The list of New Year Honours recipients for 2023 has been released, celebrating the achievements of New Zealanders in their respective fields.
One hundred and eighty-three New Zealanders have been recognised including the likes of former Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield, who led the country's public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and multiple Kiwi Olympians.
The new dames are actor Miranda Harcourt, former Black Ferns captain Farah Palmer and former Parliamentary Commissioner Jan Wright.
The new knights are Dr Bloomfield, property developer and philanthropist Mark Dunajtschik and author Haare Williams.
Here is the full list of New Year Honours 2021:
The New Zealand Order of Merit
To be Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DNZM)
Ms Miranda Catherine Millais Harcourt, ONZM
For services to the screen industry and theatre
Ms Miranda Harcourt has made award-winning contributions to the theatre and screen industries as an actor, acting coach, producer, director and writer.
Ms Harcourt has applied her skills as a drama therapist within the New Zealand prison system.
A pioneer of verbatim theatre in New Zealand in the 1990s, alongside her husband Stuart McKenzie, they toured their acclaimed show Verbatim (1993) nationally and internationally to theatres, schools and prisons. She has collaborated on numerous projects with her husband, including adapting their play Portraits (1996) into the feature film For Good (2003) and creating 10-part documentary series Tough Act (2005).
She wrote and co-directed the 2017 feature film The Changeover, based on Margaret Mahy's coming-of-age novel.
Most recently, their verbatim play Transmission (2021) dramatized aspects of New Zealand's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
She was Head of Acting at Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School from 1998 to 2005 and now works globally with leading directors and actors.
Her clients have been nominated for and won BAFTAs, AAFTAs, Golden Globes, Emmys and Academy Awards.
She is the founding tutor at Rātā Studios in Wellington and continues to champion New Zealand talent on the world stage. Ms Harcourt has been an advocate for social change organisations including Women's Refuge and So They Can.
Professor Farah Rangikoepa Palmer, ONZM
For services to sport, particularly rugby
Professor Farah Palmer (Ngāti Maniapoto, Waikato) is a three-time Rugby World Cup winning captain of the New Zealand women's rugby team (Black Ferns) and has held a variety of governance roles since retiring as a player in 2006.
Prof Palmer was professional development manager for the Manawatū Rugby Union, an independent member of the Māori Rugby Board, member of the Women's Advisory Committee of the International Rugby Board, and research consultant for New Zealand Rugby. She became the first woman on the New Zealand Rugby Board in 2016 and was elected Deputy Chairperson in 2021.
She currently chairs the New Zealand Māori Rugby Board and is President of the New Zealand Rugby Museum. In 2022, she was appointed as Pou Ākonga Executive Director - Māori Student Success at Massey University and previously was Associate Dean Māori for Massey Business School from 2018.
Her research and service focus on the intersection of Māori and gender identities in high performance sport, sport for development, organisational and leadership contexts. She was a member of Te Manahua New Zealand Universities Women in Leadership Programme Committee from 2015 to 2020.
She was a member of the Ministerial Taskforce reviewing Alcohol Advertising and Sponsorship in 2014 and was a founding Trustee for Manukura, an education programme with a Te Ao Māori approach to excellence in sport, culture and education. She has held several mentoring and patron roles with education and public sector organisations. Professor Palmer is a member of the Sport and Recreation New Zealand Ihi Aotearoa Board.
Janice Claire Wright
For services to the State and the environment
Jan Wright was Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment for two terms from 2007 until 2017. Dr Wright commenced her role as Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment at a time of growing public and political interest in environmental issues and has since built a reputation for her methodical approach, robust independent advice, and as a skilful public communicator.
Her leadership of the office has been recognised as valuable and pragmatic across Parliament. She has provided independent advice on topics ranging from fracking and agricultural emissions to the plight of the longfin eel.
Her 2011 report Evaluating the use of 1080: Predators, poisons and silent forests has been a continuing reference in the debate around the use of the pesticide 1080.
She has delivered two major reports on the consequences of climate change.
Her reports on freshwater quality have provided an accessible overview of the science and provided policy options to parliamentarians.
She has previously been Chair of Land Transport New Zealand and Transfund New Zealand and held membership of the Boards of Transit New Zealand, ACC, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority and the Independent Biotechnology Advisory Council. Dr Wright currently chairs the Te Manahuna Aoraki conservation project, a nationally significant biodiversity project in Aoraki National Park and the upper Mackenzie Basin.
To be Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (KNZM)
Ashley Robin Bloomfield
For services to public health
Ashley Bloomfield was the Director-General of Health from 2018 until 2022 and led the health sector and the successful management of the Government's public health response in New Zealand to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under intense scrutiny and daily public reporting, Dr Bloomfield has worked at a relentless pace for two years to drive and implement major policy decisions that have underpinned New Zealand's response to the pandemic.
Early on, he began providing regular press conference updates to inform the public about the virus, becoming the public face, alongside the Prime Minister, of the Government's response to COVID-19. His clear and calm communication has been key to ensuring trust in the Government's public health advice, with the public positioning him as New Zealand's most well-known and highly respected public servant during the pandemic.
He led the Ministry of Health (MoH) in establishing a national contact tracing centre, increasing resourcing for Healthline as a single source of information for the public and sourcing personal protective equipment. Dr Bloomfield led the MoH in standing up the first managed isolation and quarantine facilities, sourcing and operationalising testing services, and rolling out the country's most ambitious vaccination programme, through which more than 90 percent of eligible New Zealanders were fully vaccinated.
Markus Dunajtschik
For services to philanthropy
Mark Dunajtschik has contributed to a range of philanthropic causes and charities for more than 40 years. Mr Dunajtschik helped found a helicopter rescue service in Wellington in the mid-1970s, the precursor to the Westpac Helicopter rescue service, and financed the service for 10 years.
In 2017 he donated $53 million to build and gift a new children’s hospital to Capital and Coast District Health Board.
He has pledged between $50 to 60 million to replace Te Whare Ahura Mental Health Centre in the Hutt Valley.
In 2019, he donated $2 million to Hōhepa Homes for intellectually disabled children to purchase land to expand their operation in Kāpiti and has contributed significantly to the purchase of further houses for a Trust in Belmont. He is a founding member of the Michael Fowler Centre and donor to the Wellington Free Ambulance. He funded the establishment of the Mark Dunajtschik Chair of Sustainable Energy at Victoria University of Wellington, a commitment of $2 million.
Mr Dunajtschik has supported CCS Disability Action for many years and has made significant donations to Sport New Zealand and the Graeme Dingle Foundation and is Patron of the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association.
Haare Mahanga Te Wehinga Williams, MNZM, JP
For services to Māori, literature and education
Haare Williams was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2018 for his services to Māori, the arts and education. Dr Williams has been Dean of Māori Education and Māori Advisor to the Chief Executive at Unitec.
He has utilised storytelling and Māori traditions of oral literature to explore narratives of journeys, failures, triumphs, losses and gains embodied in whakapapa. Inspired by his love of language, he published his first book titled Words of a Kaumātua in 2019, touching on his childhood and issues stemming from inequality in New Zealand.
The book won the te reo Māori category of the 2020 Society of Authors' Heritage Book Awards. He was a pioneer in Māori broadcasting as the General Manager of Aotearoa Radio and established a joint venture with the South Seas Film and Television School to train te reo speakers as producers and operators in film and television.
He co-founded the New Zealand Māori Artists and Writers Association, later Ngā Puna Waihanga, and was the inaugural President for nine years. He is Kaumatua of the Kotahi Rau Pukapuka initiative launched in 2019, which aims to produce 100 great books in te reo Māori.
Dr Williams has been Amorangi at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, has worked closely with iwi claimant communities and was a cultural advisor for Mayors of Auckland.
To be Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM)
Mr Michael Francis Barnett, ONZM, for services to business
Mr Hamish Bryon Bond, MNZM, for services to rowing
Dr Bruce Donald Campbell, for services to plant and food research
Professor Helen Victoria Danesh-Meyer, for services to ophthalmology
Mrs Leigh Helen Gibbs, ONZM, for services to netball
Mr Trevor Horowaewae Maxwell, MNZM, for services to Māori and local government
Mr Paul Te Poa Karoro Reginald Morgan, QSO, for services to Māori and business
Mr Eric Gordon Murray, MNZM, for services to rowing
Emeritus Professor David Gerard Simmons, for services to tourism and tertiary education
Ms Kereyn Maree Smith, MNZM, for services to sports governance
Ms Lisa Tumahai, for services to Māori development
The Honourable Mititaiagimene Young Vivian, for services to Niue
Mrs Kaa Kataraina Kathleen Williams, QSO, for services to Māori and education
Mr Tawhirimatea Te Auripo Rewita Williams, MNZM, for services to Māori and education.
To be Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM)
Ms Michèle Edith A'Court, for services to the entertainment and comedy industries
Mr Martin Ranfurly Bennett, for services to the environment and the community
Ms Elizabeth Anne Caldwell, for services to the arts
Mr Barry John Clark, QSM, JP, for services to the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services Association
Dr Bruce Dudley Clarkson, for services to ecological restoration
Mr Grant Cleland, for services to disabled people
Mr Paul Daniel Coll, for services to squash
Professor Emerita Jennie Lynne Connor, for services to alcohol harm reduction
Mr John Terence Darby, for services to wildlife conservation and science
Mr Brian Patrick Donnelly, for services to social housing
Deputy Commissioner Glenn Murray Dunbier, for services to the New Zealand Police and the community
Mr Nathan Edward Fa'avae, for services to adventure racing, outdoor education and the Pacific community
Mr David Rodney Fane, for services to the performing arts
Mr Grahame Boston Fong, for services to powerlifting
Dr Natalie Joan Gauld, for services to pharmacy and health
Mrs Joanne Lisa Gibbs, for services to public health
Ms Cindy Leigh Johns, for services to people with learning disabilities
Mr Ian Keith MacEwan, for services to addiction services
Ms Beryl Te Haumihiata Mason, for services to Māori language education
Mr Waihaere Joseph Mason, MNZM, for services to Māori and education
Professor Rangiānehu Matamua, for services to Māori astronomy
Ms Anita Jane Mazzoleni, for services to corporate governance
Mr Bernard Joseph McKone, for services to the pharmaceutical sector
Ms Janine Rania Morrell-Gunn, for services to children's television and the community
Mr Don Edward Mortensen, for services to the prevention of sexual harm
Ms Pānia Christine Papa, for services to Māori language education and broadcasting
Mr Khoa Dang (Mitchell) Pham, for services to the technology sector and New Zealand-Asia relations
Professor Edwina Pio, for services to ethnic communities
Ms Christine Anne Rogan, for services to alcohol harm reduction
Ms Nicola Maree Smith-Guerin, for services to anaesthesiology
Dr Apisalome Sikaidoka Talemaitoga, for services to health and the Pacific community
Ms Lisa-Jane Taouma, for services to Pacific arts and the screen industry
Mr Charles Richard Veitch, for services to wildlife conservation
Dr Kathleen Joy Walker, for services to wildlife conservation
Mr Peter Muru Edward Walters, for services to touch rugby
Ms Paula Mapuna Werohia-Lloyd, for services to Māori and business
Mr Kenneth Michael Williams, for services to governance and the community
Ms Te Puea Pekerangi Eileen Winiata, for services to Māori and health.
To be Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM)
Dr Hafsa Ahmed, for services to ethnic communities and women
Ms Wendy Allison, for services to drug harm reduction
Dr John Douglas Armstrong, for services to Māori health
Mr David Wallace Bain, for services to health and the community
Ms Priscilla June Baken, for services to midwifery
Dr Timothy Robert Bevin, for services to health
Mr Carlton Paul Bidois, for services to the environment and Māori-Crown relations
Mrs Hoana Mere Burgman, for services to Māori and environmental governance
Dr Heather Anne Came-Friar, for services to Māori, education and health
Mr Malcolm James Campbell, for services to local government and the community
Mr Lloyd Russell Chapman, for services to the community and heritage rose preservation
Mr David Christopher Chapple, for services to the community and heritage preservation
Mr Brian Raymond Coffey, for services to people with disabilities
Dr Gina Annette Cole, for services to literature
Ms Catherine Mary Cornish, for services to the performing arts
Mrs Carlotta Brigid Dann, for services to addiction advocacy
Professor Christine Margaret Davies, for services to education
Ms Dale Winifred Farrar, for services to the State
Father Paulo Sagato Filoialii, for services to the Pacific community
Mr Bruce James Ford, JP, for services to the community
Ms Ruth Beatrice Gerzon, for services to community development and social justice
Mr Tony John Gray, JP, for services to education
Mr Albert Christopher Grinter, for services to education and Māori
Mr Phillip Ross Halse, for services to local government and the community
Mr Sefita 'Alofi Hao'uli, for services to Tongan and Pacific communities
Ms Christina Angela Hape, for services to Māori and governance
Mrs Anna Maree Harrison, for services to netball and volleyball
Mr Ian Robert Archibald Hastie, for services to education
Mr Paul Leslie Hodge, JP, for services to the hospitality industry
Mr John Maxwell Inger, for services to education
Miss Dayle Olive Jackson, for services to education and sport
Ms Penelope Jane Jackson, for services to art crime research and visual arts
Mr Mohamed Abdi Jama, for services to the Muslim community
Mrs Tina Maria Jones, for services to suicide prevention and mental health
Ms Lakiloko Tepae Keakea, for services to Tuvaluan art
Ms Marilyn Rhonda Kohlhase, for services to Pacific arts and education
Ms Debra Joy Lampshire, for services to mental health
Dr Alana Marissa Lopesi, for services to the arts
Mr Stanislaw Manterys, for services to refugees and the Polish community
Dr Paul Allan Maunder, for services to the arts and the community
Mrs Felorini Ruta McKenzie, for services to Pacific education
Mr Richard Mark McNamara, for services to Fire and Emergency New Zealand and emergency management
Senior Sergeant Clifford Gordon Metcalfe, for services to the New Zealand Police and Search and Rescue
Ms Betty-Anne Maryrose Monga, for services to music
Mrs Henriette Michel Nakhle, QSM, for services to the Lebanese community
Mrs Melony Robin O'Connor, for services to basketball
Mrs Jocelyn Jane O'Donnell, for services to business and community development
Mr Sullivan Luao Paea, for services to youth
Mr Corey Nathan Peters, for services to sit-skiing
Mr Nico Porteous, for services to snow sports
Mr Russell John Postlewaight, for services to Fire and Emergency New Zealand
Mrs Rita Keka Powick, for services to Māori, education and governance
Ms Shirleen Vinita Lata Prasad, for services to addiction services and the South Asian community
Mrs Helen Ngairie Rasmussen, for services to Māori and conservation
Ms Rosanna Marie Raymond, for services to Pacific art
Ms Bonnie Jane Robinson, for services to seniors and social services
Mr Christopher Stephen Rooney, for services to education
Mr Reweti Ratu Ropiha, for services to Māori health
Ms Zoi Katherine Sadowski-Synnott, for services to snow sports
Mrs Jennifer Robyn Shattock, QSM, JP, for services to local government and economic development
Ms Sarah (Sally) Margaret Shaw, for services to nursing
Dr Gregory Howard Sherley, for services to conservation
Dr Jane Elizabeth Skeen, for services to children with cancer
Mrs Cheryl Smith, for services to rugby
Ms Margaret Teresa Tai Rākena, for services to victims of sexual violence and the community
Mr John Maxwell Tait, for services to education and Māori
Dr Amama Bagem Thornley, for services to health
Mr Charles Beswick Wilkinson, for services to arts governance and the community
To be Companions of the Queen’s Service Order (QSO)
Mr John Robert Dobson, for services to people with disabilities
Dr Caroline Ann McElnay, for services to public health
Mr Kura Te Rangi Moeahu, for services to Māori and the arts
Mr Hayden Paul Waretini Wano, for services to Māori health
The Queen's Service Medal (QSM)
Mrs Naomi Ruth Baker-Wenley, for services to opera
Mrs Margaret Anne Bourke, for services to the community
Mr Rodger Henry Brickland, for services to athletics
Mr Brendan Sean Butler, for services to Fire and Emergency New Zealand
Mr Geoffrey Denis Clews, for services to the arts and the community
Mr Maurice James Cowie, for services to Search and Rescue
Mr Trevor Michael Crosbie, JP, for services to Fire and Emergency New Zealand
Mrs Rosemary Jane Ensor, for services to the community
Mrs Kinaua Bauriri Ewels, for services to the Kiribati community
Mrs Lynore Ann Farry, for services to the community
Mr George Rafton Flavell, for services to Māori culture and heritage preservation
Mr Matthew Vincent Frost, for services to people with autism
Mr Galumalemana Fetaiaimauso Marion Galumalemana, for services to the Pacific community
Mr James William Gordon, for services to the community
Ms Hana Melania Halalele, for services to Pacific health
Mr Clyde Harris Hamilton, for services to the community and heritage preservation
Mrs Afife Skafi Harris, for services to migrant communities
Mrs Eileen Margaret Jean Harvey-Thawley, for services to Fire and Emergency New Zealand and the community
Mr James Richard Strachan Higham, for services to rugby and education
Mrs Barbara Noeline Jeffries, for services to equestrian sport and war commemoration
Mrs Judith Ann Johnson, JP, for services as a Justice of the Peace
Mrs Teurukura Tia Kekena, for services to the Cook Islands and Pacific communities
Mrs Carol Anne Martin, for services to the community and netball
Mr Kevin James McComb, for services to cycling
Ms Agnes (Nancy) McCulloch McShane, for services to women and pay equity
Mrs Karen Anne Morris, for services to the community
Mr Kenneth Michael Morris, for services to the community
Mr Nanai Pati Muaau, for services to Pacific health
Mr Euon Graham Murrell, JP, for services to the community
Reverend Woo Taek Nam, for services to the Korean community
Mr Lomia Kaipati Semaia Naniseni, for services to the Tokelau community
Mr James Allan Ngarewa, JP, for services to the community and education
Mr Gavin Russell Alan Nicol, for services to veterans
Mrs Yong Rahn Park, for services to the Korean community
Ms Linda Susan Rutland, for services to the community
Mr Ma'a Brian Sagala, for services to Pacific communities
Ms Mamaitaloa Sagapolutele, for services to education and the Pacific community
Mr Ian Rankin Smith, JP, for services to civil defence and the community
Mrs Patricia Isabel Smith, for services to the community
Mr Donald Bruce Thomas, for services to the community and the legal profession
Mrs Muriel Patricia Tondi, for services to the Italian community and language education
Mrs Mavis Emlen Tweedie, for services to the community
Mr Kevin Victor Watkins, for services to the community and New Zealand-China relations
Ms Helen Whittaker, for services to art and the community
Mr Robin Young, for services to the community
Honorary
Mrs Tofilau Nina Kirifi-Alai, for services to education and the Pacific community
Tuifa'asisina Kasileta Maria Lafaele, for services to Pacific health
Mrs Nemai Divuluki Vucago, for services to Fijian and Pacific communities
Mrs Kyo Jin Yun, for services to the Korean community
The New Zealand Antarctic Medal (NZAM)
Mr Nigel John Watson, for services to Antarctic heritage preservation
The New Zealand Distinguished Service Decoration (DSD)
Captain Brendon John Clark, for services to the New Zealand Defence Force
Serviceman L, for services to the New Zealand Defence Force
Sergeant Hayden Peter Smith, for services to the New Zealand Defence Force
