To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
ANAE, Anae Lupematasila Lima Arthur John
For services to the Samoan community
Anae Lupematasila Lima Arthur Anae is a successful businessman who has advocated for the wellbeing and rights of Pacific Peoples in New Zealand.
Mr Anae advocated for many decades to push for legislative reform to address the curtailing by successive governments of rights of Samoans in New Zealand. He instigated the petition of 100,000 names presented to the New Zealand Government in 2003 to deliver the Privy Council Decision that Samoans born between 13 May 1924 and 31 December 1948, and their heirs, were British Subjects and automatically became New Zealand Citizens on the 1st of January 1949. This was resolved with the passing of the Restoring of Citizenship Removed by the Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 Bill (RCRCA Bill 1982) in November 2024. He led the Mau o Samoa I le Sitiseni committee from 1997, keeping awareness of the issue alive and supporting the activism of transitional Samoans, which culminated in 24,500 Select Committee submissions on the Bill before its passing. He was a List Member of Parliament from 1996 to 2002, initiating several Pacific initiatives during this time. He was a Manukau City Councillor from 2004 to 2010 and an Auckland Councillor from 2010 to 2016, chairing the Economic Forum for both Councils. Mr Anae is a Pacific Islanders Presbyterian Church elder and chaired its Development Committee.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
ANDREWS, Ms Ellesse Mote
For services to cycling
Ms Ellesse Andrews (Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe, Kāi Tahu) is a world champion cyclist and four-time Olympic medallist.
Ms Andrews set a new world youth record at the 2017 Junior Track Cycling World Championships and was recognised with the Halberg Emerging Talent Award. She went on to win three gold medals and a silver at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games, and two golds and a silver medal at the 2024 Olympics. She became the second New Zealander to win three medals in a single Olympic Games, and now ranks as New Zealand’s sixth most successful Olympian. In 2023, she became the first New Zealand female sprinter to claim a world title, winning gold at the World Championships. She was recognised as Cycling New Zealand Road and Track’s Female Track Cyclist of the Year in 2022 and 2023, and has been a top-five finalist in the High Performance Sport New Zealand Sportswoman of the Year category for three years running. Through her role in the Athlete Leaders Group, she has been an important advocate for her teammates, and a key driver of applying tikanga Māori to Cycling New Zealand’s programme. Ms Andrews has given back to the community through speaking engagements, mental health awareness campaigns and voluntary roles at community events, including Cambridge’s Cycling Festival.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
BALCOMBE-LANGRIDGE, Mr Richard
For services to business
Mr Richard Balcombe-Langridge has contributed to the New Zealand business and finance sector for more than 60 years as a leading figure in Auckland's transport, hospitality and building industry.
Mr Balcombe-Langridge took over Metropolitan Rentals, a specialist vehicle company founded by his father in the late 1950s, and has since developed it into one of the largest independent car, truck and rental companies in New Zealand. He has successfully managed a number of major redevelopment projects across Auckland, including a total rebuild of Pepperwood Mews, referred to as one of the country's most notorious leaky buildings. He has bought and renovated residential and commercial properties including warehousing and offices for transport, car dealers and small business owners. He has contributed to the tourism and hospitality industry, including as owner of the Surrey Hotel. Through his private vintage car museum, a unique collection among the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, he has supported community causes. He was a Crown Director of Auckland International Airport from 1993 to 1998, and was a member of the Auckland City Council Property Board for a number of years. Mr Balcombe-Langridge has supported Trees for Survival, a Trust empowering environmental restoration through the growing and planting of native trees for the protection of streams, wetlands and erosion prone land.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
BELL, Ms Catherine Juliet
For services to food education
Ms Catherine Bell is the founding Trustee and Chair of the Garden to Table Trust.
Ms Bell is a food writer and entrepreneur, co-founder and founding editor of Dish magazine, and co-founded the Garden to Table Trust in 2008. Through more than 15 years of voluntary efforts through the Trust, she has committed to educating school children to grow, harvest, prepare and eat the food they've grown. She was instrumental in undertaking many key roles in the Trust, including grant application, finding sponsors, organising fundraising events, managing the unpredictability of funding, and helping to secure the patronage of the Governor-General for the Trust. More than 100,000 students have gone through a Garden to Table programme since 2008, which is now offered in more than 300 schools, and provides more than a million vegetable-based meals for 30,000 children each year. Principals of schools involved in the Garden to Table programme note that teaching children where their food comes from, and how to grow and cook it for themselves improves educational and health outcomes, and that it increases environmental awareness. Ms Bell wrote, funded and published a cookbook in celebration of ten years of the Garden to Table Trust in 2019, with all profits returning to the Trust.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
BHANDARI, Dr Santosh Prasad, JP
For services to the Nepalese community
Dr Santosh Bhandari has served the Nepalese community of New Zealand for more than 10 years in several capacities.
Dr Bhandari was Secretary from 2012 to 2016 and President since 2020 of the New Zealand Nepal Society. His key contributions include helping improve governance transparency of the organisation, establishing an annual publication to reach more community members, launching programmes to support seniors, parents and young children, and youth. Notably, he also helped establish the Nepalese Women Wellbeing Network and the organisation of Nepal festivals and disaster relief fundraising. He has held several responsibilities with the Non-Resident Nepalese Association New Zealand, including as the 70th Everest Day coordinator in 2023 and committee memberships helping to develop policy and guidelines. He was on the steering committee to launch the New Zealand Nepal Sport Festival as part of the 70th Everest Day programme, with the inaugural event staged in January 2024. Since 2021, he has been an advisor representing New Zealand for the Oceania Nepali Sport Meet, helping organise sport competitions among Nepali in the Oceania region every two years. Dr Bhandari is a Life Member of the Nepal Literary Society and has been a member of the Khukuri Football Club since 2015.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
BISHOP, Mr Darryl
For services to mental health
Mr Darryl Bishop has made a significant contribution to mental health and addiction change in New Zealand with more than 20 years’ service to the health sector.
Mr Bishop has had a particular focus on the importance of giving voice to lived experience, ensuring this is included in the co-design of systems, and on addressing the mental health needs of young people. He was the Ministry of Health National Programme Manager for the Like Minds Like Mine programme from 2006 to 2010, one of the first comprehensive campaigns in the world to counter the prejudice and discrimination associated with mental distress. He has shared his knowledge and governance skills both nationally and internationally in volunteer roles, including with the Canadian Mental Health Commission, the Newfoundland and Labrador governments and Mentalympians, an Australian mental health organisation. In New Zealand, he established ‘Take It From Us’, a radio programme for the voice of lived experience which has been broadcasting for more than 20 years. Mr Bishop also developed the first Youth Transition Service in New Zealand to support youth in transition and established Ka Awatea, the first service aimed at supporting young people in their transition from state care to adulthood.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
BOYD, Mr Victor Kenneth
For services to survivors of abuse in care
Mr Victor Boyd has dedicated more than 50 years advocating for the redress for survivors and recognition of abuse which occurred at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (Lake Alice Unit).
Mr Boyd’s contributions have helped highlight the abuse and torture suffered by approximately 360 children and vulnerable adults between 1972 and 1978. He has been a volunteer researcher for the Citizens Commission on Human Rights since 1977, during which time he has interviewed numerous survivors of abuse at the Lake Alice Unit, documenting their experiences and supporting them in raising complaints with relevant government agencies. He has supported abuse survivors in a successful claim on the torture experienced by children at the Lake Alice Unit to the United Nations Convention Against Torture in 2017. His tireless advocacy across several decades culminated in a formal acknowledgement by the government of the abuse and torture of children and young adults at the Lake Alice Unit. His contribution to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions has helped inform the Lake Alice Unit section of the report. Mr Boyd has been actively involved in the inquiry, particularly through engagement with diverse survivor groups, Ministers, Members of Parliament, government officials and independent agencies.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
COTTRELL, Ms Anna Catherine
For services to documentary filmmaking and migrant communities
Ms Anna Cottrell is a freelance documentary producer, journalist and oral historian, connecting New Zealanders to their society, history and cultural roots.
Ms Cottrell highlighted migrant stories in the ‘Immigrant Nation’ TV series (1994-1996) and as co-founder of the ‘Migrating Kitchen’ Trust, with exhibitions at Pataka Museum from 2007 to 2023. The Trust supported migrant and refugee communities in workshops, videos and festivals. She recorded oral histories with media women, war veterans, politicians and refugees for the National Library. She co-directed ‘Getting to Our Place’ (1999) establishing Te Papa Tongarewa. She has directed and produced five miniseries, ‘Great War Stories’ on New Zealanders and the First World War, ‘Voices of Children’ following the Christchurch earthquakes, ‘The Wahine Disaster’ and recently documentaries for Newsroom and RNZ on Katherine Mansfield’s legacy. She was a TVNZ News reporter and a ‘Close Up’ current affairs director in the 1970s and 1980s. Her recognition includes the Qantas Media Award for Best Documentary, an ITO Silver Scroll Award, a Pacific Conservation and Development Award, and the Robert Bell Journalism Scholarship. Within her community, Ms Cottrell was a Board member of Women In Film and Television, Wellington Boys’ College and Chair of the Wellington Activity Centre Management Committee.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
DENNY, Mr Simon Eric
For services to art
Mr Simon Denny is an internationally acclaimed artist whose work explores the relationships between finance, technology, politics and creativity.
Mr Denny graduated from Elam School of Fine Arts in 2004 before moving to Berlin, where he has become a prominent figure in the international art scene. His diverse practice spans installation, sculpture, print, painting, video, and digital mediums. He was one of very few New Zealand-born artists to be selected for the main curated exhibition at the Venice Biennale in 2013, and he represented New Zealand at the 56th Biennale in 2015 with 'Secret Power' as New Zealand's pavilion. The project was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and for New Zealand’s national collection at Te Papa Tongarewa. His work is featured in the collections of major institutions in New Zealand, Europe, the United States and the United Kingdom, and has brought international interest to New Zealand’s history, politics, and global positioning. He has staged substantial solo exhibitions in multiple locations globally. He is one of a select few artists to receive multiple nominations for the prestigious Walters Prize, in 2012 and 2014. Mr Denny received the Baloise Prize at the 2012 Art Basel festival in Switzerland, and in 2022 was awarded a John Hood Fellowship from the University of Auckland.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
DUGGAN, Mrs Welmoed (Chris)
For services to science education
Mrs Chris Duggan has had a transformative impact on science education in New Zealand.
After 15 years as a biochemist and science teacher, Mrs Duggan was concerned by the lack of science education at the primary level. In response she founded House of Science in 2014, a not-for-profit organisation with the mission to ensure science education is accessible, engaging and effective for primary school students. Under her leadership as Chief Executive Officer, The House of Science has since provided more than 200,000 students with bilingual, curriculum-aligned science kits delivered to hundreds of schools across New Zealand. Her work has had a profound impact on revitalising science, technology, engineering and mathematics education in hundreds of schools, equipping teachers with tools and confidence to deliver engaging lessons and ignite curiosity in young minds. She has earned numerous accolades for her contributions, including Tauranga Girls’ College staff innovation award in 2009, Supreme Winner of the Trustpower Tauranga Community Awards for outstanding community impact in 2015, and the 2022 Wintec Science Teacher/Educator Award. Mrs Duggan also provides professional development to trainee teachers at various tertiary institutions, equipping the next generation of primary educators with the capability and capacity to deliver engaging and effective science lessons throughout their teaching careers.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
EALAM, Mr Ronald Bruce (Ron)
For services to Search and Rescue
Mr Ron Ealam has been contributing to Land Search and Rescue for more than 50 years.
Mr Ealam has contributed 25 years of service to the New Zealand Land Search and Rescue Dogs, helping train dogs. He has been a qualified national trainer and assessor for Search Dogs for more than ten years, specialising in border collies, attending several annual dog training camps each year. He helped develop the official New Zealand Land Search and Rescue Search Dogs Training Pathway and Assessments in 2009, which forms the basis of the Search Dogs pathways today. He has been a member of the Oxford Land Search and Rescue, contributing to local search and rescue meetings and training nights, training dogs which takes at least two years before they become operational. During the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes, he was part of the initial response in the first three days in the Redcliff area and helped with welfare and house checks. He has been a member of the Oxford Fire Brigade since 1996. He has been the elected Group Chair for Oxford Land Search and Rescue for more than 10 years. Mr Ealam received the New Zealand Search and Rescue Excellence award in 2023 for his contributions.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
EDWARDS, Mr Robert Tuahuru
For services to the community and governance
Mr Robert Edwards is a dedicated member of the Whakatōhea community to which he has been contributing for 20 years.
Mr Edwards joined the Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board in 2004 and has served as Chair since 2006. As Chair he guided the Trust during a turbulent time and implemented several goals and initiatives to increase the Trust’s engagement and trust with the community. Working with the Ministry for Primary Industries, he helped develop the Whakatōhea Fisheries Trust and has served as the inaugural Director since. He worked with the local Mayor, iwi and researchers which found the Ōpōtiki site could produce mussels faster than other local sources. This led to the establishment of Whakatōhea Mussels Ōpōtiki Limited (WMOL) in 2014 to commercialise this opportunity, to allow boats to enter the Ōpōtiki harbour development took place and allowed the first boats to enter the harbour in 2024. WMOL received two awards at the regional Economic Development Awards in 2021. Since 2023 he has been Director of Mataraupo Housing, Kaumatua of Te Tāwharau Establishment Committee, and is a member of Ngāti Rua Marae Committee. Mr Edwards has been a member of Ōpōtiki Rugby Club and a committee member of the Whakatōhea Farms since 2012.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
ELLEY, Mrs Susan Ann (Sue)
For services to education
Mrs Sue Elley has worked across primary, secondary and tertiary education for more than 30 years as a teacher and principal.
As Assistant Principal of Hornby High School from 2013 to 2017, Mrs Elley was instrumental in incorporating Year 7 and 8 students into Hornby High School as part of post-Canterbury earthquake changes to the network, navigating engagement with a community that was not supportive of the change. As Principal of Pūtahi-Belfast School from 2017 until her retirement in 2024, she led the change to a split-site school across two campuses, though a significant build programme and opening of a new campus in early 2024. The move to the split-site model has seen a reduction in behavioural incidents and positive engagement by students. She led the school during a period of uncertainty following a falling roll during the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping the staff and school community engaged with longer-term plans for the school. She has been a member of the Belfast Community Network Board, a community development organisation working to provide local services and support. She has been on the Board of START, an organisation for those affected by sexual violence. Earlier in her career, Mrs Elley was Primary Programme Leader at the New Zealand Graduate School of Education, where she delivered the Graduate Programme Curriculum.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
FAIRHALL, Mrs Terri Jayne (Terri Middleton)
For services to the New Zealand Police and the community
Ms Terri Middleton joined the New Zealand Police in 1991 in Greymouth, spending nine years as an interviewer and investigating child abuse, and as the West Coast School Community Officer since 2002.
Ms Middleton has been instrumental in delivering education and prevention initiatives into all West Coast schools, as well as volunteering thousands of hours to local organisations, sporting clubs and charity events. She has introduced numerous initiatives over and above her School Community Officer role including Youth Boot Camps, life skills programmes and others, intensive programmes requiring considerable coordination. More recently, she has been a driving force for a Prevention First Drug Education across the region, both within schools and the broader community. She has chaired the West Coast Blue Light branch since 2010 and is the West Coast Health and Safety Area Representative for the Police Association and Welfare Officer. She developed Te Wa Maaku in 2021, a community approach to help women exposed to family harm through fitness and wellbeing. In 2015, Ms Middleton initiated engagement with the school principal of Gloriavale Christian Community that led to a multi-agency response of active engagement with Gloriavale, enabling her to build trust and co-deliver a range of initiatives that would otherwise have not been introduced to the young people of the community.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
FRANKLIN, Ms Allison Daphne Christina
For services to people with disabilities
Ms Allison Franklin has been a long-term advocate for the disabled community.
Ms Franklin’s lifetime of advocacy has focused on policy changes to support people with disabilities and advice for public and community organisations on the need for inclusivity and diversity. She has regularly spoken to schools and community groups about disability awareness and represented the disabled community through many forums including the Cerebral Palsy Society of New Zealand’s Executive Board, Christchurch City Council’s Disability Advisory Group and the Christchurch Community House Trust. As a Member of Meridian Energy Christchurch’s Consumer Advisory Panel, her interventions led the company to collaborate with the Deaf Association to develop a protocol enabling hearing-impaired clients to access services through third parties without breaching provisions of the Privacy Act. She served a term as the National Vice President of the Disabled Persons Assembly and represented New Zealand through its delegation to the World Congress of Rehabilitation International in Kenya. Ms Franklin received the Roy McKenzie Foundation Travel Award in 1989, the Christchurch City Council Civic Award for Services to the Community in 2005 and a Local Hero Award in 2010.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
GALO, Mr Okesene Uili (Uili)
For services to the Tokelau community
Mr Uili Galo has held various leadership positions within the Tokelau community at both a local and national level since 2008.
Mr Galo was instrumental in launching Te Kaiga Fakaofo Tokelau I Ueligitone, from Fakaofo Wellington Society, the community group of Tokelau Fakaofo atoll in Wellington. He was appointed Secretary of Te Kaiga in 2008, and then Kailau in 2020. He has led the development and implementation of their Strategic Plan 2022 to 2032. He manages their relationship with local and central government agencies, and was influential in securing land and buildings to provide a dedicated space for a Fakaofo Tokelau Community Hall in Porirua. He has been a member of the Tokelau Wellington Leadership Group since 2009 and has served as both the Secretary and Treasurer since 2011. He is the Secretary of the Tokelau Aotearoa Leaders Council, a role he has held since 2017. In this position, Mr Galo is responsible for leading a national team that oversees the planning and coordination of events celebrating Tokelau Language Week across New Zealand.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
GARDI, Ms Rez
For services to refugees and human rights advocacy
Ms Rez Gardi is an international human rights lawyer, advocate, and a trailblazer in the global refugee leadership movement.
From a refugee background, Ms Gardi became New Zealand’s first female Kurdish lawyer. Her international advocacy for refugees began in 2016, representing New Zealand at the Global Refugee Youth Consultations at the United Nations. Her contributions span the development of multiple organisations, shaping law and policy, contributing to academic literature, and advocating for meaningful refugee participation at the highest levels. She co-founded and has been Co-Managing Director of Refugees Seeking Equal Access at the Table (R-SEAT) since 2021, a global refugee-led organisation focused on ensuring refugees have a seat at decision-making tables. She has created a framework that positions refugees as experts within United Nations structures and within government delegations, advising on forced displacement policies. Within New Zealand, she founded Empower Youth Trust in 2017, a refugee-youth-led organisation addressing educational inequity, providing mentorship, leadership training, and workshops to thousands of young people. She co-founded the Centre for Asia Pacific Refugee Studies (CAPRS) at the University of Auckland in 2020. CAPRS combines academic rigor with lived refugee experiences to advance research, education, and policy solutions. Ms Gardi has worked with the New Zealand Human Rights Commission across constitutional law, social cohesion and community engagement.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
GILMORE, Mr Alan Charles
For services to astronomy
Mr Alan Gilmore and his wife Ms Pamela Kilmartin are recognised for their contributions to furthering astronomy in New Zealand since the 1970s, particularly through research on hazardous Near Earth Objects.
Mr Gilmore and Ms Kilmartin became Observer/Technicians at Mt John Observatory for the University of Canterbury in 1980. By 1996, he had been cited in 39 professional research papers and was appointed Resident Superintendent of Mt John Observatory, responsible for the day-to-day management of the facility until retiring in 2014. They hosted thousands of schoolchildren and other visitors to Mt John as part of their public outreach and education. They undertook a voluntary research programme on astronomy during their employment and have co-discovered 41 asteroids and a comet. They continue their voluntary research in retirement, making observations and sending data to the Minor Planet Center funded by NASA, helping observe asteroids to improve the safety of space missions and planetary defence. He was elected to the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1976 and has served on many Commissions and Divisions on a voluntary basis. He was President of IAU Commission 6 Astronomical Telegrams from 2006 to 2009 and serves currently on two others. Mr Gilmore has twice been the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand President and edited the newsletter for 22 years.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
GOLDINGHAM, Mr Francis Quinn (Frank)
For services to outdoor recreation and seniors
Mr Frank Goldingham has made a significant and lasting contribution to promoting walking in Manawatū.
In 1996, Mr Goldingham started Walking New Zealand Magazine, a monthly publication that promotes walking, publicises walking events and walking groups and profiles hundreds of walks throughout New Zealand. He continues to own, publish and edit the magazine. He established and organised the annual Manawatū Walking Festival between 2015 and 2020, coordinating with a range of organisations including Forest and Bird, the Department of Conservation, Palmerston North City Council and Te Manawa Museums Trust. As the inaugural Chairperson of Te Araroa Manawatū Trust for 16 years, he championed the early trail development, lobbying councils for improvements and applying for funding to connect the track from Feilding to Palmerston North. He supported the Sledge Track and Back Track segments of Te Araroa, on which a hut has been co-named after him. His contributions have made Manawatū a popular walking spot and his work has motivated and encouraged seniors to gain all the benefits of walking, including improved physical and mental health and better community connections. He received the Outdoor Access Commission Walking Access Champion Award in 2022 and won the 2023 Living Streets Aotearoa Golden Foot Award. Mr Goldingham was inducted into the Manawatū Legends of Sports in 2024.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
GRAHAM, Mrs Elizabeth Helen (Liz)
For services to Māori and education
Mrs Liz Graham (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāi Toroiwaho) has dedicated more than 40 years to her community and Māori education.
Mrs Graham is a teacher at Te Aute College and has been a member of the school’s Board of Trustees and Trust Board, supporting students and the community. She was a hostel staff member between 1977 and 1999 before studying to become a teacher and has been teaching since 2003. She was a member of the senior leadership team at the college and is the caretaker of Te Kawa o te Marae. She has held the Chair position of Tamatea Taiwhenua and was elected representative of Pukehou marae as part of the Heretaunga and Tamatea pre-treaty settlement committee, holding the position from 2003 to 2015. Her knowledge of traditions, values and customs has helped the marae in hosting funerals, weddings, gatherings and other events over more than 20 years. She was Deputy Chair from 2015 and Chair from 2017 to 2023 of the Heretaunga Tamatea Settlement Trust, guiding the community through the Treaty settlement process. She has been the Secretary and led the catering of Ōtane Sports Club since 2010. Mrs Graham has been a director of Kāweka Gwavas Forest Trust since 2018, the entity which holds the Kaweka and Gwavas Crown Forest lands for Heretaunga, Tamatea and Ahuriri.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
GREGORY, Mrs Patricia Pearl (Trish)
For services to the fashion industry
Mrs Trish Gregory is an award-winning fashion designer and pioneering businesswoman committed to sustainability and supporting women in business.
Mrs Gregory has made a significant contribution to the New Zealand fashion industry since 1968. After opening ‘The Fig Leaf’ boutique in Timaru she won four New Zealand Benson & Hedges Fashion Design Awards between 1970 and 1974. She was the first New Zealand fashion designer to receive a prestigious Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council Award in 1974. She won a place at the Royal College of Art in 1975, and then interned at Vogue Magazine and the International Wool Secretariat in London. She received the New Zealand Industrial Design Council's ‘Designmark’ for her ‘High Fashion in a Kitset’ concept in 1985. The revolutionary idea made high-end fashion accessible to women across New Zealand and Australia, allowing sewers to craft professionally designed pre-cut garments at home. Her vision has continued to influence the industry today, empowering women through flexible work opportunities. She designed the graphics for Team New Zealand’s 1987 America’s Cup entry and has garments displayed in Te Papa Tongarewa. In the late 1990s and 2000s she designed collections using a new natural yarn blend of possum fur and merino wool. Until 2017 Mrs Gregory worked with large New Zealand manufacturers developing and designing new possum/merino knitwear collections.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
HALSTEAD, Mr Aaron Mark
For services to Search and Rescue and the tourism industry
Mr Aaron Halstead has contributed to alpine Search and Rescue (SAR) at regional, national and international levels for more than 30 years.
Since 1991, Mr Halstead has been involved with more than 200 rescues. He joined Wakatipu LandSAR Alpine and Cliff Rescue Team in 2000 and is currently Alpine Rescue Team Leader. He was Rescue Manager at Aoraki Mount Cook from 2005 to 2008. He has provided moderation on national SAR exercises as an expert advisor. He was Vice President from 2006 and President from 2008 to 2010 of the New Zealand Mountain Guides Association, leading the organisation to a positive outcome through challenges with its financial structure. He has represented the New Zealand mountaineering industry through training and advisory roles with mountaineering organisations in other countries, or as part of SAR operations. He has conducted expeditions in Antarctica, both privately and through his adventure business exploreGO, and has trained staff in technical mountain skills and managing people in hostile polar environments. He was a Trustee from 2019 and became Chairman in 2023 of the Southern Lakes Trails, involved with the governance of building a biking and walking trail network linking 30 communities in Central Otago. Mr Halstead has been involved with youth development as an instructor for outdoor recreation organisations and as a speaker or lecturer.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
HOOD, Dr Nina Emilia
For services to education
Dr Nina Hood is an education research expert known for improving training and support for education practitioners throughout New Zealand.
Dr Hood is the founder of The Education Hub, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to closing the gap between educational research and classroom teaching. Through her leadership, The Education Hub has become a trusted resource platform, addressing critical issues in education including literacy, curriculum design, neurodivergent learning support, and online learning. She leads international webinars, establishing a global conversation on education reform, effective pedagogy, and rigorous curriculum design. Throughout 2023 and 2024, she helped to establish The Teachers’ Institute, a charitable trust which offers school-led teacher education and professional development nationally, and started as full-time Academic Director in 2025. She is a member of the Coherence Group overseeing the development of the new school curriculum and volunteers her time to organise community events that address local issues, including coordinating workshops and educational sessions. Since 2024, Dr Hood has been a Senior Research Fellow at Koi Tū, a think tank focused on building informed futures.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
HUCKINS, Mrs Lesley Mary
For services to swimming
Mrs Lesley Huckins is a dedicated volunteer who has made significant contributions to competitive swimming locally and internationally.
Mrs Huckins gained her Swimming New Zealand officiating qualifications in the 1980s and has since been a swimming teacher, coach, club committee member, and a national and international technical official. She became the first New Zealand female FINA (now known as World Aquatics) referee, pioneering pathways for women at the international level. While President of Swimming New Zealand, she guided the organisation and spearheaded a period of change within the sport. She has represented New Zealand at the FINA and World Aquatics World Championships, Oceania Championships, Pacific Games and the World Masters Games. She has also officiated at three Olympic Games. While living in Papua New Guinea in the 1990s, she was instrumental in the national swimming team’s participation and success at the South Pacific Games. She has been recognised for her work, including a 2016 Honours Award from Swimming New Zealand, several Life Memberships, and eight Official of the Year awards between 2007 and 2014 from Sport Canterbury, Swimming Canterbury West Coast and Swimming New Zealand. Mrs Huckins has been a member of the World Aquatics Technical Swimming Committee since 2013.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
IKIUA, Ms Meleua Enda
For services to Vagahau Niue language and education
Ms Meleua Ikiua has advocated over 20 years for the integration of Vagahau Niue language standards into the New Zealand education curriculum and the fostering of Niue culture and language.
Ms Ikiua has held various teaching and leadership roles at Alfriston College since 2007, including Vagahau Niue Learning Leader, Head of Languages and Cultural Co-Ordinator. As a subject matter lead working with the Ministry of Education and NZQA, she has been key to establishing Vagahau Niue as an NCEA achievement standard. She has been at the forefront of the Niue community’s participation in the Polyfest cultural festival since 2014, first as a tutor and for 11 years as the Niue stage coordinator. Through the Hakupu Atua Trust Board she established Three Star Nation, a network that delivers leadership, educational, and cultural programmes that elevate young people, giving them the tools to become the future leaders of their communities. In 2024, she established the Tokiofa Arts Academy, the world’s first Niue Performing Arts Academy, which ensures intergenerational learning in the performing arts, and offers a platform for Tagata Niue of all ages to experience and celebrate their culture through music, dance, and theatre. Ms Ikiua was recognised by the Puipui A Niue Inaugural Awards 2024 for her services to Vagahau Niue Language in education.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
KAIPO, Mr Martin
For services to social services and the community
Mr Martin Kaipo (Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi) is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Te Hau Āwhiowhio o Otangarei Trust, which has provided holistic social services in Whangārei since 1991.
Through the Trust, Mr Kaipo has provided a wide range of support services to the community, including access to culturally tailored health services, mental health support and addiction recovery, transitional housing, employment support, budgeting advice, counselling, and youth development programmes. The Rakau Rangatira initiative integrates social and health interventions to increase opportunities for employment and recovery for people with mild to moderate mental health conditions and a history of substance abuse. The Hakinakina programme supports young athletes, and the newly opened Te Whare o Rehua nurse-led clinic makes health care accessible for those not currently enrolled with a health provider. The Trust also provides wraparound service provision for those who are on bail. He has worked with urban communities with complex and high needs Māori youth and their whānau, and has been Director of three residential facilities. Mr Kaipo is a respected advocate for Māori development, advocating for improved outcomes, leading policy discussions and sharing successful kaupapa Māori frameworks with other organisations nationally and internationally.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
KASANJI, Ms Lalita Vanmali
For services to the IT industry and the Indian community
Ms Lalita Kasanji co-founded the New Zealand Centre for Digital Connections with India in 2023 with Mr Sunit Prakash to accelerate and incubate digital and tech collaboration between the two countries.
Ms Kasanji brought her unique New Zealand and ethno-sociological lens to her research with Mr Prakash: “The Story and Contribution of Indian IT Professionals to New Zealand,” demonstrating the community had exceptional knowledge, experience, insights, and connections in both markets, and made it their mission to remove barriers and seize opportunities. They identified predicators to success, creating catalyst programs for visibility and growth, forming the basis of their submission recommending a Digital and IT Trade Delegation to India. Ms Kasanji has completed sociology research on the Gujarati immigration to Wellington and the community’s social integration, and as the first employee of the predecessor of the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, she has worked closely with ethnic leaders. She is a Board member at Enterprise Miramar, on Wellington Indian Association committees, and has contributed to the Wellington Indian Sports Club. She collaborates with Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand on projects, including a current focus on identifying Indian subjects in historic photographs. Ms Kasanji’s work has been recognised nationally.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
KELLY, Mr Brian Patrick
For services to broadcasting
Mr Brian Kelly has worked in the broadcasting industry for 55 years.
Mr Kelly began his career in programming before becoming a sports journalist and broadcaster, moving to a variety of towns and cities around the country to gain experience, before settling in the Bay of Plenty. He is the voice of motorsport in New Zealand, covering all major racing events in New Zealand since 1975, including the International Rally, the V8 Supercars, the New Zealand Summer Series, as well as the Otago Rally for 30 years. He is a leading master of ceremonies, having hosted the Westpac Business Awards and the Motorsport New Zealand Awards, and has personally won many broadcasting industry awards nationally and internationally. He regularly covers local Bay of Plenty sports including rowing, squash, surf lifesaving, rugby, cricket and hockey, as well as hosting associated events such as awards ceremonies. In 2024 he emceed an international squash championship in Tauranga and has hosted the Surf Lifesaving Eastern Region Awards of Excellence for five years. He has been a founding Board member and Trustee of the Western Bay of Plenty Life Education Trust since 1992 and is a past President of the Motorsport New Zealand Journalist Association. Mr Kelly volunteers as a tutor and mentor for the New Zealand School of Broadcasting.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
KERMODE, Mr William James (Bill)
For services to governance and philanthropy
Mr Bill Kermode was Chief Executive Officer of the NEXT Foundation from 2014 to 2024, with the last five years also as Chair, and co-founder and Chief Executive of the Centre for Strategic Philanthropy.
As Chief Executive Officer of the NEXT Foundation, a strategic philanthropic fund with a 10-year planned life, Mr Kermode led and implemented a number of large scale environmental and educational projects throughout New Zealand. He was previously a founding Director of the private equity firm Direct Capital. He was involved in environmental projects focused on predator elimination and restoring biodiversity to areas of national and cultural significance, including the Taranaki Mounga Project, Predator Free Wellington and Predator Free South Westland. He worked with the Department of Conservation in 2015 to help establish Zero Invasive Predators, a research entity developing tools and techniques to remove predators, and pioneering the use of natural barriers to eliminate predators on the New Zealand mainland. Mr Kermode also played a key role in NEXT’s support of numerous educational projects including Manaiakalani, which targets educational inequality in schools, and Springboard Trust which develops school principals’ strategic leadership skills.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
KILMARTIN, Ms Pamela Margaret
For services to astronomy
Ms Pamela Kilmartin and her husband Mr Alan Gilmore are recognised for their contributions to furthering astronomy in New Zealand since the 1970s, particularly through research on hazardous Near Earth Objects.
Ms Kilmartin and Mr Gilmore became Observer/Technicians at Mt John Observatory for the University of Canterbury in 1980. Ms Kilmartin retired from the role in 2014, having been cited on 53 professional research papers. They hosted thousands of schoolchildren and other visitors to Mt John as part of their public outreach and education. They undertook a voluntary research programme on astronomy during their employment and have co-discovered 41 asteroids and a comet. They continue their voluntary research in retirement, making observations and sending data to the Minor Planet Center funded by NASA, helping observe asteroids to improve the safety of space missions and planetary defence. She was elected to the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1994 and has served on many Commissions and Divisions on a voluntary basis. Ms Kilmartin is currently one of 15 members of the IAU Working Group on Small Bodies Nomenclature, which is responsible for naming small bodies in our solar system.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
KUMITAU, Mr John Junior (Johnny)
For services to the Pacific community
Mr Johnny Kumitau has contributed to the Niuean and Pacific communities in Northland for 20 years.
Mr Kumitau has extensive experience in working with Māori and Pacific youth and adults, and in recent years has focused on early intervention, prevention and community building. He served as Board Chair of the Northland Pacific Islands Charitable Trust Board from 2002 to 2022, which supports Pacific families throughout Northland by building healthy active living, and bridging the gap between Island-born and New Zealand-born Pacific peoples. He has been the Chair of the Niue Community Whangārei since 2001, and the Co-Chair of the Multi-Ethnic Community Advisory Board since 2020, working to ensure the voices of Pacific Islanders and other ethnic groups are heard in local government decision-making. He has been Deputy Chair of the Te Matarau Trust since 2020, and is the Deputy Chair of the Whangārei Intermediate School Board. He chairs the Northland Police Pacific Advisory Group, where he plays an important role in fostering understanding and building stronger relationships between the Pacific community and local Police. Mr Kumitau has been the General Manager of Fale Pasifika Te Tai Tokerau since 2022, which supports Pacific peoples across Northland, by providing resources and advocating for Pacific families, particularly in rural and remote areas.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
LAING, Mrs Laurinne Marion
For services to sports and people with intellectual disabilities
Mrs Laurinne Marion Laing has volunteered for the Special Olympics Howick-Pakuranga club for 35 years.
Mrs Laing supports the Special Olympics Howick-Pakuranga club volunteering 30 to 40 hours per week with sports coordination, fundraising, volunteer and athlete recruitment, as well as through guidance to athletes and their families. The club offers seven sports, holds ribbon days and regional games each year for members of the community with an intellectual disability. She has served as the club’s Chair since 2007, and is also the Deputy Chair and Fundraising Subcommittee Chair of the Special Olympics Upper North Island Regional Trust. She supports other Chairs to set up new clubs, to understand Special Olympics New Zealand procedures, and learn how to apply for funding and run events. Through the fundraising efforts she leads, the club can send an athlete to the Special Olympics World Summer Games every four years, teams to Special Olympics New Zealand national games every four years and the regional trust can send approximately 40 athletes and volunteers for annual snow sports events in Wānaka. Her organisation ensures airfares, transport, on mountain training and accommodation needs are met. In 2013 Mrs Laing led a team of ten-pin bowlers to the Trans-Tasman Games in Cairns.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
LAWRENCE, Mr Ross James
For services to the ski industry
Mr Ross Lawrence has been instrumental in the evolution of the New Zealand ski industry.
Beginning as a lift operator in 1984, Mr Lawrence advanced through roles at Whakapapa, Rainbow Valley and Mt Hutt ski fields before becoming Ski Area Manager at The Remarkables in Queenstown in 2007, a position he held for 17 years. Through his innovative development and leadership of The Remarkables, he has directly enhanced New Zealand’s reputation as a world-class skiing destination and consequently bolstered the economy of the wider Southern Lakes region. He has shown a strong understanding of the cultural and conservation values associated with New Zealand mountains through environmental stewardship. His projects included unique techniques to ensure land was left in an even better condition than when development began. His efforts also extended to biodiversity conservation, including pest trapping and banding kea. Throughout his career he has demonstrated a keen ability to anticipate the evolving needs of the ski industry, consistently going beyond expectations to implement long-term solutions that enhance both guest experiences and operational efficiency. Mr Lawrence has mentored thousands of staff members, fostered a supportive workplace culture and helped many advance their careers.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
LI, Ms Lisa
For services to the tourism industry
Ms Lisa Li contributed to the development of New Zealand’s tourism industry for more than 20 years.
Ms Li established the New Zealand branch of China Travel Service (Hong Kong) Ltd. in 2000 to handle ground arrangements for Chinese tourists. She has grown China Travel Service (NZ) Ltd. into one of the premier China specialists for inbound Chinese tourists to New Zealand. She is active in Auckland’s business and Chinese communities, as a founding member and serving on the Executive Board of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in New Zealand since 2005, during which she has contributed to building the New Zealand-China bilateral economic relationship, along with raising more than $200,000 for local charities. Ms Li has been appointed to numerous boards over the past 15 years, including as a member of the government’s Tourism Futures Task Force Advisory Board, Co-Chair of New Zealand Asian Leaders, the Advisor of the Superdiversity Institute in New Zealand, the Tourism Export Council New Zealand Board and Advisory Board of Manukau Police.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
LILLEY, Mr James Eric (Jim)
For services to conservation and the community
Mr Jim Lilley has been active in conservation and community groups since the 1980s.
After several years volunteering for conservation groups, Mr Lilley established Marine Watch in 1992 where he led groups of volunteers to rescue and rehabilitate injured wildlife including dolphins, whales, seals and seabirds. He wrote the national guideline for authorities and volunteers on best practice when called out to a whale stranding, and has personally been involved in responses to more than 10,000 stranded whales. Between 1999 and 2005 he was the Honorary National Manager of the Hector’s Dolphin Post-Mortem Database. He began volunteering for the Canterbury Coastguard in 1994, serving as a training officer, skipper and communications officer for 17 years and participating in the rescue of more than 500 people. As a Marine Search and Rescue Controller, he helped organise the South Island’s largest SAR exercise over three days in 2007. He was a Volunteer Incident Manager at the welfare centres established for evacuees during the Christchurch Earthquakes. In 2014, Mr Lilley joined the executive committee for the Christchurch Memorial RSA, and as President he organises and is master of ceremonies of the Anzac and Armistice Day services for Christchurch City and Lyttelton.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
LILO, Ms Janet Crystal-Lee
For services to the arts
Ms Janet Lilo (Te Rarawa) is an award-winning artist, educator and advocate for Pacific and rainbow arts and communities.
Ms Lilo works across digital video, photography, drawing, sculpture and installation. Her work has been shown at Auckland Art Gallery, Te Papa Tongarewa and Christchurch Art Gallery as well as in Asia, Europe, the United States and across the Pacific. She is a tireless advocate for Pacific artists, creating creative pathways while serving on and chairing the Board of Tautai Pacific Arts Trust between 2008 and 2019. She is a founding director of interdisciplinary arts organisation Whau the People, leading All Goods community gallery in Avondale and nurturing the next generation of artists. She has lectured at Auckland University of Technology and the Elam School of Fine Arts. In 2011 she was awarded the Contemporary Pacific Arts Award from Creative New Zealand. She has been featured in the Otago Daily Times, Paperboy and the New Zealand Herald, and invited onto several education panels. She won the Auckland Festival of Photography annual commission, the Karangahape Road public art commission in 2017, resulting in her iconic banana light poles, and the first commission for the Ports of Auckland in 2020, with her work ‘ISLOVE’. Throughout her career, Ms Lilo has been awarded residencies in Japan, China, New Caledonia, France, Hawaii and Aotearoa.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
LUYTEN, Ms Pauline-Jean Henrietta
For services to rugby and the Pacific community
Ms Pauline-Jean Luyten is a legal professional with governance experience across the community sector and with national and provincial rugby.
Ms Luyten co-founded the Tongan Society South Canterbury in 2016, serving as Chair from 2020 to 2023, and remains on the Board to close service gaps for the local Tongan and wider Pacific community. She has led several strengths-based cultural, social and wellbeing initiatives across South Canterbury. She served as a Trustee of Community Trust Mid and South Canterbury from 2020 to 2025, where her expertise drove positive community outcomes. She became the first Pacific woman appointed to the South Canterbury Provincial Rugby Union Board, and in 2022 the first Pacific woman to be appointed to the New Zealand Rugby (NZR) Board as an emerging director. She was appointed to the NZR Pasifika Advisory Group and elected Co-Chair in 2021. In 2024 her leadership helped secure formal Pacific representation within the NZR’s new governance structure. She also led the development of NZR’s 2024 Pasifika Rugby Strategy, aimed at attracting, supporting and equipping more Pacific participation in rugby in New Zealand, from playing to non‑playing roles. Mrs Luyten is a Peer Mentor for NZR’s Women in Rugby Governance Programme and the Pasifika representative on NZR’s Stakeholder Panel.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MAJOR, Reverend David Elliott
For services to the community and the State
Reverend David Major has led the inter-party Parliamentary weekly prayer meetings and breakfast for Members of Parliament for 20 years.
In this role Reverend Major has given pastoral care support to Members from all parties at times of stress and difficulty. Domestically, he has served as the National Director of the Prison Chaplaincy Service of Aotearoa New Zealand, is a past member of the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority, and is a past member of the New Zealand Parole Board. He has been a Wellington City Councillor and is a recognised member of Rotary International. He has served with The Salvation Army as a teacher and missionary in Papua New Guinea and Fiji, serving also in Russia and Belarus. In Belarus, Reverend Major established the Veterans of Chernobyl Group, a collective that cares for victims of the nuclear disaster.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MARSTERS, Ms Ngatepaeru
For services to midwifery and Pacific communities
Ms Ngatepaeru Marsters has played a significant role in the development of New Zealand’s Pasifika midwifery workforce.
Ms Marsters has helped to grow a South Auckland-based collaboration since 2014 into a national initiative that has doubled practising Pasifika midwifery numbers. She also played a key role in a grassroots Pasifika midwives’ group known as the ‘Aunties’ that provides a mentoring model programme practicing Pacific village values. She is a foundation member of Pasifika Midwives Aotearoa and a current co-representative. She is a member of the New Zealand College of Midwives’ National Board, and their representative on the International Confederation of Midwives Western Pacific Region’s Professional Committee. Her work has been centred on improving outcomes for whānau through advocacy, and providing a safe service by an appropriate workforce to bring about positive change. Ms Marsters is a member of the Tagata Moana Maternity Trust, which together with Turuki Healthcare and Nga Hau o Mangere Birthing Centre provide maternity care and an integrated community-led wraparound service to ensure whānau voices are heard.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MCCALLUM, Mr Lloyd James, JP
For services to the dairy industry and the environment
Mr Lloyd McCallum is a church elder, award-winning dairy farmer and active community member in Southland.
Mr McCallum was one of the original Southland sheep and arable farmers to convert his property to dairy production in 1990, a move that helped to bring prosperity and growth to the region. He has won several farming awards, including Westpac NZMP Dairy Farmer of the Year in 2002 and Balance Farm Environment Award for best dairy farm and Lincoln University Farmer of the Year, both in 1997. He was a member of the original Fonterra Shareholders Council (SHC) between 2000 and 2013, providing leadership during a period of significant change in the dairy industry. He has been involved with many industry bodies including the South Island Dairy Event committee, Livestock Improvement Co-op, and the Southland Demonstration Farm. He was elected as an Environment Southland Councillor in 2013 and became Deputy Chair in 2016. Significant improvements in the Southland waterways are now visible due to policies made by Environment Southland in his tenure. He has been instrumental in leading farmers in best practice farm management and taking responsibility for environmental effects. Mr McCallum was one of the first Co-Chairs of Whakamana te Waituna Charitable Trust, which focused on improving freshwater quality in the Waituna region of Southland.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MCFADDEN, Ms Suzanne Michelle
For services to sports journalism and women
Ms Suzanne McFadden (Tainui, Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Pū) is an award-winning journalist who has contributed to the advancement of media coverage of women’s sport.
Over 40 years, Ms McFadden has covered sports nationally and internationally, including Olympic Games and the America’s Cup. She is the founding editor of LockerRoom, the sports section of Newsroom’s web content, solely covering women’s sport since 2018. She advocated to gain corporate support to help increase the diversity of sports coverage in New Zealand and has negotiated cross coverage with other media organisations to further improve visibility. She has been a mentor for women entering sports journalism and gained sponsorship for a LockerRoom Scholarship to hire two young journalists to date. She has led and written series on issues such as pregnancy and sport and challenges in sport faced by women in the Muslim community of New Zealand. She has written the books ‘Striking Gold’ (2016) and ‘Honey’ (2024). Ms McFadden was named Sports Journalist of the Year at the 2021 Voyager Media Awards, is a three-time winner at the New Zealand Magazine Journalism Awards, and a Life Member of the New Zealand Sports Journalists Association.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MCKELVIE, Mr Ian Robert Flockhart
For services to local government, governance and as a Member of Parliament
Mr Ian McKelvie was Mayor of Manawatu District Council from 2002 to 2011 and the Member of Parliament for Rangitikei from 2011 to 2023.
As an MP Mr McKelvie was involved with several Select Committees, including chairing the Primary Production and Governance and Administration Select Committees. As Mayor, he led an initiative to improve the management of the Council’s significant housing for the disabled and seniors portfolio, resulting in establishment of the Manawatu Community Trust in 2008. He had a leading role with a group of community organisations to merge independent medical practices in Fielding into the Feilding Health Centre and the construction of a new purpose-built medical facility, completed in 2015. He chaired the Board of Special Olympics New Zealand from 2011 to 2021. He was President of the Royal Agricultural Society of New Zealand from 1998 to 2002, overseeing a constitutional review that continues to inform the organisation’s present operations. He was Chairman of Te Kawau Rugby Football Club from 1997 to 2001, during which time he guided the club through the sale of its clubrooms and merging with the new Te Kawau recreational centre. Mr McKelvie is a former New Zealand Pony Club Patron, a New Zealand Polo Association honorary member, and has received Life Memberships from the Royal Agricultural Society and Rangitikei Racing Club.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MCMILLAN, Mr Grant Allan, ED
For services to education and the community
Mr Grant McMillan (Kāi Tahu) was the Ministry of Education Southern Region Manager for schools and early childhood education from 2001 to 2009.
Mr McMillan led Ashburton College from 2009 to 2016, working with staff, the Board of Trustees, students and whānau to improve students’ results and outcomes and leave the school in a better financial position. He was Tumuaki/Principal of James Cook High School, Manurewa from 2016 to 2023 and worked with an appointed limited statutory manager, the board, staff, students, and the school community to turn around the struggling school, leaving it as a role model for other schools nationally. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he organised computers for James Cook students to continue learning at home and coordinated school and community-based vaccination clinics throughout Auckland schools, in response to low vaccination rates in Manurewa. He has been active with his local Returned and Services Associations for more than 20 years and is an executive member of Christchurch Memorial RSA and a Vice-President of Canterbury District RSA. He is currently Chairperson of the Charles Upham VC and Bar Centre Trust and the Secretary of the Regimental Association. Mr McMillan served 16 years on the Greendale Reserve Board and more than 20 years, including time as Secretary, with the Canterbury Rugby Referee Association.
HONOURS
Efficiency Decoration, 2001, 2007, 2013
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MEE, Mrs Victoria Mary (Vicky)
For services to women and business
Mrs Vicky Mee advocates for women and girls in spheres such as pay equity, board and executive representation, and employee recruitment at local, national and international levels through roles with several organisations.
Mrs Mee has been involved with Business and Professional Women New Zealand (BPWNZ) since 2009, initially through the Franklin branch. She is a Past President of BPWNZ from 2014 to 2017 and has worked on policy development in conjunction with other countries to present to the United Nations General Assembly. As BPWNZ President, she oversaw hosting of the Asia Pacific Regional Conference in 2016 and organised three annual conferences for New Zealand. She is currently chairing the BPW International Resolutions Committee. She was a member from 2013 to 2021 and Chair from 2016 to 2020 of the United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles New Zealand Committee. She led a successful campaign for more businesses to sign up to the seven UN Women’s Empowerment Principles. She has had a long-term involvement with Mai Lighthouse (formerly Franklin Family Support Services) as a budgeter and financial mentor. She mentors those in hardship starting businesses through the Generator Programme in conjunction with Emerge Aotearoa. Mrs Mee has volunteered with Christian Community Care, is a member of Pacific Women’s Watch and Pay Equity Coalition Auckland.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MEREDITH, Mr Eugene Joseph
For services to American Football
Mr Eugene Meredith has made a leading contribution to American Football in New Zealand since 1987.
Mr Meredith has been involved in the sport of American Football since the early 1980s, initially as a player for the Metro Lions American Football Club in Auckland and since the early 2000s in all facets of the game including governance roles, coaching, officiating and local club administration. He has served as the President of the Metro Lions since 2004, which under his guidance has grown to be the largest and one of the most successful American Football clubs in New Zealand. He has coached a wide variety of teams, both contact and flag football, from the junior ranks to the premier men's team, and most recently the Metro Lionesses women’s team. He was made a Life Member of the Metro Lions American Football Club in 2019. He has led the development of pathways for young players to gain athletic scholarships in United States, with 10 players from the club currently in United States high school and college systems. Mr Meredith has had governance roles within the New Zealand American Football Association and American Football Auckland since 2000, including as refereeing official for more than 25 years.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MINCHER, Mr Allan George
For services to aviation engineering
Mr Allan Mincher has contributed to the aviation industry from the early 1960s until winding down his business Airmec Aviation in 2024.
Mr Mincher initially worked for Aerotech Ltd and then Helicopter New Zealand (HNZ) as the sole engineer maintaining machines flying in South Westland. He was then Chief Engineer of Mountain Helicopters Ltd in Greymouth from 1977 to 1978, before co-establishing Airmec Aviation at West Melton Airfield. He and his wife set up a new base for Airmec on the Old West Coast Road in 1985, to specialise in helicopter maintenance. At its peak, Airmec served around 40 clients from both the North and South Islands, across agricultural, tourist, wild animal control, flight training and private uses. He worked to improve systems for aircraft maintenance and safety and designed and manufactured several industry developments, including several systems for the RHC R22 such as a passenger safety harness, cargo hook kit and spray gear, and gear for other aircraft. Airmec received the National Agricultural Fieldays Prototype Award in 1995 for the Airmec Littlerox Applicator, for distributing animal supplements to stock in the high country. He also worked on early net gun development for Mountain Helicopters. Mr Mincher developed customised tools for various aspects of maintaining or assembling machines, contributing to engineering efficiencies and industry cost savings.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MITCHELL, Mrs Margaret Mary
For services to the Royal New Zealand Naval Women’s Association
Mrs Margaret Mitchell joined the Women’s Royal New Zealand Naval Service (WRNZNS) in 1964 as a Wren (Officer’s Steward) and has been involved with the Royal New Zealand Naval Women’s Association (RNZNWA, formerly New Zealand Ex Wrens) for 55 years, with 20 years as National President.
Mrs Mitchell has advocated for increased recognition and visibility of WRNZNS service from memorials and cemetery plaques to museum exhibitions and attaining veterans status. She has led and directed many large conferences for women of the RNZNWA. She has represented the RNZNWA at many Naval and interservice ceremonies and functions and is RNZNWA Representative to the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services’ Association. She has previously been the Treasurer and President of the Auckland branch of the RNZNWA, where she set up and administered a welfare service and has gone out of her way to ensure Ex Wrens have the opportunity to attend functions, personally providing transport if necessary. She spent hundreds of hours of research and planning on an exhibition of the Women’s Service (1942-1977) staged at the RNZN Museum in 2012. She successfully lobbied for the installation of the panels as a permanent display in 2023. Mrs Mitchell was an active New Zealand Cadet Force (Sea Cadets) Officer from 1970 until 1992.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MOEAHU, Dr Alishia Rangiwhakawaitau
For services to Māori culture
Dr Alisha Moeahu (Ngāti Awa, Ngā Tūhoe, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Rangitihi, Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Paoa, Ngāti Hikaairo, Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Rongowhakaata, Ngāti Porou) is recognised for her knowledge of tikanga and mātauranga Māori, and has provided tikanga advice and guidance on the National Apology of the Crown to survivors of abuse in care.
Dr Moeahu works in the Māori cultural space in the Wellington region. She co-leads tikanga and mātauranga Māori at functions and delegations across this region, within Parliament, and at local, regional, national, and international events. She coached a group of female survivors to learn and perform the karanga at both the dawn ceremony and national apology to survivors of abuse in care. The compositions were a key survivor element in the delivery of the public apology on behalf of the Crown. She has held a wide range of roles with various organisations, particularly advising on tikanga and te ao Māori. Dr Moeahu is presently Chair of Ngāti Awa ki Te Whanganui ā Tara.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MULHOLLAND, Dr Malcolm George Davis
For services to health and Māori
Dr Malcolm Mulholland (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa) is a prominent Māori academic who has been contributing to New Zealand society through governance and education, through roles with Massey University since the late 2000s and more recently through advocacy.
Dr Mulholland co-founded in 2018 and is Chair of He Reo Tūroro o Aotearoa, Patient Voice Aotearoa, an organisation which increases awareness of issues affecting patients and to improve patients’ rights and health outcomes through the health system. Through his role, he contributes to the efforts of a wide range of disease groups and has shared his extensive knowledge through media as a regular commentator with The AM Show, Breakfast TV, Māori TV, Te Karere and news channels, as well as through opinion pieces. Through Patient Voice Aotearoa, he has assisted in the formulation and delivery of more than 20 petitions to Parliament, with requests for more than 50 medicines to be funded, particularly around cancer treatment. He has provided advice to Select Committee, accompanied patients and families to meetings with Ministers and officials to voice their concerns and needs. Dr Mulholland has published a range of work on Māori history, race-relations and social politics, including ‘Beneath the Māori Moon: An Illustrated History of Māori Rugby’ and ‘A History of St Joseph’s Māori Girls College’.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
NGUYEN, Mr Khoa Truong
For services to New Zealand-Vietnam relations and the community
Mr Khoa Nguyen has contributed significantly to positive trade relationships between New Zealand and Vietnam.
Mr Nguyen arrived in New Zealand as a refugee in 1990 and has since contributed as a community member and leader in a range of governance, strategy and directorship roles. He has led several trade delegations to Vietnam, dedicated to fostering multicultural understanding and strengthening international relationships. He has travelled to Vietnam with Victoria University and Education New Zealand to promote education in Aotearoa. He was Director of Tū Mai Rā Investments and an integral part of the establishment of Tū Mai Rā Energy, facilitating meetings with Vietnamese networks from BK Solar. He served on the Social Workers Registration Board and the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board between 2015 and 2022. He was an Independent Director for Birthright New Zealand and Brackenridge Country Retreat and Spa. He has been Director of the New Zealand-Vietnam Friendship Association and Chair of the Finance and Audit Risk Committee for the ASEAN New Zealand Business Council. He continues as a volunteer board member for Habitat for Humanity New Zealand, Volleyball New Zealand and Barnardos New Zealand. Mr Nguyen has also volunteered with the Big Brother programme and the Salvation Army, helped flood victims in Vietnam, and coached with the Youth Trust.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
PEARSE, Mrs Julia Louisa (Julie)
For services to governance and the community
Mrs Julie Pearse has held governance roles in several Otago-based organisations for 25 years.
Mrs Pearse’s voluntary work and governance roles have been informed by her farming background and community service career history. She played a crucial role in establishing the Otago Farmers Market, serving as a Board member between 2001 and 2015, and helping it to become a blueprint for similar markets across New Zealand. She helped promote the market to student audiences, connect the Board with micro businesses and developed policies to guide the market’s Board and staff. She joined the Board of the Methodist Mission Southern in 2002, serving as its Chair since 2013, where she led an extensive programme of change management, introduced a focus on intervention logic modelling and oversaw development of initiatives aimed at education, homelessness and poverty. She also provided her governance expertise and strategic insights to the Board of the Tūhara Otago Museum between 2008 and 2018, having earlier invigorated the Friends of the Otago Museum organisation and updated its constitution. Mrs Pearse initiated the annual HD Skinner Memorial Lecture series, which focuses on anthropological research and advances in the Pacific region.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
PRAKASH, Mr Sunit, JP
For services to the IT industry and the Indian community
Mr Sunit Prakash co-founded the New Zealand Centre for Digital Connections with India in 2023 with Ms Lalita Kasanji to accelerate and incubate digital and tech collaboration between the two countries.
Mr Prakash brought a global infotech lens to his research with Ms Kasanji: “The Story and Contribution of Indian IT Professionals to New Zealand,” demonstrating the community had exceptional knowledge, experience, insights, and connections in both markets, making it their mission to remove barriers and seize opportunities. They identified predicators to success, creating catalyst programmes for visibility and growth, forming the basis of their submission recommending a Digital and IT Trade Delegation to India. Mr Prakash has delivered countless press articles, interviews, op-eds, publications, submissions, academic papers, and panels. He has worked at IBM Sweden and New Zealand. As an accomplished Director Support Operations Asia Pacific Japan for a Nasdaq-listed tech company in Sydney, a sought-after startup mentor and independent IT practitioner in Wellington, he has identified opportunities to strengthen New Zealand’s competitive and digital maturity. He has contributed to IT Professionals New Zealand, India New Zealand Business Council, New Zealand India Central Association and the Wellington Indian Association. Mr Prakash is a pioneer and champion of technology and business, and a community leader, with his work receiving national recognition.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
RONALD, Dr Maxine Mariri (Max)
For services to breast cancer treatment and research
Dr Max Ronald (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Wai) specialises in breast cancer surgery with an interest in oncoplastic techniques and is an advocate for Indigenous Health Equity.
Dr Ronald, after completing her surgical training in New Zealand in 2005, held colorectal and oncoplastic surgical roles in Australia, and is now a general and breast surgeon at Whangārei Hospital. She is the first indigenous councillor at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS), a member of the Aotearoa New Zealand National Committee Surgery, and a past Chair of RACS Indigenous Health Committee. She was awarded the RACS Māori Health Medal in 2023, recognising her transformative advocacy for indigenous health equity. She was significant in developing the Cultural Safety and Cultural Competency framework for surgical trainees and in adding cultural safety as a core competency for all RACS members. In 2024, she was awarded the inaugural Breast Cancer Fellowship from Hei Āhuru Mōwai Māori Cancer Leadership Aotearoa, to address breast cancer inequities and advocate for Māori health equity, with a focus on building Māori capability and leadership in breast cancer research. Dr Ronald is a member of Hei Āhuru Mowai and Te Pae Whakatere (BreastScreen Aotearoa steering group), the Steering Committee for Medical Workforce, the National Māori Pandemic Group, and was a clinical expert advisor for Te Aka Whai Ora (Māori Health Authority).
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
ROONEY, Mr Gary James Herbert
For services to business and philanthropy
Mr Gary Rooney is a businessman and philanthropist committed to the growth and success of the South Canterbury region.
Mr Rooney's entrepreneurial journey began in 1976 with a single bulldozer and he has since built the Rooney Group, employing more than 300 people across multiple divisions including earthmoving, pipe and cable laying, transportation, and farming. His work in irrigation scheme construction has made a significant impact, including the Rangitata South scheme which irrigates 13,000 hectares on the South Canterbury plains. He encourages natural fauna regeneration and has pioneered the development of a rock fish screen, designed to prevent salmon smolt from entering irrigation schemes. He has been a driving force behind numerous transformative community projects in the region, including the eight-million-dollar redevelopment of Timaru’s Fraser Park, and the revitalisation of Waimate, including investment in a medical centre and the restoration of Quinns Arcade. He has supported the local foodbank with three months of funding and has setup several scholarships for young athletes. After the Christchurch earthquakes, his support was integral in the design and build of the new gymnasium and other facilities at Timaru’s Craighead Diocesan School. Mr Rooney was an active member and Chair of the Central South Island Fish and Game Council for 29 years.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
ROSS, Mr Bruce Winston
For services to cycling
Mr Bruce Ross has been a leading figure in Cycling Southland for more than 45 years.
From 1985 to 2020 Mr Ross served as Tour Manager for the Tour of Southland. During his tenure, he transformed the event from a three to six-day format. He also oversaw the progression from an individual race to a team-based event. In 2002 he secured accreditation for the Tour from UCI, the world governing body for cycling. This international accreditation drew overseas cyclists to the event. He supported youth participation in cycling while serving as Cycling Southland Development Manager from 1999 to 2020. During this time, he created a cycle education programme for schools. He established the Schools’ Top Bike competition which continues to this day. He played a key role in the establishment of New Zealand’s first covered velodrome in Invercargill. Mr Ross has received a Cycling New Zealand Long Service Award, a Service to Southland Sport Award and Southland Administrator of the Year, as well as the Cycling New Zealand Malayan Cup for his services to the sport in 2006.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
ROSS, Mr Charles Edward
For services to the community
Mr Charles Ross has been dedicated to the community of Canterbury for more than 30 years.
Mr Ross has been a member of the Ashburton Rowing Club since 2006, he has helped build storage and clubhouse facilities and obtained lane markers for regattas. Following the 2020 flooding of the Ashburton River causing the destruction of the 10-kilometre cycle track linking Lake Hood to the town, he was instrumental in the rebuild project, providing equipment such as trucks and graders, which restored the track to its former glory. As Chair of the Mt Somers Walkway Society, he established and led a working group to fundraise and carry out the scope and build of a safe walking route to the Sharplin Falls in 2017, following closure of the Falls after the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes. The cost of the project was more than half a million dollars which under his leadership was raised through fundraising efforts and obtaining grants. Between 1987 and 2003 he has been the Chair of the Ashburton Farm Forestry Association, Chair of Lagmhor Westerfield Federated Farmers, Chair of the Lagmohr Board of Trustees, and Chair of the Lauriston Farm Improvement Club. In 2023 Mr Ross was presented with the Mayors Award for Public Service by the Ashburton District Council.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
ROUT, Mrs Morrin Jackson
For services to the arts, particularly literature
Mrs Morrin Rout has contributed to the Christchurch arts and literature communities for more than 30 years.
Mrs Rout was a Broadcaster on Plains FM – Women on Air from 1994 to 2014 and Plains FM – Bookenz from 1994 until the present. She was a co-presenter and producer of ‘Bookmarks’ on Radio New Zealand from 1997 to 2005. During her broadcasting career she has conducted book reviews and interviews with both New Zealand and international authors and championed emerging and established writers, poets and playwrights. She was involved with the Christchurch Writers Festival from its inception in 1997 until 2012 as a co-programme director, establishing networks with similar international organisations. She helped to establish the Hagley Writers' Institute, a part-time creative writing course for adults at Hagley College in Christchurch and worked as the Director from 2007 to 2020. In 2007 and 2008 she was a Judge for the Montana Book Awards. She has been on the Literary Assessment panel for Creative New Zealand and a Member of the Assessment Panel for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. In addition, Mrs Rout was a founding member of the Lombardy Trust which ran a biennial ‘Sculpture on the Peninsula’ festival for 20 years to raise money for the Cholmondeley Children’s Home.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
SCOON, Ms Annie Burma Teina Tangata Esita
For services to softball and the Pacific community
Ms Annie Scoon has maintained strong connections to the Cook Islands, Pasifika and softball communities in Palmerston North for more than 40 years.
Working from a wheelchair since a car accident in 1974, Ms Scoon has been a pioneer and role model. Her softball involvement has included being a Coach, Manager, Selector, and Chief Scorer for tournaments across local and national levels. She is a Life Member of Manawatū Softball. As a paraplegic, she has competed in shot put, javelin, discus, and table tennis and holds national records and a world record. As a Board Member and Operations Manager of the Papaioea Pasifika Community Trust (PPCT), she spearheaded the Matua Ola programme in support of older members. She has supported Pasifika Health Clinics and development of the Pasifika Hub in the Bill Brown Park Hall. She connects with schools, tertiary institutions and other Pasifika Communities for Cook Islands Language Week and shares language and cultural workshops. She is a former member of Manawatū-Whanganui Women's P.A.C.I.F.I.C.A. and continues to provide a supportive environment in her home for women in need. She works with the Ministry for Pacific Peoples on community activities supporting Pacific Peoples across the regions. Ms Scoon’s administrative, organisational, cultural and sporting achievements have made significant contributions to community cohesion and wellbeing.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
SHAND, Ms Diana Rosemary
For services to the environment and the community
Ms Diana Shand has advocated for the sustainable management of natural resources through her various roles.
Ms Shand lectured in marketing and business studies at the Christchurch Polytechnic and University of Canterbury, where she later served as a Council member for more than a decade. As Human Rights Commissioner, she established and led its South Island office. She was elected to the inaugural Canterbury Regional Council from 1989 until retiring in 2004. As a councillor she led campaigns to increase the quality and frequency of public transport, understanding of Climate Change, sustainability and biodiversity issues and efforts to reduce smog in Christchurch. She was a community member of the New Zealand Government Delegation to the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development and on return established the Christchurch-Ōtautahi Agenda 21 Committee. She was on the Ministerial Advisory Group on Water in 2007 and 2008. She held various roles in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature between 2004 and 2016 while Regional Councillor for Oceania, and initiated and led a report examining how voluntary certification standards impact biodiversity and human livelihoods. She was National Project Manager for Local Governments for Sustainability’s (ICLEI) Communities for Climate Projection – New Zealand 2004 to 2009. Ms Shand chairs the Forest and Bird Society North Canterbury Branch.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
STROMBOM, Mr Simon John Caufield, DSD, ED
For services to war commemoration and historical preservation
Mr Simon Strombom was a Major with the New Zealand Army and initiated a country-wide initiative to clean and restore the abandoned graves of former servicepeople.
In 2018 Mr Strombom organised the restoration of more than 3,500 graves in Porirua Cemetery and gained funding to place eight memorial plaques on unmarked service graves. This led to further working bees at Tawa and Pāuatahanui. Cleaning operations were expanded in 2019 with the New Zealand Remembrance Army charity establishing teams in Auckland, South Taranaki, Dannevirke, Foxton, Nelson, Christchurch and Dunedin. He has led partnerships with iwi to restore Māori war graves. He organised the inaugural Titahi Bay Anzac on the Beach event in 2019. He has helped establish the Cook Islands Remembrance Army, the Australian Remembrance Army in Brisbane, and established a New Zealand Remembrance Army social media page for people to record the stories behind the headstones. He led a push in 2023 to engage with high schools and fundraise for further memorials. Mr Strombom has organised numerous headstone and plaque installations on unmarked graves nationwide, as well as grave restorations for notable servicepeople, and modernisation of memorials to recognise more recent conflicts and service. By 2023 more than 35 teams were operating in New Zealand and around 200,000 graves have been cleaned to date.
HONOURS
Efficiency Decoration, 2013
New Zealand Distinguished Service Decoration, Queen’s Birthday 2009
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
THOMPSON, Ms Veronica Ngarutai Kaye (Ronnie)
For services to basketball
Ms Ronnie Thompson has contributed to basketball in New Zealand for 40 years, as a player, coach and administrator.
Ms Thompson had success at secondary school and United States university levels. She captained the Wellington club team, Morehu, to its first Women’s National Club Championships title in 1984, continuing her playing career until 2001. She represented New Zealand with the Tall Ferns from 1985 to 1988. She began coaching girls and women at all levels from 1984, from mini-ball, secondary school and club to national age-group teams. She coached Wellington Under 13, Under 17 and Under 20 representative teams from 1995 to 2005. She was an Assistant Coach with the New Zealand Basketball Institute, and was named basketball’s 2001 Coach of the Year after leading Wellington Swish to the WNBL Championship. She became a foundation Board member of Māori Basketball Aotearoa in 2013, and has held various leadership positions, including Vice-President and President with the Wellington Basketball Association since 2007. Her commitment to kaupapa Māori-driven approaches and community development led her to roles with Sport NZ, Auckland Council, and Aktive Auckland Sport and Recreation. She was key in the development of Sport NZ’s ‘He Oranga Poutama’ and the ‘Te Whetū Rehua’ frameworks, seeking to increase Māori participation and leadership in sport and recreation while upholding cultural values.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
TURNER, Mrs Diane Anita, JP
For services to governance, seniors and Māori
Mrs Diane Turner has demonstrated leadership during major national crises and has played a pivotal role in advancing the older person’s sector.
In 2012 Mrs Turner was formally recognised for her leadership and advocacy of CDEM preparedness and resilience in the community as part of her role at the Whakatāne District Council and as a CDEM Controller. Her transformative work as a Deputy Chief Executive of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority included development of key recovery frameworks empowering affected communities with sustainable recovery policies. At Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, she led an integrated approach to their response and participation in earthquake recovery enabling whānau values and priorities to be reflected in decision-making at local and government levels. She oversaw the establishment of the first South Island Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency, Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu, where she led a $15 million investment fund designed to build whānau capability, fostering collective ownership by nine South Island iwi. As Director of the Office for Seniors, she has championed initiatives under the national strategy ‘Better Later Life – He Oranga Kaumātua 2019 to 2034’, including an international award-winning Digital Literacy Training programme and establishing the New Zealand Age friendly cities and communities programme. Mrs Turner has represented New Zealand as a World Health Organization technical advisor on ageing and age-friendly initiatives.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
VERCOE, Ms Hariata Ann
For services to Māori, health, and the community
Ms Hariata Vercoe (Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Kea/Ngāti Tuara, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Manawa, Ngāti Makino, Te Rarawa) has provided leadership and service in healthcare and her community, in both professional and voluntary roles, for more than forty years.
Ms Vercoe has worked as Chief Executive Officer of Korowai Aroha Health Centre since 2012. She has established a number of successful health and social service programmes including Tāne Takitu Ake for Māori men, Respiratory and Diabetes services, and Hāpū Mama and Community Māori Nursing services. She led the centre’s COVID-19 response and vaccination hub. She has served as a Trustee of the Rotorua Community Hospice Board since November 2020, and Board member of the Nursing Council of New Zealand since 2020. She has been a member of Pounamunui Marae Committee since 1982, coordinating major events and leading the upgrade of the marae kitchen and toilet block. Ms Vercoe is the marae representative on Te Rōpū o Te Ora – Women’s Health League, and has been part of a joint research team focused on reducing inequalities in injury-related health and wellbeing outcomes for aging Māori and their whānau.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
WALLACE, Mrs Louise Annette
For services to the entertainment industry
Mrs Louise Wallace has been active in New Zealand’s entertainment industry since joining TV3 in 1989.
Mrs Wallace held high profile presenting roles over nine years with TV3, including on '3News', '60 Minutes', '20/20' and 'Mobil Sport'. She won Qantas Media Awards in 1992 and 1993. Subsequently as a freelancer, she performed a variety of roles such as presenter on 'The Weakest Link' and acting roles in 'Agent Anna', 'Street Legal' and 'Shortland Street', as well as feature films. More recently she has featured on reality television show 'Real Housewives of Auckland'. Following an on-camera career, she took on producing and directing roles for hit shows such as 'Celebrity Treasure Island' and 'The Apprentice'. Over the course of her career she has worked on a total of 42 television shows and films. She has hosted the Radio New Zealand show 'Health Matters' on health sector innovations. She co-founded Tadpole Theatre Productions in 2012 to provide opportunities for Auckland’s actors and mentoring young talent for live theatre. Since 2012, Tadpole has produced two plays annually for the Pumphouse Theatre in Takapuna, reaching a cumulative audience of around 34,000. Mrs Wallace has provided financial support to ensure productions were staged.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
WILLIAMSON, Mr Andrew Norman (Norm)
For services to agriculture
Mr Norm Williamson is a leader within the Amuri Basin farming community.
Mr Williamson was one of the first to convert a sheep and cropping farm in North Canterbury’s Amuri Basin to large herd dairying, and provided leadership for dairy farmers of the area in promoting the development of irrigation schemes. He has held leadership roles in the Amuri Irrigation Company, including as its Chair from 2001 to 2016. Through his roles, he helped focus on the health of both groundwater and surface water in catchments of the Hurunui and Waiau Rivers and tributaries by persuading farmer shareholders to prepare Farm Environmental Plans. These were among the first such plans to be prepared by New Zealand dairy farmers and led to their eventual nationwide adoption. His involvement contributed to the group being awarded the ECan Resource Management Award in 2008 and the Most Improved River Award at the New Zealand River Awards in 2017. In the last years of his tenure as Chairman, Mr Williamson gained shareholder approval to convert the irrigation schemes to pressurised piped schemes, increasing the irrigated area by 40 percent using the same amount of water, including design for power generation and involving Ngāi Tahu Farming Ltd. as a large shareholder.
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
YEOMAN, Mrs Marilyn Kay
For services to education and the community
Mrs Marilyn Yeoman established the Friends of the Gardens group to support the world-class Hamilton Gardens.
Mrs Yeoman taught at various schools around Waikato between 1962 and 2005, including eight years as Principal of Tamahere Model Country School. She initiated regular meetings of ‘Normal’ School Principals with the University of Waikato’s School of Education. During her term as President of the New Zealand Principals Federation in the mid-1990s, she established a representation of Māori Principals on its executive and guided the establishment of the first Principal Leadership Centre at Massey University. After retiring from teaching in 2005, she continued working with children with special needs at Insoll Ave School. She has significantly contributed to the Hamilton Gardens since 1960 when she established the Friends of the Gardens group. For decades she led the management and training of the garden’s volunteer staff, and also developed two books to help fundraise for gardens development. In 2017 she was acknowledged by the Hamilton City Council with a Civic Award for her exceptional voluntary contribution to the development and maintenance of the Hamilton Gardens. Mrs Yeoman has also volunteered for her local hospice, been active in the St John Ambulance Association, and knits blankets to donate to every refugee family resettling in Hamilton.
To be an Honorary Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
TEUMOHENGA, Mr Viliami
For services to education and the Pacific community
Mr Viliami Teumohenga has spent more than 15 years advancing Pacific youth in the subjects and qualifications of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
Mr Teumohenga is the founder and Director of Amanaki STEM Academy (ASA), an initiative he established alongside his wife to address the underrepresentation of Pacific students in STEM fields by providing a supportive environment and a tailored mentorship programme in the Manawatū region. Since ASA became a trust in 2017, he has mentored more than 1,800 Pacific students, guiding them toward success in STEM fields. More than 80 percent of ASA’s alumni have graduated or are enrolled in STEM-related courses nationwide at tertiary institutions. His leadership has been instrumental in establishing a pipeline for Pacific students pursuing careers in STEM, with ASA students having secured more than $1.4 million in scholarship funding since 2017. Mr Teumohenga is a vocal advocate for systemic educational reform, and he has presented at national symposiums hosted by Massey University, NZQA and other private and public organisations, where he has highlighted the need for education policies that address the unique challenges faced by Pacific learners.