This government brought back titles Sir and Dame for people who receive the top honours in our country. Listen to March 8 2009. Now our most famous film maker is Sir Peter Jackson. He made the Lord of the Rings movies and King Kong. Three other people are now Sir and one woman, Lesley Max, is now Dame.
Dame Lesley Max has worked for a better life for children from poor backgrounds and abused children. One of her programmes is to help parents become better parents. She has also trained tertiary students to mentor senior students at school who need extra support so that they will stay at school and plan a career.
Sir Doug Myers was Chairman of the Business Roundtable. He has worked for a better future for our country. He wants New Zealand graduates to stay here or return here after working overseas. He said that we lose too many skilled people to overseas jobs.
Sir Mason Durie is a professor at Massey University. He has worked to improve Maori health.
Sir Bruce Robertson is a judge of the High Court and Appeal Court. He has worked in Samoa and Vanuatu in some difficult court cases.
However, the top honour goes to Helen Clark. She has become a member of the Order of New Zealand. This order is limited to only 20 living people. She was Prime Minister for nine years, the first Labour Prime Minister to stay in office for this length of time. She had 27 years in Parliament. She is now Head of the UN Development Programme. Listen to March 28 2009 |