Latest news with #OrderOfMerit
RNZ News
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
Dai Henwood: Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit
health arts 8:15 am today Dai Henwood has to be one of New Zealand's best-loved comedians. Being honoured today with Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, he's carrying on a family tradition joining BOTH of his parents, who have also had honours bestowed.
RNZ News
3 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
Is the honours system still relevant for New Zealand?
A composite image of some of insignia from the New Zealand Order of Merit. Photo: Supplied/ Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet This long weekend, a new list of Kiwis will be crowned with titles under the New Zealand Honour's System, when a list is unveiled on Monday to celebrate the King's Birthday. Up to 400 Honours are granted annually across lists announced for the New Year and the King's Birthday holiday, with Special Lists occasionally released at other times too. The titles bestow a smorgasbord of letters after names, like CNZM, Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit; or ONZM, Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, all recognising service to the Crown and to the nation. Some become dames and knights. But is the honours system still relevant? Are the right number given out to the right people? And are the right people making decisions about who should be recognised? Anyone can nominate a person they think is worthy of a New Zealand royal honour, though at least two other people must submit letters in support of the nomination. The form is online . About 800 to 1000 nominations are considered each year, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet says. While those nominated are usually New Zealand citizens, people who are not citizens can also be nominated if they have benefited New Zealand or helped New Zealanders overseas. The applications are considered by the Cabinet Appointments and Honours Committee; which is a group of government ministers and chaired by the prime minister. The prime minister then makes the final recommendation to the King. Reporter Victor Waters took to the streets of Auckland to get people's views. "I guess it is kind of less valid of a title than it used to be," one man said. "It is good to recognise people's achievements, ... but I couldn't say whether we're giving them out for the right or wrong reasons." While, a woman said: "I don't really care, they're just titles - as long as it's not like a grant of a million dollars of the taxpayers money, I don't really mind. It really depends on who's nominated and if they deserve it or not. I think people deserve recognition for their work, as long as it's deserved." Another woman said: "I still think it's cool to like give knighthoods and stuff, but to those deserving and that have really earned it." While another man said: "In terms of New Zealand's indigenous perspective - whether Māoridom or Pasifika, they have [honours], and I think we can investigate that too, or perhaps weigh those up. The knighthoods and such, they are honours, but I think they have lost some of their relevance in the times that we live in. "At the same time, do we throw them out? And I'm not convinced throwing [them] out is the answer." However, he said it may be helpful for a process to be undertaken examining what the honours mean now, the values and ideas behind them, and how New Zealanders want them to evolve: "[That] is something I think might be a valuable or worthwhile offering". Twenty five years ago, then- Prime Minister Helen Clark got rid of 'sir' and 'dame' titles, in 2000 . At that time, those receiving a titular honour were appointed Principal and Distinguished Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Helen Clark was prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008. Photo: AFP In 2009, the National government led by John Key brought them back . In 2010, Clark was appointed a Member of the Order of New Zealand, Aotearoa's most senior honour, and says she was "honoured" to accept it. She believes the honours should be purely New Zealand focused, and not royal honours, though recognises that many people may feel the knighthoods sound posher. "In this day and age, in New Zealand, 12,000 miles from the United Kingdom, why are we parading the titles like that - I just don't really get it.. We've inherited them from an aristocratic English system, and I just don't think that's consistent with a more egalitarian outlook in New Zealand. "The ONZ shows the bipartisanship of the system at its best. That came to me as an offer from the Key government." Former All Blacks coach Sir Steve Hansen, receiving his KNZM for services to rugby from The Governor-General, the Rt Hon Dame Patsy Reddy. He was named in the 2020 New Year's Honours list. Photo: PHOTOSPORT She also believes people being honoured should have lived a life of service, and done exemplary work, beyond their paid role. "It is good to recognise people who have given good service to New Zealand," she says. During her time as prime minister, Clark chaired the committee who considered who would be put forward for the honours. The process to decide who to recommend for honours was seriously considered, and was hard work, she says, partly because there were so many deserving people nominated. "Your numbers: 400 a year, it sounds a lot, but believe me, when you're sitting at the Cabinet Honours and Appointments Committee and you've got 200 slots for New Year, and six months later 200 for the King's Birthday weekend - Queen's as it was in my time - it's actually quite hard getting the numbers of good applicants down into those 200 slots. "And sometimes you have to postpone recognising someone, because there's just not the room - but you say we'll come back to that in six months time'. "I'd like to think that we were fair, we looked to have honours which were broadly representative of New Zealand: geographically, across our different ethnic communities, across men and women, and then across the kinds of service that you would recognise. "And certainly we didn't just discount recommendations that came from opposition members of Parliament. We felt that these needed to be genuinely nation-wide and bipartisan, so we did our best I think to get a good spread of people." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
ABC News
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Award-winning Samoan artist Ladi6 unpacks life leading up to her first album since her mother's passing
She's sound-tracked various moments in our lives over the decades, and now with a brand new album on the horizon, Ladi6 is still bringing the alofa through her music. Awards and accolades aside, there was much to unpack with the legendary Samoan artist, mother, and student counsellor who is now on the cusp of releasing her fifth album, Le Vā. From hilarious high school memories with her cousin, Scribe, to the conflicting feelings she felt after being named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, Ladi6 gets nostalgic with Nesia Daily before discussing what this new record tells us about the era she finds herself in today.
Forbes
11-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Jeweler Margot McKinney Opens Her First U.S. Boutique In Beverly Hills
The entrance to the new Margot McKinney boutique in the Peninsula Beverly Hills hotel Margot McKinney opened her first boutique in the United States in the Peninsula Beverly Hills hotel. It is a continuation of the expansion for the Australian high jewelry brand in the U.S. and other markets. In February McKinney opened a pop-up space in Bergdorf-Goodman. In May she participated in the prestigious TEFAF Maastricht international art, design and antiques fair in The Netherlands. While McKinney has been more visible the past year or two, the fourth-generation jeweler is a familiar name in rarified circles that value high jewelry. Her impressive jewels, charitable contributions, and her overall personality and charm has earned her a United Kingdom royal 'Order of Merit,' recognizing her distinguished service in art and the promotion of culture. In the U.S., her jewels have been in several Neiman Marcus stores and at Bergdorf Goodman since 2007. The new Margot McKinney boutique features leopard print chairs, an antique desk with a restored ... More leather writing surface in sky blue, and a wall finished in teal chinoiserie-inspired wallpaper with botanical and exotic bird motifs The Beverly Hills boutique is also McKinney's first outside her flagship boutique, called 'The Green Door,' in her home of Queensland, Australia. McKinney said her recent outreach has created strong growth for her high jewelry creations and increased opportunities to expand. 'It is a thrill to be opening my first independent Margot McKinney store outside of Australia, and an honor for it to be located within the incomparable Peninsula Beverly Hills,' McKinney said in a statement. 'This is a milestone moment in the 141-year history of the McKinney family business, and I could not have asked for a more fitting environment to showcase my jewelry to a whole new group of collectors.' Margot McKinney's new boutique has the brand's signature 'Kelly Green' gloss lacquer and a ... More gold-colored ceiling dome The interior is presented in her signature 'Kelly Green" gloss lacquer on the cabinetry and trim with an eclectic curation of antique and contemporary furniture and fittings. A recessed ceiling dome highlighted in gold presides over an area furnished with leopard print chairs, an antique desk with a restored leather writing surface in sky blue, discreet wall-mounted lamps with mirrored sconces, and a wall finished in teal chinoiserie-inspired wallpaper with botanical and exotic bird motifs. McKinney also noted that the new boutique also complements 'the Peninsula's elegant style allure.' Several of McKinney's most important one-of-a-kind creations will be in the boutique, including the Marina collier, created by McKinney for her debut at TEFAF Maastricht. It features a massive 241.14-carat cushion-cut green beryl and a large baroque pearl suspended from a 65.72-carat aquamarine. If that's not enough, the elaborate, colorful jewel boasts an arrangement of green tourmaline, small diamonds, rare baroque South Sea pearls, sapphires, aquamarines, Paraiba tourmalines and tsavorites. A sampling of the bold, colorful gem-centric jewels in the new Margot McKinney boutique. McKinney is known for her classic jewelry creation made with spectacular gems and pearls from Australia and other parts of the world. Her pearl jewels are especially noteworthy. All her pieces are made with South Sea pearls, considered by many to be the world's most coveted pearls. The pearls all come from a single source as each year McKinney buys the entire inventory from pearl farmer, Aji Ellies Wimilirantna. Her bold, colorful creations also use Australian opals, and exquisite gemstones including diamonds, sapphires and tanzanites. McKinney says the pieces in the new boutique provide an introduction to the breadth of her creations for those previously unfamiliar with her work. The new Margot McKinney store will be open seven days per week at The Peninsula Beverly Hills.
