Four Kiwis of Indian origin were recognised in the Queen’s birthday honours list announced on June 6. While two Kiwi-Indians have been awarded Queen Service Medal, one has been named as New Zealand Order of Merit officer and the other as New Zealand Order of Merit member. It is a proud moment for Kiwi-Indians as individuals from different walks of life have been named for the coveted honours. Below are the recipients of this year:
Dr Pushpa Wood, as Director of Westpac Massey Financial Education and Research Centre and Chair of the New Zealand Chapter of the World Council of Religion and Peace, has played a key role in improving the financial literacy of New Zealanders and interfaith relations. She is recognised as an international expert in financial literacy and has contributed to discussion documents on financial literacy for the OECD.
While with the Commission for Financial Capability she developed a quality assurance system for financial literacy providers and developed a Financial Literacy Competency Framework for adults, which is now widely used by the education and industry sectors including NZQA.
She has developed financial literacy training models for indigenous communities and was a member of the Steering Group for Improving Maori and Pacific Financial Literacy. In 2015 she developed the National Strategic Plan for Financial Literacy and a five-year Action Plan for Timor Leste. She was a founding member of the Wellington Interfaith Council and Women’s Interfaith Network. She was instrumental in organising New Zealand’s first National Interfaith Forum.
Dr Nadarajah Manoharan has practiced as an Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) surgeon in New Zealand since 1974, primarily in small centres beginning in Whanganui and permanently in Palmerston North from 1982.
Dr Manoharan continued to provide his services to smaller centres through a weekly Whanganui clinic and a weekend Masterton clinic in addition to other centres. He has advocated for greater access to affordable healthcare for children and has never allowed finance to be a barrier to patients in need of his services. He is voluntary teacher for trainee registrars and a member of the Mid Central Health District Health Board since 2013. He is a member of the Board’s Public Health Advisory, Funding and Audit, and Disability Support Advisory committees.
He established the Whanganui ENT Department and significantly developed the Palmerston North ENT Department, leading to its recognition as a training institution under the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 2008. Dr Manoharan was Clinical Director of Surgery for Palmerston North Hospital from 2008 to 2010.
Mr Karnail Badhan has contributed to the Indian community in Auckland since the early 1990s. Mr Badhan is a founder and Life Member of the Ambedkar Sports & Cultural Club and has been President since 2014. He is also the current coach of the Club’s volley ball team and has been involved with fundraising for and organising the Club’s annual sports tournament in Pukekohe. He is currently National Coordinator for Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) New Zealand and a member of GOPIO International. He was Secretary of the Pukekohe Indian Association from 2011 to 2012 and President of GOPIO Pukekohe from 2010 to 2012.
Mrs Nanette Nathoo has been the Chairperson of the Law and Order Crime Prevention Committee of the Auckland Branch of the New Zealand Indian Central Association (NZICA) since 2011, and served on the Executive of NZICA from 2008 to 2012.
Mrs Nathoo has contributed to the Indian community since 1982 and was Vice President of the Auckland Indian Association (AIAI) from 2007 to 2015. She is also currently Law and Order Crime Prevention Chairperson of the AIAI. She has worked with the Auckland City Police Asian Liaison Officer in developing Safer Community and Crime Prevention videos, workshops and safety messages in community newsletters. From 1999 to 2002 Mrs Nathoo was a Trustee of the Mahatma Gandhi Centre.
The profiles have been sourced from www.dpmc.govt.nz