Order of New Zealand - Who's in the reckoning?

The Order of New Zealand is New Zealand's highest honour.

The death of the Maori Queen, Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, has left three vacancies in New Zealand's most exclusive club.

The "ordinary" category of the Order of New Zealand - limited to 20 people - is now down to 17 members following the loss of Dame Te Ata last month.

The remaining two vacancies have existed since last year, when former MP Sonja Davies and former Prime Minister David Lange died.

Other members of the order have died - for example, Lord Cooke of Thorndon - without creating any openings. That is because Lord Cooke was awarded his honour by way of a special appointment, in a category classed as "additional" - used to commemorate royal, state, or national occasions.

Sir Hugh Kawharu, who died this week, was also an "additional" member of the order.

When members in this category die they do not leave Order of NZ vacancies to be filled.

Dame Te Ata, however, was an "ordinary" member of the order - the group which is limited to 20. New members to fill the gaps in the order could be announced in the New Year's honours, or at Queen's Birthday next year.

The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet administers the awards, with Helen Clark and 11 senior ministers hand-picking the recipients.

Applications for this New Year's Eve announcements closed on August 1, but nominations for the next Queen's Birthday honours do not close until February 1.

The director of the honours secretariat, David Baguley, said the Prime Minister and her colleagues were to discuss about 500 new nominations for awards over the next month or so.

People could nominate themselves, but it was "poor form" to do so, Mr Baguley said.

Applications for a specific category of award were not possible and getting an ONZ was at the Cabinet's discretion. There was no requirement to fill ONZ vacancies, Mr Baguley said. It has been nearly two years since the last appointment.

* The Order of New Zealandis this country's highest honour. It was instituted by Royal Warrant on February 6, 1987, to "recognise outstanding service to the Crown and people of New Zealand in a civil or military capacity".

* There are three categories: Ordinary (limited to 20 New Zealanders), additional (appointed to commemorate royal or state occasions), and honorary (includes citizens of Commonwealth nations where the Queen is not the head of state and foreign nations.

* The oval medallion is made in Britain. In the centre is the New Zealand coat of arms set within a rafter (kowhaiwhai) pattern. The ribbon is red ochre with narrow white strips towards the edges. The medallion must be returned to the Crown on the death of the holder.


Who's in

The ONZ "ordinary" members, and the year when they were honoured:

Sir Edmund Hillary (1987). Mountaineer, explorer.

June, Lady Blundell (1987). Widow of Sir Denis Blundell, Governor General 1972-77. .
Dame Miriam Dell (1993). President of the International Council of Women 1979-86.

Margaret Mahy (1993). Author.

Whetu Marama Tirikatene-Sullivan (1993). Former Labour MP.

Sir Roy McKenzie (1995). Philanthropist, World War II and bomber commander.

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa (1995). Opera singer.

Sir Miles Warren (1995). Prominent architect. .

Sir James Fletcher (1997). .

Dr Ivan Lichter (1997). Retired surgeon, founder of hospice care in New Zealand.

Jim Bolger (1997). Former Prime Minister.

Ken Douglas (1998). Union movement leader.

Dr Clifford Whiting (1998). Leading artist. .

Mike Moore (1999). Former Prime Minister.

His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Williams (2000).

Professor Alan MacDiarmid (2001).

Jonathan Hunt (2004). High Commissioner to the UK.


The Contenders

Neil Finn. Songwriter and musician, former key member of bands Split Enz and Crowded House.

Sir Wilson Whineray. Former All Black, now a leading businessman.

Peter Jackson. Movie director who developed leading film-making technology.

Dame Sian Elias. First female chief justice, the most senior rank in the judiciary system.

Dame Silvia Cartwright. Former Governor-General and first female Chief District Court judge.

Sir Patrick Goodman. Former baker-turned-businessman. Supporter of the arts.

Stephen Tindall. Warehouse founder and philanthropist.

Professor Paul Callaghan. Scientist. Awarded the Rutherford Medal, New Zealand's premier science prize.

Sir Geoffrey Palmer. Former Prime Minister and law professor.

Kevin Brady. Auditor-General. Has been investigating allegations of wrongful spending before last year's election.


Outside Chances

The Mad Butcher, Peter Leitch. Die-hard fan of all things league.

Tana Umaga. Former All Black captain. Supporter of the hand-bag industry.

Judy Bailey. Mother of the nation, who Bill thought we'd grow out of.

Bill Ralston. TVNZ news executive. Never lost for an (expletive) word.