Dr Ashley Bloomfield made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
(INL Photo by Narendra Bedekar)
Venkat Raman
Auckland, December 31, 2022
No sooner the government announced that Dr Ashley Bloomfield has been knighted by King Charles under His New Year Honours List, than scores of Indian Newslink readers contact us to convey their congratulations to the former Director-General of Public Health.
Following the investiture ceremony at the Government House, he will be addressed as Sir Dr Ashley Bloomfield, an honour that he richly deserves.
Dr Ashley Bloomfield: Inspiring confidence
For more than two years when New Zealand was under the grip of the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr Bloomfield kept the Nation informed of the steps being taken by his Ministry to contain the virus and explained with his characteristic calmness how people can remain safe.
He became an iconic figure in the minds of millions of people in New Zealand and the rest of the world as the ‘One O’clock Man,’ and stood beside the Prime Minister, Finance Minister, Covid-19 Minister and members of the Opposition in answering questions. Not even once did he lose his patience or parry any question.
He was the Guest Speaker at the Eleventh Annual Indian Newslink Lecture held on August 16, 2021, in Auckland and hundreds of our readers found his speech interesting and informative.
“Leadership is an invitation to Collective Action and the ‘Team of Five Million’ responded by duly accepting the invitation. When you cannot control the context, as was the case with the pandemic, you can always control your behaviour and how you decide to respond. While things around me were far from calm and peaceful, I tried to make everyone who heard me feel calm,” he said and added that many letters and emails from people, especially children, remarked about his ‘calm and cool disposition’ while addressing the Nation every day.
It was little wonder that almost all guests at the Lecture waited for their turn to take photographs with him. These can be found on our Facebook Page.
The Citation that accompanied an announcement from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet said that Dr Ashley Robin Bloomfield was the Director-General of Health from 2018 until 2022 and led the health sector and the successful management of the government’s public health response in New Zealand to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Intense public scrutiny
The citation said that under intense scrutiny and daily public reporting, Dr Bloomfield has worked at a relentless pace for two years to drive and implement major policy decisions that have underpinned New Zealand’s response to the pandemic.
“Early on, he began providing regular press conference updates to inform the public about the virus, becoming the public face, alongside the Prime Minister, of the Government’s response to Covid-19. His clear and calm communication has been key to ensuring trust in the government’s public health advice, with the public positioning him as New Zealand’s most well-known and highly respected public servant during the pandemic. He led the Ministry of Health (MoH) in establishing a national contact tracing centre, increasing resourcing for Healthline as a single source of information for the public and sourcing personal protective equipment. Dr Bloomfield led the MoH in standing up the first managed isolation and quarantine facilities, sourcing and operationalising testing services, and rolling out the country’s most ambitious vaccination programme, through which more than 90% of eligible New Zealanders were fully vaccinated.”
Other Top Honour Recipients
King Charles also elevated Miranda Catherine Millais Harcourt of Wellington and Dr Janice Claire Wright of Christchurch to be the Dame Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DNZM) respectively for services to the Screen industry and theatre and to the State and the Environment and appointed Professor Farah Rangikoepa Palmer of Palmerston North, for services to sport, particularly Rugby a Knight Companion of the Order of Merit.
All of them are currently Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Glenn Dunbier (ONZM)
We are happy to report that Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations) of the New Zealand Police has been appointed by King Charles as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for services to the Police and the Community.
We have had the pleasure of working with him for more than 20 years and he is committed to ensuring the safety and security of New Zealanders in their home and elsewhere.
Deputy Commissioner Glenn said told Indian Newslink that he was very honoured and humbled to receive the news that he is being appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
“It is really reflective of the amazing organisation I have had the privilege of being part of since 1985, and the amazing and remarkable people with whom I have worked. Policing is such a rewarding and purposeful career, and I have had the amazing journey of watching the organisation grow from the one I joined as a 19-year-old in 1985 – then a largely homogenous male workforce – to being one that is more and more diverse, and all the better for it. But the whole time we have employed some of the best people, who care greatly about making their communities, and New Zealand a safer place to live,” he said.
His Citation said that Deputy Commissioner Glenn started as a frontline Constable and Detective in Counties Manukau, before becoming Sergeant in Auckland City.
“He then specialised in covert policing for more than a decade, before transferring to the Waikato Police District in 1996. He became Area Commander of Eastern Bay of Plenty in 2006 and then District Commander of Bay of Plenty in 2010, implementing the Policing Excellence change programme and introducing the Prevention First operating model in the area, resulting in the reduction of crime and an increase in workplace engagement. He became the Deputy Commissioner (Resource Management) in 2014, successfully leading the implementation and embedding of the 47 recommendations for Police from the Commission of Inquiry into Police Conduct. Following a three-year secondment to the Australian Department of Defence, he became Deputy Commissioner (Operations) in early 2020, with responsibility for more than 10,000 Police staff. He led the Police response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which included the policing of lockdown restrictions, staffing and managing the Managed Isolation and Quarantine facilities across the country, and operating the alert level boundary checkpoints.”
Professor Edwina Pio (ONZM)
We contacted Professor Edwina Pio, Professor of Diversity and University Director of Diversity at Auckland University of Technology (AUT) to congratulate her on her appointment as an Officer of the New Zealand of Merit (ONZM) for services to ethnic communities.
She was over the Moon and was delighted and felt humbled by the honour.
“In today’s rapidly changing world with diverse demographics exponentially increasing, working with and for ethnic communities and the grace and talents they bring is crucially significant. I will continue to offer my best,” she said.
Professor Edwina Pio is an internationally respected management expert in the field of diversity and is New Zealand’s first and only Professor of Diversity at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) Business School, where she has impacted policies and practices since 2002.
She is Chair of the Academic Advisory Board of Te Kupenga Catholic Theological College. She was involved with the Human Rights Commission in New Zealand to develop guidelines for religion in the workplace.
She has published extensively on reconceptualising workplace diversity.
Professor Pio’s 2014 book ‘Work and Worship’ investigates the impact of minority religions in the New Zealand workplace and how business leaders welcome this growing community.
Her 2008 book ‘Sari’ and 2010 book ‘Longing and Belonging’ encompass the immigration experiences of Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin American and African peoples in New Zealand.
Professor Pio has worked with the Ministry for Ethnic Communities and the New Zealand Police and has provided pro-bono services to migrants as a registered counsellor.
She is a member of the Ministerial Advisory Group on the Government’s Response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the 2019 terrorist attack on Christchurch Mosques.
Shirleen Prasad (MNZM)
New Year’s augured better for Shirleen Vinita Lata Prasad, who is currently in Wellington spending the holiday season with her mother. Therefore, the news of her appointment as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) will herald Year 2023 on a brighter note.
She has been honoured for her services to addiction services (perhaps for the first time in New Zealand) and the South Asian community for services to public health
A qualified Counsellor and Addictions Practitioner Shirleen has been in the mental health and addiction sector for the past 10 years.
She pioneered project work to investigate the prevalence of gambling harm in the South Asian communities in Auckland and initiated a trial programme called ‘Asha’ with the Problem Gambling Foundation called in 2017 to provide linguistic and culturally appropriate support to South Asian clients nationally.
While establishing ‘Asha,’ she was the sole part-time staff member for two years, bolstering this in her own time to provide support and raise awareness. She established a Hindi line within the Asian family services helpline.
‘Asha’ has since expanded with two further staff to support demand and continues to provide culturally and linguistically responsive mental health and gambling harm counselling support.
Her citation said that during the Covid-19 lockdowns, the Programme helped South Asians with mental health and financial support and sourcing culturally appropriate food.
“She has presented at national and international conferences and in ethnic and mainstream media on the cultural implications and societal expectations impeding help-seeking and factors escalating gambling in the South Asian community. She has been one of the principal investigators and a student researcher on three gambling-related research projects for South Asians. In 2018, Shirleen established a counselling support group for South Asian inmates in Mt Eden Corrections Facility.
Shirleen told Indian Newslink that establishing ‘Asha’ Services has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of her professional career.
“However, without the hard work of the team, we would not have been able to reach out to and help as many people as we have done in the past few years. I understood that in the field of Mental Health and Addictions, it was critical for clinicians to be aware of their cultural perspectives and to provide culturally responsive support to clients accessing the service. I would like to thank my family, friends, and colleagues for blessing me and supporting me in this journey. I am honoured to receive this recognition,” she said.
