Minister for Māori Development Hon Tama Potaka acknowledged recipients saying the list demonstrates deep and enduring commitment to Māori advancement and community leadership across Aotearoa New Zealand (Māori excel in New Year Honours 2026 | Beehive.govt.nz).

In particular, Te Puni Kōkiri would like to acknowledge four honour recipients for their contribution as influential and inspiring leaders during their time with the Ministry.

 

Congratulations to Leith Comer, QSO for receiving a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) for services to Māori, governance and education.

In addition to his latest honour, Leith received a Queen’s Service Order in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours for his services to Māori, the State, and local government.

Affiliated to Te Arawa, Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Māmoe and Ngāti Pāhauwera, Comer started his career in the military with his first overseas posting in Singapore, as an adjutant. A soldier, a public servant, and a rangatira (leader), Leith has spent over six decades navigating the complexities of New Zealand’s cultural and political landscape to advocate for Māori development.

Moving through the ranks quickly, he became captain, and later commanding officer, of the newly created Officer Training School at Waiouru.

Leith (pictured with former Labour MP Andrew Little) served as chief executive of Te Puni Kōkiri from 2001 to 2013. Under his leadership the Ministry focused on boosting Māori participation and outcomes in education, employment, health, and economic development, seeing successes like increased Māori workforce income and tertiary education.

Significant kaupapa were launched under his influential leadership which still remain today for Māori, whānau, Iwi and Hāpū including:

• the establishment of Māori Television
• an independent Māori Trustee
• enhanced support for Māori Tourism
• formation of Whānau Ora.

Leith is currently involved with the Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology elected as a member of council responsible for overseeing the Chief Executive and providing governance, and overall helping the institute to strengthen education pathways for rangatahi and communities in the Bay of Plenty region.

Read more about Leith’s recognition at Rotorua Daily Post story.

 

Congratulations to Te Warihi Kokowai Hetaraka for receiving the Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori and art.

Te Warihi received the ONZM honour in recognition of his lifetime dedicated to revitalising mātauranga Māori, strengthening iwi narratives, and shaping cultural sites from marae to Parliament’s Māori Select Committee room.  

He is a renowned Tohunga Whakairo (master carver) and cultural authority from Te Tai Tokerau (Northland), primarily of Ngāti Wai, Ngāpuhi, and Tainui descent.

As a teenager he was chosen by Northland elders to represent the region's tribes at the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute (now Te Puia) in Rotorua as part of the Institute’s first intake. Hetaraka has spent over 50 years preserving and sharing mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) through his work.

His mahi as pouwhakahaere for Te Puni Kōkiri in Te Tai Tokerau for 11 years (from 2008 to 2019) saw him supporting kamahi across tikanga and te reo Māori, advising on community engagement, and helping establish initiatives like the “Engaging Taitamariki in Learning” and apprenticeship programmes, bridging cultural guidance and education.

Te Warihi’s current work focuses on the preservation and dissemination of Māori knowledge and cultural heritage. He is a founding trustee and current board member of Hihiaua Cultural Centre where he continues to mentor new generations of carvers.

Read more about Te Warihi’s recognition at Waatea News.

 

Congratulations to Waihoroi Paraone Hoterene, Kerikeri, for receiving the Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori and Māori language education.

Waihoroi Paraone Hoterene’s life is a journey of te ao Māori and a lifelong devotion to te reo Māori. He spent 13 years in government roles, including serving as a clerk and interpreter for the Māori Land Court and Department of Māori Affairs. 

In 1984, he joined the pioneering Māori news programme Te Karere and became a veteran figure in Māori media, working with Mana Māori Media, and as a producer, journalist and actor.

From 2016-2019, he was appointed the inaugural Chair of Te Mātāwai, the organisation responsible for leading the Maihi Māori, the Māori language strategy for iwi and Māori, and advising on the Maihi Karauna, the government’s Māori language strategy.

He has served on the boards of Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Māori, Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust, and as kaumātua for the Waitangi National Trust, ensuring tikanga and reo remain central to these national institutions. He also served as a board member of Whakaata Māori supporting the growth of Māori language broadcasting and storytelling.

Waihoroi is currently pouwhakahaere at Te Puni Kōkiri and continues to serve as a kaumātua and leader for his Tai Tokerau people.

Read more about Waihoroi’s recognition at Waatea News.

 

Congratulations to Gail Henrietta Maria Thompson, Bluff, for receiving a Member of New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori and conservation.

Gail (Kāi Tahu) has been a leader, advocate, and mentor for Kāi Tahu whānui and in conservation for over two decades. Previously as the manager of Awarua Runaka she provided leadership in fisheries management, particularly the customary fisheries area and restoration of mahinga kai and mātaitai takiwa around the Southland coastline.

Gail has been influential across a wide range of governance and advisory group roles, including more than 20 years on the Southland Conservation Board and long-standing membership on Kaitiaki Rōpū, providing mana whenua views to the Department of Conservation. She has contributed leadership to conservation projects including Predator Free Rakiura and the South-East Marine Protection Forum.

As a founding member of Guardians of Fiordland Fisheries she led work that enabled the establishment of several marine protected areas. Gail continues to advocate for Kai Tahu access to taonga species and materials, particularly feathers and bone, for continued customary cultural use such as weaving korowai, and has led Korowai Wānanga at Te Rau Aroha Marae since 2010.

Gail is currently a Senior Advisor at Te Puni Kōkiri in Te Waipounamu, and we are all very proud of her deserving recognition.

Read more about Gail’s recognition at Waatea News.

 

Full list

Read the full list of recipients here (New Year Honours List 2026 | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC))