King's Birthday Honours 2025: Taranaki councillor Neil Walker made officer of the NZ Order of Merit
Councillor, grandfather, and committee man Neil Walker has been made an officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours.
The Hawera man has been awarded the honour for his services to primary industries and the community.
Walker grew up on
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NZ Herald
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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.
Otago Daily Times
05-06-2025
- Otago Daily Times
‘Humbled' to be recognised
Timaru. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES When leaving Tonga over 20 years ago, Siesina "Sina" Latu could never have imagined the life she would build in Timaru. After arriving with her young family in 2004 and "hardly seeing any brown faces", Mrs Latu has dedicated the last two decades to educating the South Canterbury community about Tonga and providing a platform for Pasifika people in the region. For her work she has been awarded an Honorary King's Service Medal for services to the Pacific community in this year's King's Birthday Honours. It was an unreal feeling to have received the honour, she said. "I was shocked. It's not something that you wake up in the morning and think, 'oh I'm going to get this medal this year or even in the next 10 years'. "You'd never think in a million years that you would get a big medal from someone, let alone from the King. I'm really honoured and humbled with this recognition." Mrs Latu was a founding member of the Tongan Society South Canterbury in 2016, and since 2020 has been general manager. She has also been a part of several groups and boards as an advocate for the Pasifika community. The driving force behind the work she had done was giving families the support she did not have when she first moved to Timaru. "I had to educate people about Tonga. "They knew that we were Pasifika but not that Pasifika has a lot of different ethnic groups or islands that have their own languages and cultures. "They looked at us and it was 'you're brown so you're Pasifika' and that was it." Things had come a long way since then and many Pasifika groups wow had their own societies in South Canterbury. "At the moment we are in the process of creating a Pasifika community leaders forum or collective because now that we each have groups we want to come together and ... work together and support our kainga as a whole." She loved being a part of the Timaru community and was pleased she had made the decision to move to the region. She wished to thank God, those who had nominated her, and those who played a big part in her journey to receiving it. "I dedicate this medal to my family. They are my biggest support system. "I want to acknowledge their support, resilience and patience in allowing me to do what I do. "I also want to acknowledge the Tongan society. "It's good that Pauline [Luyten], who is the co-founder with me, is also receiving an honour. "It is a big milestone for our Tongan society, for our Timaru Pasifika community and for Tongan women. "To everyone that has supported me all the way, thank you so much. It's always a collective effort, it was never about me alone. It was everyone's effort."
Otago Daily Times
04-06-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Photo: supplied Lloyd McCallum Winton For services to the dairy industry and the environment. Winton dairy farmer Lloyd McCallum, 65, was not looking for any recognition, nor did he expect it. But being included in this year's King's Birthday Honours was "a nice surprise", Mr McCallum said. "The world's full of doom and gloom these days, but yeah, it was a nice surprise. "It puts a little bit of a skip in your step." The former three-term Environment Southland councillor was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the dairy industry and the environment. "It's not the end of the journey. There's still more to do," he said. Mr McCallum is a church elder, an award-winning dairy farmer and active community member in Southland. He was one of the original Southland sheep and arable farmers to convert his property to dairy production in 1991, 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 Ballance 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 chairman 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 is focused on improving freshwater quality in the Waituna region of Southland.
