Venkat Raman –
We are delighted to report that two friends of Indian Newslink are among those featured in the New Year Honours List announced by the New Zealand government on December 31, 2015 on behalf of the Queen Elizabeth.
They are Tim (Timothy Grant) Livingstone who has been appointed as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for his services to business and the community and Shefali Mehta, who will receive a Queen’s Service Medal (QSM) for her services to the Indian community.
Mr Livingston, a respected Chartered Accountant from West Auckland, has been a member on the independent panel of judges of the Indian Newslink Indian Business Awards since 2009.
Mrs Mehta has been featured in Indian Newslink for well over a decade for her varied interests and involvement in community welfare projects, and more importantly as the President of the Rotary Club of Harbourside during the Rotary Year 2012-2013.
The Order of New Zealand
Richie McCaw
Richard (Richie) McCaw, New Zealand’s most celebrated Rugby player who led the All Blacks to two consecutive wins at the Rugby World Cup (2011 and 2015) has been appointed to the Order of New Zealand, the country’s highest civilian honour, restricted to 20 living people.
Richie has been a member of the All Blacks since 2001 and Captain since 2006, and is regarded as New Zealand’s finest rugby player.
He played in the 2003 World Cup and captained the All Blacks at the 2007 Rugby World Cup. He became the first All Black to reach 100 Tests in 2011 and was the first Rugby Union player to achieve 100 caps as Captain.
As at December 31, 2015, he is the most capped player in rugby union history with 148 caps. He has been named the International Rugby Board’s International Player of the Year three times (2006, 2009 and 2010).
Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit
John Brodie Armstrong, one of the most distinguished journalists of our times, has been appointed as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Ill-health forced him to retire from active journalism and as Political Editor and Columnist at the New Zealand Herald in October 2015 but his avid readers hope that he would continue to share his views on issues of national and international importance through his blogs and occasional columns.
Over the course of his career he has covered 10 general elections and 28 Budgets. He was named Best Columnist at the 2013 Canon Media Awards and was a previous winner of Qantas media awards as best political columnist.
New Zealand Order of Merit
Tim Livingstone
Tim Livingstone has been appointed by the Queen as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Mr Livingstone has been a partner in the Chartered Accountancy practice of UHY Haines Norton (Auckland) Limited for 30 years, and has been instrumental in developing the firm into a six partner practice with more than 40 staff.
He established the West Auckland Business Club 20 years ago and is currently its President. The Club hosts networking functions annually, profits from which are donated to the West Auckland community.
Mr Livingstone is a member and Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants, having served as Councillor and Chair of the National Public Practice Committee. He has chaired, Audit, Risk Management and Remuneration Committees for the Boards of organisations such as the West Auckland Trusts Service, Languages International Ltd and Learning Media. He has been a Trustee of the Waitakere City Stadium Trust since 2004 and was Deputy Chair of Sport Waitakere.
He actively supports the arts and creative sector in West Auckland and is a Trustee of the Portage Ceramics Trust and the Lopdell House Development Trust. He has also been a Trustee and Chair of the Dutch Retirement Village.
As a member of the independent panel of judges of the Indian Newslink Indian Business Awards since 2009, he has enhanced the integrity and dignity of our Business Awards Programme
Queen’s Service Medal
Shefali Mehta
A Justice of the Peace and as a social worker, Shefali Mehta is an important member of the Indian community since her arrival in New Zealand 18 years ago, prior to which she made her mark in Fiji, Kenya and Papua New Guinea.
She has been a member of Auckland Harbourside Rotary Club since 1998, during which time she has fundraised for various community organisations.
Mrs Mehta has been involved with Rotary at the district level and under her leadership as President in 2012-2013, the Club raised $106,890 for Starship Hospital and Auckland Medical Research Foundation.
In 2012, she organised and hosted the ‘Peace and Conflict Resolution Forum’ at the University of Auckland. She is National Secretary of the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO NZ) and a member of the Committee which organises an annual convention on Family Violence.
Since 2007 she has been a volunteer for Bharatiya Samaj Charitable Trust and is one of the key members of a Committee that is driving the need for a culturally appropriate rest home, ‘Aashirwad’ for senior citizens of South Asian origin.
Since 2011 Mrs Mehta has been Deputy Chairperson for Global India New Zealand and Chairperson of the Women’s Wing.
She was a recipient of the ‘British Empire Medal’ awarded by the Papua New Guinea under the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 1994.
A profile of Shefali Mehta appears under ‘Our People’ in Communitylink. Indian Newslink congratulates all the distinguished men and women mentioned in the New Year Honours List of the Queen and wishes them well in their various business, professional and community pursuits.
