King's Birthday Honours 2025: Dr Lesley Rameka made Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Leading Māori academic Dr Lesley Rameka (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Tukorehe) was among the 188 New Zealanders recognised in this year's King's Birthday Honours.
Rameka, of Taupō, was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to Māori and early childhood education.
She told the Waikato she didn't grow up with a lot of knowledge about Te ao Māori and tikanga Māori and only started to look into it deeper after she became a mother.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Spinoff
2 hours ago
- The Spinoff
The cost of being: A public servant who took voluntary redundancy
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a public servant describes how gastric bypass surgery, a traumatic brain injury and taking voluntary redundancy have affected their finances. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here. Gender: Female. Age: 38. Ethnicity: Māori/NZ European. Role: Currently unemployed, on a sabbatical after taking voluntary redundancy from the public service. I'm also receiving weekly compensation for a workplace accident (TBI) I had in 2023. Before being made redundant I was able to work 30 hours per week with my injury, and i'm working towards being able to return to FTW (40 hours) soon. Salary/income/assets: Weekly accident compensation of $1450 in hand (80% of my previous earnings). Husband's annual income: $110,000. My KiwiSaver: $52,000. Husband's KiwiSaver: $42,000. Term deposit: $30,000. Shares: $10,500. Savings: $20,000. Most of the assets aside from KiwiSaver have come from my redundancy payout. My living location is: Suburban. Rent/mortgage per week: $800 per week between my husband and I for our mortgage. We purchased our three-bedroom Lower Hutt home in early 2018. Student loan or other debt payments per week: $150 per week. This is on our mortgage but not included in the above amount. This is repaying money borrowed for gastric bypass surgery (best investment I ever made) and some credit card debt. Typical weekly food costs Groceries: $350 per week for the two of us. We are pretty bougie with our food spend – meat is free range and often organic, we buy artisan bread and locally roasted coffee beans. We do a Moore Wilsons shop once a fortnight, but the bulk of groceries are split between New World and Woolworths – I shop them online and pick up and whatever I need, I get it at whichever one is cheaper. For products we use a lot and are regularly on special, I stock up when on special. Eating out: Maybe once a month, about $80 for us both. We ate out more before my brain injury, but loud restaurants aren't ideal while i'm recovering. Neither of us drink which saves lots, as does my gastric bypass surgery as I can't eat large amounts. Takeaways: One or two times per month, about $40 per time. It's normally either Indian, Malaysian or Chinese as my stomach doesn't tolerate many takeaways these days. My meals need to have a solid amount of protein, and lots of veges. Workday lunches: No workday for me! But while I was working, I'd take lunch most days. I'd maybe buy lunch once a fortnight, and spend about $12. Cafe coffees/snacks: Since finishing work, I treat myself to three bought coffees per week – one on a Wednesday morning when I drop my husband at work (he works from home the rest of the week) and then one each weekend day when my husband and I take the dog to the beach. The other days I drink plunger coffee at home using locally roasted beans. Other food costs: Not quite food, but related costs include a number of supplements I take because I've had gastric bypass surgery: protein powder, bariatric level multivitamin, iron, calcium and – to help my brain injury recover – creatine, fish oil and magnesium. Also the cost of our fur babies – we have a dog with multiple health issues which requires prescription diet and expensive monthly shots, as well as a cat. Our total animal spend is about $250 per week. Savings: We save about $200 per fortnight currently, to help with future bills mainly. Some of the assets we have will be used towards some work on our home. I worry about money: Rarely. Three words to describe my financial situation: Comfortable, privileged and learning (I've only started saving and investing in the last year). My biggest edible indulgence would be: Little Spoon Sourdough Crumpets. They're like $13 for a pack of six, but SO SO good – especially the chocolate ones! In a typical week my alcohol expenditure would be: Zero. I stopped drinking almost 18 months ago. My husband hasn't drunk in about six years. In a typical week my transport expenditure would be: Our car is super economical so only about $20 between the two of us on petrol. I have my Snapper card for trips into Wellington when I don't want/need to drive, but it's pretty sporadic while i'm not working. I estimate in the past year the ballpark amount I spent on my personal clothing (including sleepwear and underwear) was: So much. Clothing and fashion are one of my true loves. As I've got older, i'm all about being super comfortable while also looking great, and i'm super fussy about fabric, preferring only cotton and linen. I absolutely love Kowtow – the brand ethics align with mine, and the pieces make me happy. The girls in the Wellington store are amazing, and I love going in there (they also have the best changing rooms ever). I've recently discovered the NZ lingerie brand Ohen and am currently replacing all my bras and underwear with their glorious products. I also love second hand shopping – mostly online via Trade Me and Designer Wardrobe. I should probably sit down and calculate my spend because my guesstimates aren't known for their accuracy, but I'd say about $12,000. It's a lot, I know. But it's also my hobby, brings me joy, and unlike my prior habits, is entirely funded by money I already have, not credit cards and BNPL. My most expensive clothing in the past year was: Probably a Kowtow dress – specifically the striped Martha dress which sold out in record time. It looks amazing! I think it was $379. Back in 2022 I did the biggest splurge of my life and bought a full length, hot pink wool coat from Cue. I consider it an investment I will wear every winter for many years to come, and it gets so many compliments. It was just over $900 but I will never admit that to my husband! My last pair of shoes cost: $279 (including shipping from Germany) for a pair of Feelgrounds (barefoot sneakers). They are the most comfortable thing I have ever worn, and the rest of my shoes have barely got any wear since they arrived. They are white tennis style shoes with a gum sole. Most of my shoes are between $250 and $400, and are mainly sneakers and Dr Martens. I only buy high quality leather shoes because comfort is key, and non-leather shoes lead to smelly, sweaty feet. My grooming/beauty expenditure in a year is about: Two hairdressing trips per year, about $300 each for cut and colour. About $200 in haircare products (mostly Olaplex products, colour booster and dry shampoo!). Make-up about $100 per year – it used to be way higher, but post-pandemic I only wear mascara (Ilia Limitless), brow wax (Anastasia Beverly Hills), a bit of bronzer and blush and lipstick (MAC Lady Danger or Candy Yum Yum). Skin care is where my beauty spend is focused these days – I use a CeraVe cleanser and then splurge on Emma Lewisham products: Skin Reset Serum, Supernatural Face Creme and Supernatural Face Oil. I also use Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant a couple of times per week. I'd estimate about $1400 on skin care, so that's looking about $2000 all up. Oh wait…. three-weekly manicures too, so that adds another $1500. My exercise expenditure in a year is about: About $1000 per year for my gym membership. I haven't had to replace any gear this year as i'm not exercising as much because of my injury. My last Friday night cost: Absolutely nothing. I stayed in and watched Netflix. Most regrettable purchase in the last 12 months was: A bicycle. It was supposed to save on petrol money, but TBH riding on the road scares the shit out of me. Most indulgent purchase (that I don't regret) in the last 12 months was: My outdoor egg chair which I bought for the sole purpose of sitting and reading on my deck. I've wanted one for almost five years, and I'm so happy with it. One area where I'm a bit of a tightwad is: Paying full price on items that are regularly on special. Five words to describe my financial personality would be: I like nice things! I grew up in a house where money was: SPENT! My parents, mostly Mum, were big spenders and there was little in the way of savings. We had a pretty comfortable upbringing, and had everything we needed and most of the things we wanted, but I look at my parents now, getting close to retirement age, and wish they'd prepared themselves more for that. The last time my Eftpos card was declined was: Two days ago at the petrol station. I had the money but not in the right account. Whoops! In five years, in financial terms, I see myself: Regularly saving and investing. Hopefully being in a position to sell our current home and buy in our dream beach suburb. I would love to have more money for: Honestly, buying loads of beautiful fresh flowers to keep around the house. I normally allow a spend on flowers of no more than $50 per month, but i'd love to be the type of rich that has regular, abundant florist deliveries (especially in peony season!). Also, my dream is to open a housing facility for street people with animals in Wellington. I want them to have a safe, warm space and in this housing market low income people with animals have a near impossible time finding housing. It would be called 'Harry and Misty House' after my friend Harry who lives on the street with his beautiful dog Misty. Describe your financial low: I had gastric bypass surgery in 2019. I didn't realise prior but I was addicted to food and after the surgery I couldn't consume food in the same way, so my addiction transferred to shopping. I amassed a lot of credit card debt throughout 2020 and 2021. I literally had a room in my house full of boxes of things i'd brought online. It was bad. Thank god I had a mortgage with equity so was able to consolidate it at a much lower interest rate and pay it off. Since then I've done a lot of financial education as well as therapy and while I still spend a lot, it's within my means, while still saving and investing. I give money away to: When I was working I used Payroll Giving to donate $50 per fortnight towards various charities – KidsCan, Women's Refuge and HUHA. I'll restart these when I start working again.
Otago Daily Times
3 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Mana whenua name for South Dunedin library revealed
Mana whenua have given South Dunedin's new library complex a name reflecting the area's historic links to traditional knowledge. The building complex, which houses the new South Dunedin Library, will be called Te Whata o Kaituna. In a report for next week's civic affairs committee meeting, Dunedin City Council (DCC) acting corporate policy manager Nadia Wesley-Smith said the name referenced the area's former abundance in mahika kai (traditional food gathering and the places it occurs). In the past, South Dunedin was an estuary "abundant with shellfish, fish, birds and other wildlife". Whata describes an elevated structure used to store kai. "[The name] recognises traditional knowledge systems used in cultural practices, and today, the knowledge held within the library structure for the community to access," Ms Wesley-Smith said. At December's Te Pae Māori meeting, the council and mana whenua partnership forum, mana whenua formally gifted the name to the South Dunedin library and community complex. At March's meeting, it was proposed the building complex be named Te Whata o Kaituna, and the library housed within have a separate name. "The naming of the building demonstrates the application of Te Taki Haruru [the council's Māori strategic framework], the expression of the DCC's commitment to te Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi," she said. Artwork on the library's outside depicted tuna (eels), acknowledging the history and culture of South Dunedin, Ms Wesley-Smith said. "There has been some discussion in the community around the option of naming the building after a previous Dunedin City councillor and library advocate, however both staff and mana whenua have since engaged with the family who have confirmed they do not wish for the building to be named thus. " In November, councillors voted 6-4 to lease the upper floor of the complex at commercial rates, rather than reserve some space for community organisations at a cheaper rental, a decision which outraged the organisations. A notice of motion from Cr Carmen Houlahan to overturn the decision was lost 7-5 in April. At Tuesday's infrastructure services committee, property services group manager Anna Nilsen said an opening date for the complex had not been confirmed. It had been expected to open by mid-year, but the project was forecast to run into September, Ms Nilsen said. "We're just trying to see if we can speed that programme up and gain any ground between now and then." — APL
Scoop
21 hours ago
- Scoop
Older People Are More Likely To Die In A House Fire This Winter - Check They Are Fire Safe Today
More than half of the fatalities in house fires in the last five years were people over 60, Fire and Emergency New Zealand says. Acting Deputy Chief Executive Nick Pyatt says the harm happening to older people from housefires is far too high, and all New Zealanders could do much more to protect them. "Fifty-five per cent of house fire deaths in the last five years were people over 60," he says. "Every one of these tragedies was preventable. "We're asking people to ensure whānau, friends and neighbours are heating their houses safely, have working smoke alarms, can, and know how to get out of their houses safely in a fire. "That way we can prevent further tragedies happening this winter. "It's a particularly risky time for older people right now, as every winter brings a spike in the number of house fires caused by heaters, chimneys, hot ashes, electric blankets, and dryers. "We see at least 50 per cent more of these fires in May, June and July compared with the rest of the year." One of Fire and Emergency's priorities is to educate New Zealanders about how they can help prevent fires happening. "But we can't do this alone - it's an all-of-community responsibility," Nick Pyatt says. "That includes urging people to check their own fire safety and then check in on their older family, friends, and neighbours, too. "Do they have working smoke alarms in every bedroom, living area and hallway, or can you give them a hand to install them if they don't? "Do they have at least two escape routes out of their house? Are clothes or furniture too close to the heater, or are there dangerous heaters or appliances in the home? "This is on all of us." To make sure you've checked all the fire risks in your or someone else's home, use our easy online checklist:
