Editorial: Special people enjoy the prestige

Twice each year we get to bestow a little honour and prestige upon New Zealanders who have done that bit extra to make the country a better place.

New Year's and Queen's Birthday honours allow the Government to hand out special recognition to high achievers across the spectrum from public service and community service to the arts and sport.

There is no doubt these are people who have made a difference in this country, people who have put in extra time and effort to do what they do at a very high standard.

At the top of the list there is little explanation required for the Order of New Zealand honours handed out to entertainment heavyweights Sir Peter Robert Jackson and Dame Malvina Lorraine Major.

Their remarkable achievements have helped put New Zealand on the international entertainment map.

And the knighthood headed John Kirwan's way is also certainly well placed.

Sir John, as he will be known, has done a remarkable amount to help lift the cloak of secrecy and shame that has surrounded mental health problems in the past.

He has chosen to bring his struggle with depression out into the public and discuss it openly and honestly.

In doing so he has surely given hope and strength to his fellow sufferers.

In the Western Bay of Plenty, we have had four achievers suitably honoured for their great deeds.

Lawyer Bill Holland has been made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the community, Richard Wood received the same award for services to the state, Tauranga Intermediate principal Brian Diver was awarded the Queen's Service Medal for services to youth sport, in particular the Aims Games, and Nancy Merriman won the same medal for services to the community.

And these were but a few of the many people who were honoured across the length and breadth of the country.

While the top honours were obviously awarded to the high-profile achievers like Sir Peter, Dame Malvina and Sir John, let's not forget about the names further down the list of Queen's Birthday recipients.

The true beauty of these honours is the recognition bestowed on people who give themselves selflessly for charities and those in most need in communities big and small.

Outside their own areas they are probably unknown and their deeds a mystery but those who work alongside them know of the legendary commitment and devotion they bring to their everyday work.

These are the people who make the honours system well worth preserving.