The New Zealander of the Year Awards, currently known as the
Kiwibank
Kiwibank Limited is a New Zealand state-owned bank and financial services provider with approximately 4% of market share in terms of assets. Kiwibank is owned by the New Zealand Government and provides some of its banking services through i ...
New Zealander of the Year Awards, celebrate the achievements of
New Zealanders
New Zealanders ( mi, Tāngata Aotearoa), colloquially known as Kiwis (), are people associated with New Zealand, sharing a common history, culture, and language (New Zealand English). People of various ethnicities and national origins are citiz ...
, and were founded in 2010 by Australian
Jeffrey John Hopp. Nominations are accepted from the general public and a judging panel selects finalists in each category. The awards are presented in
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...
in March each year.
Categories
Categories in the awards include:
* Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Award Te Pou Whakarae o Aotearoa
* University of Canterbury Young New Zealander of the Year Award Te Mātātahi o te Tau(nominees must be aged between 15 and 30 years of age)
* Ryman Healthcare Senior New Zealander of the Year Award Te Mātāpuputu o te Tau (nominees must be aged over 70 years of age)
* Spark New Zealand Innovator of the Year Award Te Pou Whakairo o te Tau(introduced in 2014)
*Ministry for the Environment New Zealand Environmental Hero of the Year Te Toa Taiao o te Tau (Open to individuals) (introduced in 2022)
* Mitre 10 New Zealand Community of the Year Award Ngā Pou Whirinaki o te Tau
* Kiwibank New Zealand Local Hero of the Year Award Te Pou Toko o te Tau
Nominations and selection
Any member of the public can nominate an individual (aged 15 years or older), organisation or group for an award. A judging panel of one executive judge and two or three additional judges creates a list of semi-finalists, followed by a shortlist of three finalists for each award. The finalists are invited to the New Zealander of the Year Awards Gala in Auckland and the winners are announced on the night.
Local Hero Medal recipients are awarded throughout December each year.
All nominees receive a certificate of achievement, and each of the six category award winners receive a trophy and a prize of NZ$5,000.
In 2020 the executive judges were:
* Tess Casey, CEO, Neighbourhood Support NZ
* Bill Dwyer, Commercial and Corporate Lawyer
* Jamie Fitzgerald, CEO, Inspiring Performance
* Marisa Fong, Trustee, Simplicity NZ; Director, Masimaya Consulting, Founder/Director, Arné Skincare
* Abby Foote, Professional Director
* Steve Jurkovich, CEO, Kiwibank
*
Miriama Kamo
Miriama Jennet Kamo (born 19 October 1973 in Christchurch) is a New Zealand journalist, children's author and television presenter. She currently presents TVNZ's flagship current affairs programme Sunday (New Zealand TV programme), ''Sunday'', a ...
, Te Koruru, Patron
* Bill Moran, Professional Director, Chair, Sport New Zealand
* Mere Pohatu, Regional Director, Ministry of Maori Development
* Caren Rangi, ONZM, Deputy Chair of Creative New Zealand
* Lou Sanson, Director-General of the Department of Conservation
Recipients
Gallery
New Zealanders of the Year
File:Ray Avery (cropped).jpg, Ray Avery
File:Sir Paul Callaghan knighting (cropped).jpg, Paul Callaghan
File:Sir Richard Taylor.jpg, Richard Taylor
File:Dame Anne Salmond WORD (cropped).jpg, Anne Salmond
File:Lance O'Sullivan (cropped).jpg, Lance O'Sullivan
File:Stephen Tindall GNZM (cropped).jpg, Stephen Tindall
File:Richie McCaw ONZ (cropped).jpg, Richie McCaw
File:Taika Waititi by Gage Skidmore 2.jpg, Taika Waititi
File:Kristine Bartlett CNZM (cropped).jpg, Kristine Bartlett
File:Mike King ONZM (cropped).jpg, Mike King
File:Jennifer Ward-Lealand CNZM (cropped).jpg, Jennifer Ward-Lealand
File:Siouxsie Wiles MNZN (cropped).jpg, Siouxsie Wiles
File:Tā Tipene O'Regan in 2020 (cropped).jpg, Tipene O'Regan
Young New Zealanders of the Year
File:Sam Johnson (cropped).jpg, Sam Johnson
File:Parris Goebel MNZM (cropped).jpg, Parris Goebel
File:Lydia Ko MNZM (cropped).jpg, Lydia Ko
File:Rez Gardi.jpg, Rez Gardi
File:David Cameron - 2018 Blake Leader.jpg, David Cameron
Senior New Zealanders of the Year
File:Eion Edgar (cropped).jpg, Eion Edgar
File:Malcolm Cameron QSM (cropped).jpg, Malcolm Cameron
File:Ian Grant QSO (cropped).jpg, Ian Grant
File:Frances Denz MNZM (cropped).jpg, Frances Denz
File:John Russell MNZM (cropped).jpg, John Russell
File:Sue Paterson 2017 (cropped).jpg, Sue Paterson
File:Kim Workman KNZM (cropped).jpg, Kim Workman
File:Margaret Sparrow (cropped).jpg, Margaret Sparrow
Innovators of the Year
File:Peter Beck 2018.jpg, Peter Beck
File:Ed Gane MNZM (cropped).jpg, Ed Gane
File:Ian Taylor KNZM (cropped).jpg, Ian Taylor
File:Bill Buckley CNZM (cropped).jpg, Bill Buckley
File:Ranjna Patel ONZM (cropped).jpg, Ranjna Patel
Local Heroes
File:Billy Graham MNZM (cropped).jpg, Billy Graham
File:Cecilia Sullivan-Grant MNZM (cropped).jpg, Cecilia Sullivan-Grant
File:Billie Jordan MNZM (cropped).jpg, Billie Jordan
References
{{reflist
External links
New Zealander of the Year Awards official site
New Zealand awards
2009 establishments in New Zealand