Cantabrians named on Queen's Birthday Honours list
| Published date | 07 June 2021 |
| Publication title | Otago Daily Times: Web Edition Articles (New Zealand) |
Former MP Ruth Dyson was awarded the Queen's Service Order.
Dyson held several ministerial roles with previous Labour Governments and was MP for Lyttelton, Banks Peninsula and the Port Hills, but she has also worked in the disability sector for more than 30 years.
She was was the first Minister for Disability Issues in 1999. She advocated for reform of the disability support system, led work to promote inclusivity for disabled people in employment and education, and provided leadership through various changes to ACC legislation.
She also took part in driving the legislation, that when passed, recognised New Zealand Sign Language as an official language.
Yvette Couch-Lewis, Governors Bay's, Order of Merit
Yvette Couch-Lewis received an Order of Merit for her services to conservation and Maori.
Couch-Lewis is chairperson for the governance board of the Lyttleton/Whakaraupō Whaka Ora Healthy Harbour Catchment Management Plan, which was created in 2018 under her leadership.
The plan is a significant collaboration between Te Hapū o Ngati Wheke, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu with Tangata Tiaki, Environment Canterbury, the city council, and the Lyttelton Port Company. Its goal is to restore the ecological and cultural health of the harbour as mahinga kai (food gathering source) for future generations.
Alongside this major project, Couch-Lewis has worked with the Department of Conservation to recover New Zealand's orange-fronted parakeet, the Kākāriki, as well as the Hoiho, yellow-eyed penguins.
She has been a Ngāi Tahu representative on the Te Waihora Co-Governance Group since 2007. She has championed employment opportunities for hapū in conservation and a joint management approach between DOC and Ngāti Wheke for Ripapa and Otamahua/Quail Island.
In 2020, Couch-Lewis was appointed as one of the newly created ''Tumu Taiao" roles aimed at supporting better Council decision-making outcomes for mana whenua and for Environment Canterbury.
Stephen Phillips, Rolleston, New Zealand Order of Merit
Stephen Phillips has been named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to seniors and the community. He was chief executive of Age Concern Canterbury from 2008 to 2012 and has been vice president of Age Concern New Zealand since 2020. He was a national board member from 2017 and a Canterbury board member from 2014.
He has empowered older people by establishing, promoting and supporting initiatives to improve the quality of services.
Since 2016, he has been an independent trustee of Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust, which manages a social housing portfolio of more than 2400 units. He has been deputy chairman of the Canterbury District Health Board consumer council and a trustee of Canterbury Health Care for Elderly Trust since 2017.
He has contributed to the development of city-wide policies to promote inclusive communities and ensured funding for organisations working with seniors.
Phillips was instrumental in setting up service desks after the 2011 Canterbury earthquake. He was convenor of all service desks in Canterbury from 2012 to 2016.
Phillips has been a Justice of the Peace since 1996. He has had multiple governance roles with the Canterbury Justices of the Peace Association (CJPA) including as president from 2011 to 2013 and a council member from 2006 to 2015. He has also been involved with the CPJA centennial 2018 committee.
Diana Reid, Darfield, Queen's Service Medal
Cancer survivor Diana Reid has received a Queen's Service Medal (QSM) for services to cancer support.
The 80-year-old is one of two residents in the district have been recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours 2021.
Reid helped to establish the Malvern Cancer Support Group in Darfield in 1983, after identifying the need for a local group. She is herself a bowel cancer survivor, having contracted the illness at the young age of 34.
Reid said she felt the medal was not just for herself, but that it was also for her late friend Janice Collier, who was a co-founder of the group.
"She died of cancer in 1999, that was devastating for me," Reid said.
Reid was the group's co-ordinator for many years. This role included providing transport to hospital for residents receiving treatment, supplying affected families with meals, offering cleaning and gardening services, and providing companionship and moral support.
Thirty-eight years later, she is still an active member of the group.
Reid has been involved with fundraising for the Cancer Society of New Zealand Canterbury – West Coast Division, including its signature Daffodil Day event and Relay for Life.
While she is regarded as a dedicated volunteer and inspiration to those facing a cancer diagnosis, she was humble about receiving the QSM.
"I feel very grateful, but there's so many people, it wasn't just me, it's always been a combined effort," she said.
Angus Hikairo Macfarlane, Ilam, Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Professor Angus Hikairo Macfarlane has been named a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to education, psychology and Māori.
Professor Angus Macfarlane has been a leading figure in cultural theory in education and psychology and an eminent researcher in the field of Mātauranga Māori, who has gained international recognition for the transferability of his theories.
Professor Macfarlane has developed bicultural approaches for teachers and psychologists to create safe and inclusive relationships with Māori students and clients, notably the Educultural Wheel, his most widely referred to framework for professional practice. His education theories have also proven to be effective for Pacific, disabled and gifted learners. He developed his first education theory in New Zealand, the Hikairo Rationale (now Hikairo Schema), a bicultural approach to positive behaviour, while head teacher of the Awhina special education school in 1980s and early 1990s.
He has contributed to national projects, such as Resource Teachers for Learning and Behaviour and Hui Whakatika, a Māori-developed restorative justice programme in schools. His bicultural research model He Ara Whiria has been widely used by Superu (The Families Commission), MSD, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Defence and the New Zealand Council for Educational Research, and is the basis for research for E Tipu e Rea A Better Start National Science Challenge. Professor Macfarlane is Professor of Māori Research and was founding Director of Te Rū Rangahau (The Māori Research Laboratory) at University of Canterbury.
Hugh Jason Paul Canard, Spreydon, New Zealand Order of Merit
Hugh Jason Paul Canard has become an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to conservation and paddle sports.
Hugh Canard was President of Whitewater New Zealand Incorporated from 1980 to 1990 and has been their Patron since 1992. Mr Canard is a member of the Canterbury Regional Water Committee and has contributed to policy forums such as the Land and Water Forum and the National Objectives Framework Reference Group.
For around 30 years he has provided guidance for many of the board members responsible for representing the interests of paddle sports, river recreation and river conservation throughout New Zealand. He has led hundreds of amateur kayaking and rafting trips for the Canterbury Whitewater Club. Over the past 40 years, he has been instrumental in securing Water Conservation Orders on the Kawarau, Buller, Grey, Rangitata and Mohaka rivers. With others, he purchased land alongside the Granity Rapid on the Buller River in order to retain public access.
He has been a member of the Tasman Environmental Trust, National Water Strategy Working Group, Adventure...
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