New Year Honours 2026: Recognising service to Aotearoa
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet announced the New Year Honours List 2026 on 31 December 2025, sharing the names of 170 individuals across Aotearoa New Zealand whose service and contribution have been recognised by His Majesty King Charles. Among those honoured are fellow Bahá’ís and a dear friend of the Faith.
Professor Helen Danesh-Meyer of Auckland has been appointed a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DNZM) for her services to ophthalmology. This honour builds on her earlier recognition as a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM), previously shared with the Bahá’í community in Bahá’í Aotearoa, and marks another significant milestone in her illustrious career dedicated to advancing medical care and improving lives.
Also recognised is Te Warihi Kokowai Hetaraka, of Whangārei, who has been appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for services to Māori and art. His work has contributed meaningfully to the preservation, expression, and celebration of Māori culture and creative heritage. Known by some friends as Wallace, Te Warihi served at different times as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of New Zealand and also as an Auxiliary Board member.
The New Year Honours List also includes Dr Thomas Charles Roa, a close and much-respected friend of the Bahá’í Faith in Aotearoa, who has been appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) in recognition of his distinguished service and leadership, particularly in the areas of language, culture, and education. Dr Roa has assisted the Bahá’í community as the translator of important Bahá’í texts.
The following excerpts, drawn from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s official website, outline the achievements for which each individual has been recognised.
DANESH-MEYER, Professor Helen Victoria, CNZM
For services to ophthalmology
Professor Helen Danesh-Meyer is made a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to ophthalmology. Photo credit: www.rnz.co.nz
Professor Helen Danesh-Meyer is New Zealand’s pre-eminent authority, and an internationally recognised leader in the clinical science of interactions between the brain and the eye, and was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2023
Since 2023, Professor Danesh-Meyer has made further contributions on the international stage as President of the Neuro-ophthalmology Society of Australia, the first New Zealander to hold this post. She received the College Medal in 2023, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists’ highest award for outstanding service. She was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi in 2024, New Zealand’s highest honour for scholarly achievement. She was elected as a member of Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis in 2024, limited to 100 scientists internationally based on research contributions. She was ranked among the top ten glaucoma leaders globally in 2025. She leads major charitable and community efforts, including Glaucoma New Zealand, a 15,000-member charity she co-founded that influences public policy on vision through education and advocacy. Professor Danesh-Meyer founded and leads the Vision Research Foundation to support early and mid-career New Zealanders in vision research, and leads Women in Vision, a national forum empowering female ophthalmologists, optometrists and students.
HETARAKA, Mr Te Warihi Kokowai
For services to Māori and art
Mr Te Warihi Hetaraka (Ngāti Wai, Ngāpuhi, Tainui) has made significant contributions to the field of mātauranga Māori.
Te Warihi Hetaraka, pictured with one of his works, Ngahau e Wha (The Four Winds), was shocked and humbled to receive his honour. Photo / Denise Piper C/- The Northern Advocate
In 1963, Mr Hetaraka was chosen to represent Te Tai Tokerau at the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute in Rotorua. He has designed, carved and served as the overseeing Tohunga of wharenui on marae including Te Tii Waitangi. He has been a tireless advocate for iwi Ngātiwai through his leadership and cultural guidance. He was an expert witness in several historically important Waitangi Tribunal claims, including WAI 262. He has revitalised Māori histories and narratives in places of local, national and international importance including the Māori Select Committee Room in Parliament, Te Korowai o Papatūānuku in Parihaka and Ruapekapeka Pā in Waharoa. He has held several leadership and governance positions, including founding Trustee of the Hihiaua Cultural Centre Trust, board member and kaumātua of the Whangārei Art Museum, kaumātua of the University of Auckland and the Northland Rugby Union, and a Trustee of Te Au Marie Trust. He was appointed as Advisor to Te Atamira o Te Taiwhena, Department of Internal Affairs in 2025. Mr Hetaraka won the Outstanding Individual Contribution to the Arts Award in 2007 and the Creative New Zealand Kingi Ihaka Award for lifetime contribution to Māori culture in 2014.
ROA, Professor Thomas Charles (Tom), JP
For services to Māori language and education
Professor Tom Roa Honoured with CNZM for Lifetime Service to Te Reo Māori and Mātauranga Māori.
Professor Tom Roa (Ngāti Maniapoto, Waikato, Ngāti Apakura) has made a significant contribution to the revitalisation of te reo Māori and public understanding of tikanga Māori, over more than 50 years.
Professor Roa is a founding figure and nationally recognised orator involved in the Māori language movement. He was a prominent leader in the 1972 Māori Language Petition, the subsequent recognition of te reo Māori as an official language of New Zealand and the launch of Te Wiki o te reo Māori. He is a Professor in Te Pua Wānanga ki te Ao, The Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Studies at the University of Waikato. He is internationally recognised for his scholarship on translation theory, practice of Māori to English - English to Māori translation, and Māori linguistics, contributing to global conversations about indigenous language systems. His contributions to Kaupapa Māori research, education governance and tikanga-based practice have helped institutions engage more meaningfully under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. His work highlights mātauranga Māori as an evolving and living knowledge system. He has served on the governance boards of Waikato-Tainui, Maniapoto and the Apakura Runanga Trust. In 2016, he became a Crown-appointed member of the Waitangi Tribunal. Professor Roa has been on the Māori Heritage Council, the New Zealand Māori Tourism Board, and is a Principal Investigator with Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga and Te Pūnaha Matatini.
The Bahá’í community joins the wider nation in congratulating all those recognised in the 2026 New Year Honours, and especially celebrates these individuals whose lives exemplify service and contribution to the wellbeing of the people of Aotearoa New Zealand.
A full list of recipients is available on the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet website: New Year Honours 2026
