 on the philosophy. The Free Play concept aims to teach students about taking risks and personal limits and has increased the productivity and problem-solving ability of students, whilst lowering incidents of conflict and bullying. He has been Chairperson of Auckland Kindergarten Association since 2019, having joined the Board in 2017. As Chair, he has personally visited all 112 kindergartens and centres of the Association to gain understanding about operations at each location. He has served on the Complaints Assessment Committee of the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand for ten years and the National Standards Committee of the Law Society for two years. Beyond education, Mr McLachlan is currently a Convenor of the Professional Conduct Committee of the Medical Council and a Convenor of the Professional Conduct Committee of the Medical Sciences Council and the Medical Radiation Technologists Board.

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MCWILLIAM, Group Captain Andrew John (John), AFC, AE

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to the New Zealand Defence Force.

Group Captain John McWilliam is a pilot, flying instructor and airworthiness expert who has contributed significantly to military and civil aviation safety over his 50-year aviation career.

Group Captain McWilliam specialises in fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, including instructor and aerobatic disciplines. He developed the Military Airworthiness Recognition Question Set 1.5, which has become a valuable safety resource across Allied Air Forces. He has been a longstanding member of the multinational Air Force Interoperability Council, influencing aviation safety internationally. He was a key figure in the establishment of the New Zealand Defence Aviation Authority, becoming its inaugural Director in 2020. He has led the safe introduction of multiple new aircraft fleets to the RNZAF. In the early 1990s he was recognised for safely sustaining RNZAF flying training during a critical instructor shortage. He played a key role in the development and certification of the civil aviation plane the PAC P-750. He helped identify the root cause that led to the sinking of the HMNZS Manawanui, and assisted the development of the NZDF seaworthiness framework which improves the overall naval safety system. Group Captain McWilliam’s expertise is frequently sought for complex operational assessments and the framing of international aviation standards.

HONOURS AND AWARDS

• Air Force Cross, New Year 1991
• New Zealand Air Efficiency Award

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NICHOLAS, Mr Terence Reginald Joseph (Terry)

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to Māori and governance.

Mr Terry Nicholas (Ngāi Tahu, Tainui) has served the Murihiku-Southland region out of Gore District for more than 30 years through numerous leadership roles.

Mr Nicholas has held various governance, management, and representational roles through Hokonui Rūnanga, one of the 18 Rūnanga of Ngāi Tahu. He has been its Executive Co-ordinator since 2000, director of several of its associated companies, and Trustee of its Charitable Health and Social Services Trust since 2003. He has supported the organisation following its settlement with the Crown to establish itself as a leading community organisation that supports the development of its 13,000 members. In 2023 he was appointed Upoko o Hokonui Rūnanga, a customary leadership role responsible for protecting and enhancing opportunities for members and wider Hapū. In 2020 he established Murihiku Regeneration, which has been instrumental to regional development and supported intergenerational and regenerative outcomes. He is currently the portfolio manager of the organisation and under his guidance its programmes have incorporated traditional iwi values with contemporary development needs. His work through the organisation has created annual wānanga (summits) to inform, encourage, and connect opportunities to respond to challenges in the Southland region. Mr Nicholas is an advocate for developing intergenerational capability and has led initiatives that have provided pathways for youth engagement, development, and leadership opportunities.

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NORRISH, Mr Charles Robert (Bob)

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to education.

Mr Bob Norrish was a principal for numerous remote schools over a teaching career of more than 55 years, specialising in helping schools experiencing difficult leadership situations.

From 2016 to 2025, Mr Norrish returned from retirement to become Acting Principal for 14 schools in remote areas that are particularly difficult to staff, including in Karamea, Lochiel, Murchison and the Chatham Islands. He mentors incoming staff to ensure the effective operation of the school. He has undertaken principal roles for distressed schools under the appointment of a statutory manager, helping rapidly assess situations and implementing policies to bring them back to stability. He has worked alongside new principals to develop leadership capability and confidence, and provides advice on the effective leadership of small and rural schools. He was Principal of Oxford Area School for 15 years, growing student achievement and progress rates for NZQA qualifications in numeracy and literacy. Mr Norrish was heavily involved in the improvement of school infrastructure, including the library, administration block and school observatory.

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O'HALLORAN, Mrs Tofa Robertina (Tina)

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to education and the Niuean community.

Mrs Tina O’Halloran has worked to preserve Niuean culture and language through education and community involvement for more than 60 years.

Mrs O’Halloran was one of the first Niuean teachers in primary school education. She has voluntarily led community language classes, including the Tutala Faka Niue series where she taught conversational Vagahau Niue (Niuean language). She is a published author and member of the Niue Writers Group. She has help develop several learning resources, including ‘Ponataki’ and ‘Haia! An Introduction to Vagahau Niue’. She is working on the production of a Niuean thesaurus. She has worked with several community organisations, including the Vagahau Niue Trust, Hulaaga Vagahau Niue and Lalaga Fakatupuola Moui. She co-authored academic work exploring the challenges of language and cultural loss among Niueans in New Zealand. She co-developed the ‘Mind Your Language’ website, which promotes and preserves the Niuean language. She is a tutor and songwriter with the Laupapa Trust, where she developed a Vagahau Niue curriculum. She was one of the first Niuean language advisors for Polyfest, New Zealand’s largest Pacific cultural festival. Mrs O’Halloran is a Niuean leader with Nga Vaka o Kāiga Tapu, an organisation working to address family violence among Pacific families.

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PAUGA, Mr Esitone (Leota Pauga Esitone)

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to Fire and Emergency New Zealand.

Leota Pauga Esitone Pauga has served for more than 40 years with Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) and the preceding New Zealand Fire Service (NZFS).

Mr Pauga became a career firefighter in 1981 and served until retirement in 2025. He was an operational firefighter for 32 years before attaining the role of Assistant Commander in 2013 and Area Commander in 2015, latterly holding roles with FENZ national headquarters. He co-founded Afi Pasefika (Pacific Fire) in 1996, an initiative which has become an important part of the People Led Network and Pacific representation and advocacy within FENZ. Under his guidance Afi Pasefika has grown into a national network of career and volunteer firefighters, support personnel, and executive officers. The network works closely with Pacific communities to deliver fire safety messages, foster recruitment, and provide career advice for Pacific personnel. He was the FENZ representative on the Te Kiwi Māia Advisory Group from 2021 to 2025. His leadership has enabled firefighters and their family to access specialised wellness and recovery support. He has strengthened the relationship between FENZ and the Samoa Fire and Emergency Services Authority, establishing collaborative initiatives to enhance operational capability. Mr Pauga led a team of firefighters to Samoa as part of New Zealand’s contribution to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2024.

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PITA, Mr Morris Charles

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to governance, business and Māori.

Mr Morris Pita (Ngātiwai, Ngāti Hine) has contributed in various capacities across the technology, health and energy sectors, and in the economic advancement of his hapū and iwi.

At Mercury in the early 2000s, Mr Pita assisted with the establishment of the Ngā Awa Purua and Ngā Tamariki geothermal power stations, generating 220 megawatts of renewable electricity for New Zealand businesses and homes. He assisted the Tūwharetoa and Lake Rotoaira Trust Boards in the negotiation of commercial agreements for the use of their lake beds for hydro storage. He has been a member of his hāpū trust Whangaroa Ngaiotonga since 2003, where, as Co-chair he played a leading role in the reclamation of their whenua and its transformation into an award-winning farming business. In 2015, he established Tai Pari Mōhio Ltd, the creator of the software platform Emergency Q, which reduces overcrowding in hospital emergency departments. Emergency Q has transferred a quarter of a million patients to primary care, saving 1.2 million hours of waiting time. In 2012, he co-founded Tūruki Pharmacy in South Auckland, a pioneer in providing affordable medicines to low-income whānau. In addition, Mr Pita served on the Waitematā and Auckland District Health Boards and was a member of the Eden Park Trust Board from 2009 to 2018, also chairing its Finance and Audit Committee.

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POOLE, Ms Michele Margot

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to Fire and Emergency New Zealand.

Ms Michele Poole has contributed to emergency responses across New Zealand for more than 30 years.

Ms Poole is currently a Senior Regional Communications and Engagement Advisor at Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ). She is a member of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Emergency Management Assistance Team, the FENZ Urban Search and Rescue Command and Technical Support team, and the Maritime New Zealand National Oil Spill Response team. She represents FENZ on the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council Public Information and Warnings Group. She has developed and implemented the FENZ Emergency Strategic Communications capability. She trains and supports Public Information Management around New Zealand and has built capability in emergency communication across the public communications sector and in local government. She was instrumental in establishing the New Zealand chapter of Emergency Media and Public Affairs (EMPA) and chaired the New Zealand EMPA Conference from 2014 to 2021. She has contributed to some of New Zealand’s most significant emergency responses including the 2011 Christchurch and 2016 Kaikōura earthquakes, Whakaari/White Island eruption in 2019, and Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023. She has been deployed to major emergency responses in New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. For her contributions to emergency communications, Ms Poole was made a Fellow of EMPA.

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RANGIHUNA, Mr Dean William

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to Māori mental health and addiction services.

Mr Dean Rangihuna (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Hei) has been a mental health advocate and advisor for more than three decades.

Mr Rangihuna is currently Te Kaihapai Māori Lived Experience Principal advisor for Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand National Hauora Māori Services. He worked for the Canterbury District Health Board Specialist Mental Health services and the Māori mental health services as Te Kaihapai/Māori Consumer Advisor. He has worked alongside the National Association Mental Health Service Consumer Advisors, Ministry of Health, the Health Quality and Safety Commission, community mental health NGO services, Te Pou/Wise Group and Pathways, and Te Rau Ora/Te Whare Tukutuku (Workforce Development). He has also contributed to The Safe Practice Effective Communication Training program, specifically designed for mental health inpatient services. The programme is a person-centred approach focusing on trauma informed care and least restrictive practice, and is now a national training program offered across all Te Whatu Ora mental health inpatient service workforces. He was appointed to two major government inquiries, with the Mental Health and Addiction Inquiry He Ara Oranga in 2018 and the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care 2020 to 2023. Mr Rangihuna has worked to support the recommendations of these inquiries within several national health agencies in which he works.

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ROBERTS, Dr Katrina Ivy

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to the dairy industry and the community.

Dr Katrina Roberts has provided farm consultancy and veterinary services for more than 20 years and contributed to the development of successful dairy management programmes.

Dr Roberts has contributed significantly to the dairy industry in New Zealand through the co-development and implementation of heifer teat sealing, which formed part of her masters research. Her work has reduced heifer mastitis in herds across the country and reduced the need for antibiotic treatment by more than 50,000 cases a year. Teat sealing heifers is now routine across New Zealand and increasingly being used in Australia and the United Kingdom. She has continued her research, since undertaking pioneering work on the prevalence of subclinical milk fever. She has been a trainer and mentor for early career veterinarians for more than 15 years. Her contributions were recognised with the Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year award in 2024. She is a member of the Walton School Board of Trustees, is involved in coaching local sports and works with the Matamata Pony Club. She has volunteered for more than 20 years with Cambridge Riding for the Disabled. Dr Roberts’ service was recognised by the national New Zealand Riding for the Disabled Association with the 2023 Coach of the Year Award.

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ROGERS, Mr David John Eruera, JP

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to conservation and Māori.

Mr David Rogers (Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Ruanui, Taranaki, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Maniapoto) has been heavily involved with the Department of Conservation (DOC) for the past 50 years, particularly in the Taranaki District.

Mr Rogers helped survey the entire public track network of the Egmont National Park (now Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki), securing and stock-proofing the boundary of the national park, and establishing essential infrastructure. He helped establish the current Around the Mountain circuit, the Park’s hut network and iconic tracks such as the Taranaki crossing. He was integral to the design of DOC’s national sign network, and part of the team responsible for the establishment of the hut ticket system. He was sent to Gallipoli to assess and produce options for an ANZAC trail from Anzac Cove to Chunuk Bair, telling the New Zealand ANZAC story. He worked alongside hapū to develop the significant Pukerangiora Pā as a Heritage Icon site. He has been involved in guiding significant Treaty settlements over the past 30 years including Te Ruruku Pūtakerongo (2023) and Te Ture Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua (2025). Mr Rogers has held many governance roles in his community, including Chair of Whakaahurangi Marae, Trustee and Chair of Manukorihi Pā, Director of the Ngāti Ruanui Management Group, and President of the Stratford Basketball Association.

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ROSIER-JONES, Ms Joan Mary

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to writing and education.

Ms Joan Rosier-Jones is a writer, playwright and educator, who has mentored established and emerging writers for several decades.

Ms Rosier-Jones has authored 14 novels and written several plays and non-fiction books, continuing to write at age 85. She established, organises and is currently patron of the bi-annual Whanganui Literary Festival, now known as The Lit. Whanganui Booklovers Festival. She was a director with Tangerine Publications, and remains involved as Officer of the Consortium with its later not-for-profit iteration, Tangerine BooksNZ. She has held numerous literary and education governance roles, including past President and President of Honour for the New Zealand Society of Authors, and Past President and committee member for U3A Whanganui. As a creative writing teacher, she currently produces course material for the New Zealand Institute for Business Studies, and formerly curated the Diploma of Creative Writing course for the Taranaki Polytechnic. Her non-fiction books ‘So You Want To Write’ and ‘Writing Your Family History’ are based on courses she has written. Ms Rosier-Jones organises and attends annual writers' retreats that foster emerging New Zealand authors, and further supports fellow writers as a competition judge and manuscript assessor.

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ROXBURGH, Mrs Deborah Catharine (Debbie)

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to Scottish country dancing.

Mrs Debbie Roxburgh has been actively involved with Scottish country dancing at a local, national and international level for more than 50 years.

Mrs Roxburgh currently teaches for the Glendarroch Scottish Country Dance Club in Whanganui, where she has taught since 1987. She teaches children, adults and experienced dancers with the New Zealand branch of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society (RSCDS). She was appointed as an examiner for the RSCDS and regularly conducts examinations for new teachers in New Zealand and Australia. She has held several national governance positions, including Youth Co-ordinator, Rules Committee Convenor, and member of the New Zealand Branch Management Committee. She currently serves as President of the New Zealand RSCDS branch. In the 1990s she was part of a group to establish a syllabus for medal test examinations for junior dancers, and the creation of the Junior Associate Membership. She has served on the organising committees for several annual New Zealand Branch Summer Schools, a week-long residential school for New Zealand and international dancers. She has been invited to teach at the Summer School held by the RSCDS in Scotland on several occasions. Mrs Roxburgh is a Life Member of both the Glendarroch Scottish Country Dance Club and the RSCDS New Zealand branch.

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SAMARAKKODY, Dr Udayangani Kumudu Sriya (Udaya)

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to Paediatric Surgery and the Sri Lankan community.

Dr Udaya Samarakkody has contributed to Paediatric Surgery and the Sri Lankan community in New Zealand for more than 30 years as a consultant paediatric surgeon and paediatric urologist at Waikato Hospital.

Dr Samarakkoy was President of the New Zealand Society of Paediatric Surgeons from 2010 to 2013 and is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Paediatric Surgeons. Since 2005, she has been an instructor for the Australia and New Zealand Surgical Skills Education and Training course of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, and has served on the Education Executive Committee of the Waikato Clinical School. She has published extensively on paediatric surgery and on improving disparity of care. She has trained more than 50 surgeons nationally and internationally. She developed an extensive outreach service to New Zealand’s Midland health region, improving equity of surgical care for rural and Māori children. She co-founded the Sri Lankan Doctors and Dentists Association in New Zealand in 2021 and is Co-Chair. She has held several governance roles with the Sri Lanka Friendship Society Waikato since 1999, introducing and developing many community programmes and annual celebrations, including an annual cultural concert which has run for more than 25 years. Dr Samarakkody received University of Auckland teaching excellence awards in 2019 and 2020.

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SHAW, Professor Marc Timothy Malcolm

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to travel health.

Professor Marc Shaw was a key figure in establishing the specialisation of travel medicine in New Zealand and has been the only national specialist remaining in full-time practice for more than 30 years.

Professor Shaw is the Medical Director of New Zealand’s first travel-health service Worldwise, established in 1993 to provide the public with health advice when travelling. He has established seven clinics throughout New Zealand to provide advice for travellers both pre- and post-travel, administer immunisations, and conduct research and development. He expanded Worldwise in 1996 to include an educational service for other health professionals and travel health consultants and has created links with overseas academic institutions including Australia’s James Cook University. He became Medical Director of GeoSentinal Surveillance in 1997, an infections sentinel network bringing together experts to reduce infectious disease worldwide through detecting, monitoring, alerting and treating travel-related diseases. He led a post-exposure rabies study in returning patients to New Zealand, contributing to future management of rabies vaccination procedures in travellers. He is on the editorial boards of travel medicine journals. He developed his capability travelling to more than 120 countries, contributing to humanitarian aid and as medical officer for remote expeditions. Professor Shaw has received multiple awards for outstanding contributions to travel medicine, including from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, USA.

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SIMMONS, Mr Alan Frank

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to outdoor recreation.

Mr Alan Simmons has helped create ecotourism opportunities in New Zealand from the 1980s as one of the first professional hunting and fishing guides.

Mr Simmons invested in the education of foreign tourists to encourage visiting New Zealand and in promoting and developing standards for protecting the environment and for professional guiding. He was a Ministerial appointment to help set up the New Zealand Fish and Game Council in 1990, joining the Council until 2005. He similarly helped set up the Eastern Fish and Game Council and was a member until 2024, chairing the Fish Committee. He wrote a paper promoting the adoption of a United States program to raise funds for wetland restoration via introduction of a duck stamp, leading to the establishment of the New Zealand Game Bird Habitat Stamp Regulations 1993. He has served on numerous fishing organisations including the New Zealand Recreational Fishing Council from 1989 to 1995, the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater Anglers since 1999 and the New Zealand Professional Fishing Guides Association. He participated in the Taupō Sports Fishery Review. He published four books on hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation between 1987 and 2024. More broadly, Mr Simmons has been Vice President of the Wairarapa Art Club and Wairarapa Deer Stalkers Association, and a member of the Wellington Arts Council.

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SMITH, Mr Russell Owen

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to sexual violence prevention.

Mr Russell Smith (Ngāti Kahu, Ngāpuhi) and Ms Joy Te Wiata (Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga) are co-founders of Korowai Tūmanako, a Kaupapa Māori specialist sexual violence service operating across Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and Te Tai Tokerau Northland.

Together, Mr Smith and Ms Wiata have given more than 50 years of combined contribution to the sexual violence sector. They established New Zealand’s first Kaupapa Māori Harmful Sexual Behaviour specialist service, delivering an integrated prevention and intervention approach that grounds clinical best practice for Māori in Māori values, tikanga and pūrākau (stories/myth). Through Korowai Tūmanako, they have delivered prevention education, therapeutic supervision, workforce training, and clinical interventions for survivors, whānau, and those who have caused harm, strengthening capability and cultural integrity across the Māori sexual violence workforce. Their leadership has driven national advocacy, including the MASSIVE (Men Against Sexual Violence) hīkoi and the Seven7 marathon challenge. Mr Smith contributed to the Taskforce for Action on Sexual Violence and led the Tiaki Tinana initiative, promoting practical, whānau centred sexual violence prevention strategies within Māori communities. Mr Smith and Ms Te Wiata provided expert oversight of the Tangata Whenua Service Provider Transformation Guidelines, establishing an enduring evidence-based foundation for Kaupapa Māori sexual violence services nationwide.

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SPARLING, Mr John Trevor

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to cricket.

Mr John Sparling has contributed to cricket and the community.

Mr Sparling first played cricket for Auckland in 1957 at age 18. The following year he toured England with the New Zealand team, playing his first Test match at Headingley in Leeds. He played 11 Test cricket matches for New Zealand. In 1962 he was appointed Captain of the Auckland cricket team and filled the role for nine consecutive seasons. He has served the Auckland Cricket Association as Selector, President, Life Member and Patron, and has given his name to the annual J T Sparling Super Series junior interclub tournament. In 2008 he was named Auckland University Cricket Club’s Player of the Century. He holds Honorary Membership of New Zealand Cricket. He is a Life Member of the New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association, The Cricket Society in Auckland, the Auckland Grammar School Old Boys’ Association, and the Eden Park Trust Board, serving on the latter from 1988 to 2007. In 1971 he was a Foundation Member of the Carbine Club of New Zealand, an organisation that raises funds to support athletes with disabilities. With a career in law until 2018, Mr Sparling provided Honorary Solicitor services to several of the above organisations over the years.

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SPITTLE, Mr Trevor Allan

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to athletics.

Mr Trevor Spittle has volunteered as an athletics official, administrator and educator for more than 40 years.

Mr Spittle initially volunteered at the former QEII Stadium in Christchurch in the early 1980s, quickly progressing from timekeeper to Meeting Manager. His commitment to athletics and its development locally, nationally and internationally has seen him volunteer thousands of hours in various key positions. He was President of the Canterbury Athletics Centre, President of Athletics New Zealand, and Committee Member of the ANZ Officials Association. He qualified as a World Athletics International Technical Official in 2005, and has supported five Commonwealth Games, eight World Athletic Championships, three Paralympic Games, six World Para Athletics Championships, the Sydney and Tokyo Olympics, and Singapore and Buenos Aires Youth Olympics. As a member of the World Athletics Competition Commission, he advised the World Athletics Council on the development of athletic events worldwide from 2015 to 2023. He played a crucial role in establishing an interim athletics facility at Rāwhiti Domain after the Canterbury earthquakes, as well as the development of the new track at Ngā Puna Wai. As a World Athletics technical official lecturer, he continues to support the development of aspiring technical officials across New Zealand and the Pacific. Mr Spittle has been a member of the Oceania Athletics Association Council since 2007.

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TALMAGE, Dr Alison Claire

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to music therapy and seniors.

Dr Alison Talmage has transformed the landscape of music therapy for seniors and people with neurological conditions in New Zealand.

Dr Talmage is a registered music therapist, educator, and academic. She cofounded the CeleBRation Choir in 2009 at the University of Auckland’s Centre for Brain Research. The Choir is a pioneering initiative that uses singing to restore communication, confidence, and wellbeing for people living with stroke, Parkinson’s disease, or dementia. She has led the choir since establishment and under her leadership it has become an exemplar for therapeutic choirs in New Zealand, inspiring similar programmes across the country. In 2017 she founded a further community music therapy choir Sing Up Rodney. She has produced practical guidelines for clinical approaches to music therapy choirs. In 2024 she published ‘The VOCCAL Handbook – a Toolkit for Neuro Choirs’, offering a framework and resources to support practitioners to establish and manage neurological choirs. Her research continues to contribute to international understanding of music therapy and ageing. She was Chair from 2014 to 2016 and is a current Board member of Music Therapy New Zealand. She is an advocate for equitable access to music therapy, working to overcome financial and geographic barriers, particularly in rural areas. Dr Talmage’s work was recognised with a 2024 New Zealand Association of Gerontology Early Career Award.

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TAYLOR, Ms Lorraine Ann (Lorraine Taylor-Tams)

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to education.

Ms Lorraine Taylor-Tams has contributed to education for more than 35 years, latterly as Principal of Silverstream School in Upper Hutt since 2021.

Ms Taylor-Tams has more than 37 years’ teaching experience and more than 20 years as a primary school principal. She first became a principal at Horohoro School in Rotorua in 2006, followed by two other rural and urban schools in the region until 2021. During this time, she was leader of the Eastern Rotorua Kāhui Ako community of learning, led transformative curriculum design, strengthened partnerships with local iwi, and championed equity focused initiatives that improved student achievement and wellbeing. She has contributed to national education initiatives, including serving on Ministry of Education (MoE) working parties. She was a member of the 2024 Ministerial Advisory Group focused on the English, Mathematics and Statistics learning areas for the New Zealand curriculum refresh. She was a key contributor to the development and implementation of the MoE’s Progress and Consistency Tool (PaCT). Her understanding of the frameworks and education experience was invaluable to the success of the tool across New Zealand schools. Ms Taylor-Tams has been a member of several Principals' Associations and is currently an establishment Board member for the Altum Classical Academy in Wellington.

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TE WIATA, Ms Joy Esther

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to sexual violence prevention.

Ms Joy Te Wiata (Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga) and Mr Russell Smith (Ngāti Kahu, Ngāpuhi) are co-founders of Korowai Tūmanako, a Kaupapa Māori specialist sexual violence service operating across Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and Te Tai Tokerau Northland.

Together, Ms Wiata and Mr Smith have given more than 50 years of combined contribution to the sexual violence sector. They established New Zealand’s first Kaupapa Māori Harmful Sexual Behaviour specialist service, delivering an integrated prevention and intervention approach that grounds clinical best practice for Māori in Māori values, tikanga and pūrākau (stories/myth). Through Korowai Tūmanako, they have delivered prevention education, therapeutic supervision, workforce training, and clinical interventions for survivors, whānau, and those who have caused harm, strengthening capability and cultural integrity across the Māori sexual violence workforce. Their leadership has driven national advocacy, including the MASSIVE (Men Against Sexual Violence) hīkoi and the Seven7 marathon challenge. Ms Te Wiata led the development of the national Kaupapa Māori Mahi Tūkino Good Practice Guidelines and served as a principal expert advisor for the Kaupapa Māori Workforce Capability Framework. Ms Te Wiata and Mr Smith provided expert oversight of the Tangata Whenua Service Provider Transformation Guidelines, establishing an enduring evidence-based foundation for Kaupapa Māori sexual violence services nationwide.

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TONKIN, Ms Jan Althea

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to the business events sector.

Ms Jan Tonkin has contributed to the business events sector since the 1980s, helping to develop the sector in New Zealand to international standards and recognition.

Ms Tonkin founded The Conference Company in Auckland in 1990, which has grown into a leading professional conference organiser with more than 30 staff across Auckland and Sydney. Until stepping down as Managing Director of The Conference Company in 2025, she has been an industry leader providing guidance and support in planning a range of business events, with particular expertise in government and academic, professional and scientific association conferences, both national and international. She was on the Board of Conventions and Incentives New Zealand (now Business Events Industry Aotearoa - BEIA) from 2000 to 2004 and 2006 to 2012. She was instrumental in establishing the BEIA Mentoring programme. She was President of the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO) from 2016 to 2018, the only New Zealander to hold this role. As President, she worked to improve the Association’s global connections and oversaw growth in membership in the Asia-Pacific region. She chaired IAPCO’s Training Academy from 2018 to 2021, designing and delivering professional development programmes for business events practitioners across Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. Ms Tonkin helped with the design of the NZICC, Tākina and Te Pae convention centres.

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TORREY, Ms Denise Joanne

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to education.

Ms Denise Torrey is a leader in primary education, with more than 20 years’ experience as a principal over her 46-year career.

Ms Torrey was Principal of Somerfield School from 2002 until retiring in 2024. She was President of the Canterbury Primary Principals’ Association (CPPA) from 2009 to 2011 and President of the New Zealand Principals’ Federation (NZPF) in 2015. Her leadership in these roles helped shape policy, strengthened profession networks, and advocated for the needs of schools and principals across the country. She created the CPPA Middle Leaders Programme, which has supported hundreds of educators to develop their leadership capability through evidence-based practice. She has worked with the Education Review Office, New Zealand Council for Education Research and the Teachers’ Council of Aotearoa New Zealand. She contributed to design and governance of Mana Ake – Stronger for Tomorrow, a mental health and wellbeing initiative supporting children in Canterbury and Kaikōura. In 2022, she helped establish the Primary Principals’ Collective Bargaining Union. She served as its first Head of Union until 2023 and is currently Principal Support Officer. Her contributions have been recognised with a Woolf Fisher fellowship in 2019 and a leadership study visit to Harvard University in 2023. Ms Torrey is a Life Member of both CPPA and NZPF, recognising her services to the profession.

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TUAI-TA'UFO'OU, Mrs Kathleen

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to the Pacific community.

Mrs Kathleen Tuai-Ta’ufo’ou has supported the Pacific community in the health and social services sector for more than 20 years.

Mrs Tuai-Ta’ufo’ou joined SIAOLA, the social service arm of the Vahefonua Tonga o Aotearoa (Methodist Church of New Zealand), as Executive Director in 2016 and became CEO in 2021. Under her leadership, SIAOLA pioneered initiatives in family violence prevention, Whānau Ora, mentoring, and financial literacy. SIAOLA successfully guided more than 100 families into home ownership and assisted 1,500 people to secure driver licenses. During the COVID-19 pandemic and North Island severe weather events in 2023, she established a Tongan-focused food hub in Ellerslie, facilitating 14,800 vaccinations and distributing 16,500 food parcels to more than 100,000 people. While CEO of the Fonua Ola Network, she unified eight Pacific organisations to streamline regional service delivery. She led the social and health accreditation processes for Vaka Tautua, Fonua Ola, and SIAOLA. Her governance roles include the Methodist Alliance Steering Committee and Te Whatu Ora National Women’s Screening Pacific Reference Group. She has provided Pacific representation in policy development for the Ministry for Pacific Peoples, Social Development, and Police advisory groups. Mrs Tuai-Ta’ufo’ou has served on the Law Revision Committee to the Methodist Church of New Zealand and the Executive Committee of Social Service Providers Aotearoa.

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VAN WIJNGAARDEN, Captain Alexander (Alex)

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to the maritime industry.

Captain Alex van Wijngaarden has contributed more than 40 years to the maritime sector, including 22 years as Marlborough Harbourmaster.

Since 1995, Mr van Wijngaarden has served as the Regional On-Scene Commander for the Marlborough region, and as a National On-Scene Commander since 1996. He has supported nationally significant maritime incidents and marine oil spill responses. He played a key role in the response to New Zealand’s worst maritime environmental incident, the grounding of the MV Rena in 2011. He was heavily involved in the responses to the Jody F Millennium oil spill in 2002, the sinking and subsequent oil spill of the Sea Fresh 1 in 2000, and the Dong Won 529 grounding in 1998. He worked in the Incident Command Centre for the Pasha Bulker grounding response in Newcastle, Australia. He has contributed to the improvement of training and response systems for National On-Scene Commanders. He has mentored and trained more than 300 Regional On-Scene Commanders, increasing New Zealand’s marine oil spill response capability. As Marlborough Harbourmaster, he has led maritime safety, harbour operations and environmental protection for the area. Mr van Wijngaarden has worked to increase preparedness for increased cruise and passenger vessels in the Marlborough Sounds, and enforced speed limits to protect the area.

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WADDINGTON, Mr Phillip John (Phill)

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to conservation and art.

Mr Phill Waddington is an artist specialising in art focused on conservation and has been contributing to conservation in Hutt Valley for more than 30 years.

Mr Waddington funded the placement of a QEII Covenant on a 23-hectare property in Stokes Valley, which he negotiated the sale of to Hutt City Council to preserve the area in its natural state. He helps protect natural habitats and control predators through specialised traps, without the use of deadly toxins. He designed traps which protect kiwi and other endangered wildlife from predators, and have been adopted by the Department of Conservation and used by conservation groups throughout New Zealand. To date his traps have removed thousands of predators nationwide and contributed to the protection of wildlife from extinction. He was appointed by Wellington Zoo to be their inaugural Artist in Residence, painting the zoo animals. He has also painted portraits of Māori women with traditional moko to help capture and preserve māoritanga (culture) and kaitiakitanga (conservation / guardianship). He has donated several of his artworks to fundraising auctions for trapping programmes. Mr Waddington was awarded Wellingtonian of the Year in 2013 and won the Local Hero New Zealander of the Year award in 2019.

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WILSHIER, Mr Warwick Kenneth

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to the road freight industry.

Mr Warwick Wilshier has been a log truck operator for more than 44 years, and has substantially increased the safety standards of log transport nationally through governance and advocacy.

Mr Wilshier began as a one truck operator in 1982, and became one of New Zealand’s largest log truck fleet owners with more than 150 vehicles. In 1985 he joined the New Zealand Road Transport Association Region 2 and was appointed the Region 2 representative on the Road Transport Forum in 2018. He was a founding member of the New Zealand Log Transport Safety Council in 1996, established to address the safety of log trucks operating on New Zealand highways. He advocated for the increase of log truck trailer lengths to 22 metres, allowing for lower loads and significantly increasing the safety of the vehicles. He led the development of new vehicle designs and driver education. At the conclusion of his 25 years as Chair of the Council in 2025, log truck rollovers had reduced from 2.4 per million kilometres to 0.3. He was appointed Chair of the Road Transport Forum, and was Chair of I Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand from 2021 to 2024. Mr Wilshier was inducted into the New Zealand Road Transport Hall of Fame in 2022.

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WOLFGRAMM, Mrs Vania Nive Hannah

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

For services to rugby.

Mrs Vania Wolfgramm is a former New Zealand rugby representative, and has made significant contributions to women’s and pacific rugby development.

Mrs Wolfgramm played for the Black Ferns XV from 2003 to 2007, the Black Ferns Sevens in 2008, and played 45 games representing Auckland in the Farah Palmer Cup. She is a member of the Barbarians Rugby Club. She became a Women’s Rugby Development Officer with New Zealand Rugby (NZR) in 2012, and later appointed Game Development Manager of Women’s Rugby in 2020. She was key in the development of the Ako Wāhine and Teine Toa programmes, which provide leadership pathways for women and Pasifika youth in sport and governance. As a member of NZRs Pacific Advisory Group, she co-developed the Pasifika Cultural Competency programme, and played a key role in shaping the Pasifika Strategy 2024-2029. She has fostered Pacific rugby at a grassroots level with the establishment of the Pacific Aotearoa Cup. She is a Board Member of the Marist Brothers Rugby Club, where she mentors young players, directs club strategy and has advocated for balanced resourcing between the men’s and women’s teams. Mrs Wolfgramm has been a rugby commentator for Sky Sport, becoming one of the first Pasifika women analysts on New Zealand rugby broadcasting.

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