A Queen, a former Prime Minister, a fearless journalist and two champion rugby players - and their former coach - are among those in line for King’s Birthday and Coronation Honours. Video / NZ Herald
Leaders who have brought advances in horticulture, technology, working hours and journalism were named in this year’s King’s Birthday and Coronation Honours List, released today.
Gisborne’s Murray McPhail of the prominent vegetable grower LeaderBrand was made a companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
He founded that business in 1975, introducing broccoli and bagged salad to this country, leading post-harvest cooling technology and supporting the East Coast region economically.
McPhail was one of the first to grow and export broccoli and buttercup squash to Asia.
He has been an industry leader, building LeaderBrand from scratch into one of the largest produce businesses nationally, with farms in Tairāwhiti Gisborne, Canterbury, Matamata and Pukekohe, the citation said.
LeaderBrand is the largest private sector employer in Tairāwhiti. He continues to support investment in Gisborne, with LeaderBrand undertaking the construction of an 11-hectare undercover growing facility and state-of-the-art post-harvest and processing facilities.
Technology leader Wayne Norrie of Hawke’s Bay became an officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business and governance.
Acknowledgement was made of his contribution to increasing our exports via technology for more than 20 years.
Norrie was involved in the management buyout of Hitachi Data Systems and then was co-founder and chief executive of Revera (now owned by Spark), an early promoter of the benefits of cloud technology infrastructure.
He was chair of the New Zealand Hi-Tech Trust from 2006 to 2016, revitalising the trust’s awards, designed to showcase the achievements of New Zealand’s technology industry.
He was a board member of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise’s Beachheads Service from 2004 to 2015.
In 2021, the Hawke’s Bay-born-and-raised Norrie was then recognised when he received the prestigious Tait Communications Flying Kiwi Award and was inducted into the New Zealand Hi-Tech Hall of Fame.
Charlotte Lockhart. Photo / Fiona Tomlinson
Charlotte Lockhart was made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business and philanthropy.
She is the managing director of 4 Day Week Global, established in 2018 to axe five-day working weeks.
Lockhart has run pilot programmes for businesses, influenced policy change in Japan, India, Russia, and several European countries as well as influencing legislative changes in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.
Issues of mental health, gender pay equity, low pay, climate change, worker wellbeing and business productivity have been raised to prominence by her contribution.
She has been advocating for health and wellbeing in the workplace for several years.
Colin James was also named a companion for services to journalism and public policy. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Former National Business Review editor Colin James was also named a companion for services to journalism and public policy. He was a political journalist and commentator on domestic and foreign policy and political and social trends for around five decades.
James also wrote for the Dominion, New Zealand Herald and the Otago Daily Times and was a television and radio commentator.
Since 1994 he has been an associate and then senior associate of the Institute for Governance and Policy Studies at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University, for which he chaired forums on public service, then high-level policy-focused forums, principally on climate change.
