Last updated:
Monday, 6 June 2022
To be a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
AITKEN, Ms Ruth Ellina, ONZM
For services to netball
Ms Ruth Aitken is an internationally acclaimed netball coach who was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2011, having coached the Silver Ferns from 2002 to 2011.
Ms Aitken coached the Silver Ferns to win the 2003 World Netball Championship and the 2006 and 2010 Commonwealth Games. The team also won silver at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and the 2007 and 2011 World Netball Championships. She is the most capped Silver Ferns coach with 112 Tests. She was Netball New Zealand Coaching Director from 2011 to 2013, leading initiatives to encourage increased participation at all levels of coaching. From 2013 she moved to Singapore and coached the national team to win the Asian Championships and South East Asian Games. She returned to New Zealand in 2016, taking up the role of Performance Manager of Netball Waikato Bay of Plenty Zone through to the end of 2019. She was a member of the International Netball Federation Coaching Advisory Panel from 2011 to 2014. She has been a member of the Sports Tribunal of New Zealand since 2017. In 2021, as well as receiving a Service Award from World Netball, Ms Aitken was made a Life Member of Netball New Zealand, in recognition of her service to netball, promoting the game and inspiring a generation of young netballers.
HONOURS
Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, Queen’s Birthday 2011
To be a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
HENWOOD, Judge Carolyn, CNZM
For services to the State, youth and the arts
Judge Carolyn Henwood established the Henwood Trust in 2004 with the support of the Tindall Foundation and chairs the Trust, which is focused on delivering effective strategies for young offenders.
The Henwood Trust has published ‘NZ Gift to the World’, the ‘Family Group Conference’ and ‘A Covenant for our Nation’s Children’. In 2006 Judge Henwood was appointed as special advisor for the implementation of the Te Hurihanga Youth Justice Programme, aimed at preventing youth re-offending. She has been involved with youth justice issues internationally and has convened and presented at international conferences. She was Chair of the Confidential Listening and Assistance Service from 2008 to 2015. She chaired a panel in 2016 that made recommendations to the government based off testimonies of one thousand survivors of abuse in State care. She has held acting warrant positions as a District Court Judge and Convenor for the New Zealand Parole Board. She is a member of the International Women’s Judges Association. She was Deputy Chair of Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School and Chair of the Queen Margaret College Foundation. She is a Distinguished Alumni at Victoria University of Wellington and tutors at the College of Law. Judge Henwood is founding member of Circa Theatre and a foundation Trustee of the Theatre Artists Charitable Trust.
HONOURS
Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, Queen’s Birthday 2002
To be a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
MCGREGOR, Dr Judith Helen (Judy), CNZM
For services to human rights and health
Dr Judy McGregor is a lawyer and former professor at Massey University and Auckland University of Technology who has worked with emerging national human rights institutions in Malaysia, Nepal, the Maldives, Jordan, and Palestine on developing human rights communications strategies, and on women’s rights.
Dr McGregor co-authored research on human rights titled ‘Human Rights in New Zealand: Emerging Faultlines’, identifying five critical issues to be addressed including women’s rights, equal pay, child poverty and the over-imprisonment of Māori. She was the first Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner for the New Zealand Human Rights Commission, holding the position for two terms between 2003 and 2013. As Commissioner her report ‘Caring Counts’, based on undercover work in the aged care industry, had a significant impact and lead ultimately to a historic industry-wide settlement. She was appointed as Chair of the Waitematā District Health Board in 2018 and chairs the Health Workforce Advisory Board and the Mental Health and Addictions Assurance Group with the Ministry of Health. She was named the Supreme Winner at the 2016 Women in Governance Awards for lifetime excellence in governance and is patron of the Auckland Women’s Centre. Dr McGregor was previously appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2004 for her services to journalism.
HONOURS
Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, New Year 2004
