New Year Honours for MAS Members

This year’s New Year Honours saw a number of MAS Members recognised for work spanning disciplines including veterinary science, women’s health, sustainability and public health. Our warmest congratulations to all those who have been honoured.

Professor Emeritus Sir Mason Durie

Member of the Order of New Zealand

For more than 40 years, Sir Mason Durie has been at the forefront of a transformational approach to Māori health and has played major roles in building the Māori health workforce. Sir Mason has also championed higher education for Māori, and he has provided national academic leadership for Māori and indigenous development in a number of different roles. His accomplishments include gaining funding to establish a Centre for Māori Health Research, Te Pūmanawa Hauora, and negotiating the Māori mental health programme, Te Rau Puawai, which provides up to 100 scholarships annually for students studying health-related subjects.

Dr Kirsten Finucane

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to health, particularly paediatric heart surgery

Kirsten Finucane has been Chief Surgeon of the Paediatric and Congenital Cardiac Service at Starship Hospital in Auckland for more than 20 years. She promotes valve repair as opposed to replacement for rheumatic valve disease in children, to improve the outcomes of neonates with critical congenital heart lesions and to develop surgical strategies for the young adult growing up with congenital heart disease. She helped establish the Hearts 4 Kids Trust in 2015, which provides funds for repairs of simple congenital heart defects in Fijian babies and children.

Distinguished Professor Philippa Howden-Chapman

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to public health

Philippa Howden-Chapman has continued her work in public health and is currently co-director of He Kāinga Oranga/Housing and Health Research Programme. She chaired the World Health Organisation Housing and Health Guideline Development Group, and was a member of the Children’s Commissioner’s Expert Advisory Group on Solutions to Child Poverty in 2012. She is a professor of public health at the University of Otago, Wellington where she teaches public policy, and in 2019 was appointed one of seven inaugural sesquicentennial distinguished chairs. Philippa is director of the New Zealand Centre for Sustainable Cities; Chair of the International Science Council Urban Health and Wellbeing Committee; and a director on the Board of Kainga Ora - Homes and Communities.

Distinguished Professor Ian Reid

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to medicine

Ian Reid was the first to establish a substantial research group focused on osteoporosis in older people, which has since had a significant impact on the management of bone diseases internationally. Among many achievements, his research team has been involved in developing treatments for Paget’s disease, a bone condition that affects up to 5% of older New Zealanders. Ian’s 630 research articles have been cited more than 33,000 times in scientific literature, making him the most cited and highest impact scientist in New Zealand for both 2012 and 2019.

Dr Christine Foley

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to victims of sexual assault

Christine Foley is a founding member of Medical Sexual Assault Clinicians Aotearoa (MEDSAC), New Zealand’s expert body in sexual assault and sexual abuse medicine.

She has contributed to the provision of training and support programmes to clinicians throughout New Zealand, and was a key contributor to MEDSAC’s advocacy for the establishment of a national funding system for the provision of services, working alongside ACC, New Zealand Police and the Ministry of Health, which resulted in the SAATS (Sexual Assault Assessment and Treatment Services) contract in 2008.

Dr Janette Irvine

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to women and women's health

A respected general practitioner for 36 years, Janette Irvine has been well known for her efforts in obstetrics and other aspects of women’s health. She has worked with the Rotorua Police to establish a service for victims of sexual assault and has also been involved in the national Doctors for Sexual Abuse Care. Through the Zonta International - an advocacy group for women - Janette has been an advocate for all 28 national Zonta branches, helping the clubs support and grow their membership as well as representing New Zealand at international Zonta conferences and global meetings.

Dr Lisa Argilla

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to animal welfare and conservation

Lisa Argilla is one of New Zealand’s most accomplished wildlife veterinarians, who has dedicated the past twelve years to working with New Zealand’s wildlife, particularly native birds. As well as being the Founder and Director of Dunedin’s Wildlife Hospital, she was Veterinary Science Manager at Wellington Zoo from 2011 to 2015, where she played a pivotal role in establishing the hospital as a world class native wildlife treatment facility. She has also volunteered her services with the Kākāpō and Takahē Recovery Groups, as well as the Yellow-Eyed Penguin Trust and Department of Conservation over the past 12 years.

Professor Michael Baker

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to public health science

As one of New Zealand's leading epidemiologists, Michael Baker has been involved with public health for more than 30 years. He has a range of public health research interests, with a particular focus on infectious diseases, environmental health, and housing, and has published widely in these areas. He is a member of the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 Technical Advisory Group. He was a strong advocate for eliminating COVID-19 and keeping it out of the country, over the approach of flattening the curve. His commentary helped inform the Government’s nationwide lockdown and subsequent policies such as mass masking and careful border management. In 2020 he also received the Critic and Conscience of Society Award (from Universities New Zealand), and the Public Health Champion Award (Public Health Association) for his contributions to public health in New Zealand, notably his work on the COVID-19 response.

Professor Bronwyn Hayward

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to political science, particularly sustainability, climate change and youth

Bronwyn Hayward is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Canterbury. She is recognised internationally for her expertise in sustainability and youth politics. Her outstanding work has helped shape the understanding of climate change and the implications for younger generations. She is a co-lead investigator with the Centre for Understanding Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP) at the University of Surrey; a Coordinating lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; and a member of the Core Writing Team for the IPCC Sixth Climate Assessment report. She has served as a lead author for the 2018 IPCC Special report on the importance of keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.