The list of New Year Honours' recipients for 2021 has been released, celebrating the achievements of New Zealanders in their respective fields.
Professor Emeritus Sir Mason Durie and Distinguished Professor Dame Anne Salmond will be appointed as Members of the Order of New Zealand, the highest honour, while the Prime Minister's chief science advisor, Professor Juliet Gerrard, will be honoured as a Dame Companion. Former MP and Speaker of the House of Representatives, David Carter, and iconic Kiwi singer-songwriter Dave Dobbyn will become knights for their respective services.
Other honourees include professors Michael Baker and Shaun Hendy, who rose to national prominence this year as sources of information and advice throughout New Zealand's outbreaks of COVID-19. Both have been named as Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit. New Zealand businessman and former Air New Zealand CEO, Rob Fyfe, will become a Companion of New Zealand Order of Merit.
Here is the full list of New Year Honours 2021:
Members of the Order of New Zealand (ONZ)
Professor Emeritus Sir Mason Harold Durie, KNZM
For services to New Zealand
For more than four decades, Sir Mason Durie has led a transformational approach to Māori health and played pivotal roles in building its workforce. Alongside his enduring commitment to the sector, he has been an active proponent of higher education for Māori. Sir Mason served as Deputy Chair of Te Wānanga o Raukawa, the Otaki-based Māori university, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Massey University until 2012, where he remains Emeritus Professor of Māori Research and Development. His extensive accomplishments include gaining funding to establish a Centre for Māori Health Research, Te Pūmanawa Hauora, and negotiating the Māori mental health programme, Te Rau Puawai, which provides up to 100 scholarships annually for students studying health-related subjects. As Chair of the Palmerston North based Tu Toa Trust, Mason helped establish two new secondary schools in Palmerston North. The Blake Medal recipient's efforts have been recognised by the likes of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, the Public Health Association of New Zealand and the Māori Medical Practitioners Association.
Distinguished Professor Dame Mary Anne Salmond, DBE
For services to New Zealand
An illustrious writer and social scientist, Dame Anne Salmond is internationally recognised for her work on cross-cultural exchanges and environmental matters in a career spanning almost five decades. A Distinguished Professor of Māori Studies and Anthropology at the University of Auckland, the anthropologist also served as Pro-Vice Chancellor (Equal Opportunity) from 1997 to 2006. She served as Vice President (Social Sciences and Humanities) of the Royal Society of New Zealand and in 2013, was the first social scientist to be awarded the Rutherford Medal. The 2013 New Zealander of the Year's literary work spans an acclaimed series on cross-cultural exchanges, and books exploring contemporary Māori life and European exploration of the Pacific. As an active supporter of environmental causes, Dame Anne has also written on climate change and the restoration of rivers, forests and the ocean. Her lifelong engagement with te ao Māori has seen her present evidence in cases including the Muriwhenua Land and Fisheries Treaty claims and the Ngāpuhi claim for Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DNZM)
Professor Juliet Ann Gerrard
For services to science
A biochemist with a broad and interdisciplinary research background, Professor Juliet Gerrard was appointed as the Prime Minister's chief science advisor in 2018. Her extensive career includes working as a professor at the University of Auckland's School of Biological Sciences and School of Chemical Science since 2014, and holding a Callaghan Innovation Industry and Outreach Fellowship from 2012 to 2016. From 2016 to 2018, Professor Gerrard served as the university's Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Science. Since then, she has provided advice to the Prime Minister, her Cabinet and the public on a wide range of topics and events. From 2015 to 2018, she founded and directed her own company Hi-Aspect, which produces protein nanofibres for medical and other uses. Professor Gerrard is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Professor Cynthia (Cindy) Alcyion Kiro
For services to child wellbeing and education
Professor Cindy Kiro is an academic who has dedicated her career to improving the outcomes for children and young people who experience social marginalisation or exclusion. She is the University of Auckland's Pro Vice-Chancellor (Māori), which includes assisting in the development of Māori programmes, and works as a professor in the Faculty of Education and Social Work. From 2013 to 2016, she was the Director of Star Path - the country's largest project to gather educational data from low-decile Māori and Pacific schools. She served as the Children's Commissioner from 2003 to 2009, instigating several enquiries into deaths of children resulting from severe abuse and neglect. As a result, the Child Death Mortality and Family Violence Death Review Committees were established. She also established the Taskforce for Action on Family Violence, the largest response to family violence in New Zealand history. From 2018 to 2019 she chaired the Welfare Expert Advisory Group, recommending changes to the welfare system to make it more accessible and fair for all.
Honorary Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DNZM)
Suzanne Lee Snively, ONZM
For services to governance
Ms Suzanne Snively has played a key role in advocacy and leadership on matters of public and private sector integrity, accountability and good governance, and has been an effective advocate for anti-corruption mechanisms. Since 2011, she has chaired the New Zealand chapter of the global organisation, Transparency International. She was project leader on two National Integrity System assessments, which have had positive influences on the public sector and anti-corruption law and policy approaches. She has led the Public Sector Leaders Integrity Forum and supported anti-corruption efforts across the Pacific. Snively has provided various Board/Director governance, or audit and risk governance, on the New Zealand Army Leadership Board, the Ministry of Transport, Statistics New Zealand, the Ministry for the Environment and the Whanau Ora Commissioning Agency, to name a few. Over several decades, Snively has actively volunteered for roles such as Chair of the Women's Refuge Foundation, the Mary Potter Hospice, and Fulbright New Zealand.
Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (KNZM)
The Right Honourable David Cunningham Carter
For services as a Member of Parliament and as Speaker of the House of Representatives
The Right Honourable David Carter was Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2013 to 2017 and held ministerial portfolios in the fourth and fifth National governments. Carter was first elected to Parliament as the Member for Selwyn in 1994, and served as MP for Banks Peninsula from 1996 to 1999. He was Minister for Revenue and held Associate Ministerial portfolios from 1998 to 1999. He was Minister for Agriculture, Biosecurity and Forestry from 2008 to 2011, before becoming Minister of the Ministry for Primary Industries from 2011 to 2013. Outside of chairing the Business, Standing Orders and Office of Parliament select committees in his role as Speaker, he has been a member of the Finance and Expenditure and Government Administration select committees, and chaired the Primary Production select committee between 2002 and 2008. He retired from politics in 2020, after 26 years as a MP.
David (Dave) Joseph Dobbyn, ONZM
For services to music
With a career spanning four decades, Dave Dobbyn is one of New Zealand's most celebrated singer-songwriters. Across nine studio albums, Dobbyn has received a record number of music awards and APRA Silver Scrolls. He rose to prominence in 1979 with Auckland rock band Th'Dudes and with DD Smash in the 1980s before going solo. Since his appointment as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2003, he has produced four studio albums. He has performed locally and internationally for a wide variety of causes and charities, including at a fan's hospice bedside, in a prison wing and with schoolchildren. He performed free concerts for Matata residents after the floods, spent time at community centres following the Christchurch earthquakes, and has an ongoing connection to the families of the Pike River Mine after writing 'This Love' in honour of the 29 men who lost their lives. Dobbyn was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame in 2013 and again in 2019 as a member of Th'Dudes.
Ian Lemuel Taylor, CNZM
For services to broadcasting, business and the community
In 2012, former presenter Ian Taylor was appointed a CNZM for his services to television and business. His business, Animation Research, is in its 30th year and continues to be a global leader in technology development, having pioneered real-time 3D visualisation for major sports broadcasts. At the 2015 Sports Emmy Awards, Animation Research was awarded 'Outstanding New Approaches in Sports Broadcasting' for its development of the America's Cup app. Taylor, who was named New Zealand Innovator of the Year in 2019, is currently focused on the initiative 'Tech for Good', which is developing technology tools for education and healthcare. He has played a key role in a collaboration between Dunedin Methodist Church and Animation Research to create virtual learning environments for prison inmates. He has been involved with the Dunedin Waterfront Vision project since 2018, promoting sustainability and environmental research. He has been a Board member for the likes of Māori Television, New Zealand On-Air and the New Zealand Film Commission.
Professor William (Pou) Te Rangiua Temara, CNZM
For services to Māori and education
A recognised authority on Māori language, customary practices and performing arts, Professor Pou Temara was one of three founding directors of Te Panekiretanga o Te Reo Māori, the Institute of Excellence in the Māori Language. There he taught whaikorero, karanga and tikanga Māori, and now, Professor Temara lectures at the Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Studies at the University of Waikato. He contributed to a strategy by Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, one of the country's largest tertiary education providers, to improve the quality of Te Reo and Tikanga Māori nationwide. He is a respected tohunga and has mentored and shaped many pae korero speakers in Māori customs and protocols. He is a current member of the Waitangi Tribunal and is recognised for guiding proceedings in tikanga. He has been involved with numerous inquiries, including the Te Rohe Potae Inquiry from 2012 to 2020. He is a cultural advisor for the Judges of the Māori Land Court and advised the New Zealand Defence Force on matters of tikanga.
Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM)
- Professor Stephen Thomas Chambers, for services to infectious disease research
- Ms Suzanne Eleanor Chetwin, for services to consumer rights
- Dr Annabel Kirsten Finucane, ONZM, for services to health, particularly paediatric heart surgery
- Mr Robert Ian Fyfe, for services to business and tourism
- Dr Stuart Peter Gowland, QSO, for services to health and education
- Mr Michael Jon Hamilton, for services to marine engineering and business
- Ms Deborah Ann Hockley, MNZM, for services to cricket
- Distinguished Professor Philippa Lynne Howden-Chapman, QSO, for services to public health
- Mr Albert Archibald Jelley, OBE, for services to athletics and the game of bridge
- Dr David William Kerr, for services to health and business
- Dr Gerard David McSweeney, QSO, for services to conservation
- Professor Emeritus Louise Frances Basford Nicholson, for services to neuroscience and education
- The Honourable Anthony Penrose Randerson, QC, for services to the judiciary
- Distinguished Professor Ian Reginald Reid, for services to medicine
- The Honourable Lynton Laurence Stevens, QC, for services to the judiciary and the community
Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM)
- Mr Denis William Aitken, JP, for services to the dairy industry and the community
- Afamasaga Vaafusuaga Telesia McDonald Alipia, for services to Pacific early childhood education
- Mrs Lisa Joy Allpress, for services to the racing industry
- Mr Allan Ward Beck, QSM, for services to agricultural aviation and aviation safety
- Mr Donovan Paul Bixley, for services to children's fiction and as an illustrator
- Professor Jonathan George Boston, for services to public and social policy
- Mr Alistair Grant Davis, for services to the motor industry, business and sustainability
- Mr Leo Michael Donnelly, for services to karate
- Mr Peter Dennis Elliott, for services to the performing arts and baseball
- Professor Angela Rosina Farrow, for services to the arts, particularly theatre
- Dr Christine Margaret Foley, for services to victims of sexual assault
- Dr Janette Fay Irvine, for services to women and women's health
- Mr Murray Campbell Lynch, for services to theatre
- Dr Timothy Michael Malloy, for services to health
- Dr Colin Douglas Meurk, for services to ecological restoration
- The Right Reverend Te Kītohi Wiremu Pikaahu, for services to the Anglican Church and Māori
- Ms Brenda Pilott, for services to social and public service sectors
- Superintendent John Richard Price, OStJ, for services to the New Zealand Police and the community
- Ms Joanna Ruth Randerson, for services to the performing arts
- Dr Geoffrey Wayne Rice, for services to historical research and tertiary education
- Mr Victor John Rodger, for services to theatre and Pacific arts
- Mr Guy Winston Salmon, for services to the environment
- Mr Burton Ross Shipley, for services to basketball
- Mr Roger Wilson Steele, for services to the publishing industry and the arts
- Dr Gail Tewaru Tipa, for services to Māori and environmental management
- Adjunct Associate Professor James Alan Tully, for services to journalism and education
- Ms Colleen Mary Upton, for services to the plumbing and gasfitting industry and women
- Mr William Raymond Wallace, JP, for services to local government and the community
- Mrs Chloe Angela Carol Wright, for services to philanthropy, education and health
Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM)
- Inspector Tamuera Aitama Aberahama, for services to the New Zealand Police and the community
- Mrs Susan Veronica Anderson, JP, for services to restorative justice
- Dr Lisa Shelley Argilla, for services to animal welfare and conservation
- Professor Michael George Baker, for services to public health science
- Mrs Janet Elsie Barnes, JP, for services to local government and the community
- Ms Christina Joy Barton, for services to art history and curation
- Major David Thomas Bennett, for services to the Salvation Army and the community
- Mr Mark Alexander Bowden, for services to education
- Ms Sheena Cameron, for services to education
- Ms Kendra Margaret Cocksedge, for services to rugby
- Mrs Michelle Anne Crook, for services to the community
- Ms Vanisa Dhiru, JP, for services to the community and gender rights
- Mr Edward John Edwards, for services to sustainable business and harness racing
- Mr Kenneth John Forrest, for services to the electricity industry and business
- Mrs Prudence Anne Gooch, for services to dance
- Dr Sally-Ann Harbison, for services to forensic science
- Professor Bronwyn Mary Hayward, for services to political science, particularly sustainability, climate change and youth
- Ms Vicki Anne Heikell, for services to heritage preservation and Māori
- Professor Shaun Cameron Hendy, for services to science
- Ms Michele Rae Hine For services to performing arts education
- Mr Keith Luke Ingram, JP, for services to the fishing and maritime industry
- Mr Dickson Stewart Jardine, for services to philanthropy and conservation
- Mrs Jillian Frances Jardine. for services to philanthropy and conservation
- Mrs Helen Susan Johnson, for services to Special Olympics and the community
- Mr Rodney Whitiora Jones, for services to economics and public health research
- Mr Samuel Edwin Isaac Judd, for services to the environment and sustainability education
- Dr Glenda Ruth Keam, for services to music and music education
- Mr James Edward Kebbell, for services to sustainable business and the community
- Mr James Kelly, for services to the trade union movement
- Inspector Kieren William Kortegast, for services to the New Zealand Police and the community
- Mrs Janet Lyn Lane, for services to tertiary education
- Mrs Josephina Henrica Maria Lelijveld, for services to the Deaf community and education
- Mr Keith James Locke, for services to human rights advocacy
- Mr Donald William Mackenzie, for services to athletics and the community
- Mr John McIntosh, for services to people with disabilities
- Dr Jann Medlicott, for services to philanthropy, the arts and radiology
- Ms Melissa Potocka Moon, for services to athletics and charitable causes
- Mr Christopher John Morrison, for services to sustainable business and Fair Trade
- Ms Janice Mildred Murphy, for services to education and children with intellectual disabilities
- Mrs Katie Murray, QSM, for services to Māori and the community
- Dr James Wayne Ngata, for services to Māori and education
- Mr Paul Gerard Norris, for services to the tourism industry and conservation
- Ms Denise Alexandra Ritchie, for services to the prevention of sexual violence and exploitation
- Mr Muipu La'avasa Sagaga, for services to boxing
- Serviceman M, for services to the New Zealand Defence Force
- Dr Gagrath Pradeep Singh, for services to health
- Mrs Pauline Kei Smith, for services to Pacific arts and the community
- Mr Michael John Sutton, for services to education
- Mrs Moana Ngawaiata Tamaariki-Pohe, for services to Māori and conservation
- Dr Tasileta Teevale, for services to Pacific education and public health research
- Mr William Trubridge, for services to freediving
- Reverend Tumama Vili, for services to the Pacific community
- Mr Gary Lynnford Watts, for services to mental health
- Ms Marion Wood, for services to sustainable business and the community
Honorary Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit
- Professor Susan Pran Krumdieck, for services to sustainability research and engineering
- Emeritus Professor Yoshihiro Sakata, for services to New Zealand-Japan relations and rugby
Companions of the Queen's Service Order (QSO)
- Mr Francis Anthony Fanning, for services to the community
- Mr Jeffrey William Sanders, for services to social service governance
The Queen's Service Medal (QSM)
- Mrs Gillian Mary Adshead, JP, for services to conservation
- Mr Kevin John Adshead, for services to conservation
- Mrs Robin Boldarin, JP, for services to the community and school sports
- Mr Michael Joseph Bourke, for services to wildlife conservation
- Mr Daniel John Bowmar, for services to Fire and Emergency New Zealand and the community
- Mrs Yvonne Barbara Boyes, JP, for services to health, particularly nursing and cancer treatment'
- Mr William Sydney Clement Burdett, for services to the community and local government
- Mrs Carol Winifred Charman, for services to youth and people with intellectual disabilities
- Ms Sau Man Chow, for services to immigrant communities
- Mr Kerry Patrick Clarkin, JP, for services to agriculture and the community
- Mr Lester Dean, for services to the Pacific community
- Mr Michael Nevill Drake, for services to education and the community
- Mr Paul Duffy, for services to the community and local government
- Dr Anna Thornton Dyzel, for services to the community and health
- Mrs Kathleen Mae Fenton, for services to the community
- Mr Rowan Gray Edward Garrett, for services to brass bands
- Mr Colin Franklin Gibbs, for services to agriculture and the community
- Mr Peter John Goodbehere, for services to film
- Mr Joseph Sydney Ronald Robert Hughes, for services to Fire and Emergency New Zealand and the community
- Ms Grace Sarina Hutton, for services to Pacific art and the community
- Mrs Angela Deirdre Keenan, for services to sport, particularly netball
- Ms Arohanui Haumihiata Lawrence, for services to Māori and sustainable food production
- Reverend Falkland Gary Fereti Liuvaie, for services to the Niue community
- Dr Judith Roberta Lowes, for services to women and roller sports
- Mrs Elizabeth Patricia Norton, for services to the community
- Mr Stuart Keith Paterson, for services to the community
- Mr James George Powdrill, for services to Fire and Emergency New Zealand
- Mr Neil Lawrence Pugh, for services to the community
- Mrs Hokikau Kataraina Purcell, for services to seniors and Māori
- Mr Lasalo Owen Purcell, for services to seniors and Māori
- Mrs Isobel Ransfield, for services to Māori
- Mrs Frances Joan Rawling, for services to heritage rose preservation
- Mr Maxwell Thomas Robins, for services to healthcare and seniors
- Mr Kevin Stechman, for services to Fire and Emergency New Zealand
- Reverend Alison Jean Stewart, for services to choral music
- Ms Marthalina Mii Taru, for services to netball and the Pacific community
- Mr Bruce Herbert Thompson, for services to Fire and Emergency New Zealand and the community
- Mrs Julia Mary Truesdal, for services to netball and education
- Ms Malia Nive Venning, for services to the Tokelau community and netball
- Ms Theresia Selina Weir, for services to people with disabilities
- Ms Janet Mary Wilson, for services to wildlife conservation
The New Zealand Antarctic Medal (NZAM)
- Mr Eugene Brian Fitzgerald, for services to Antarctic exploration and heritage
The New Zealand Distinguished Service Decoration (DSD)
- Servicewoman D, for services to the New Zealand Defence Force
