June 06, 2022
Hinearangi Edwards-Queen’s Birthday and Platinum Jubilee Honours 2022
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:EDWARDS, Ms Hinerangi Rachael
For services to Māori, governance and education
Ms Hinerangi Edwards (Taranaki whānui, Tauranga Moana, Te Arawa), co-founded AATEA in 2000 with her husband, as a vehicle to work with communities that they whakapapa to, primarily Taranaki, Te Wairoa and Moriori peoples.
Ms Edwards has been involved in many areas of research and facilitation, key to which has been a strategic kaupapa Māori focus. She is a member of Te Kāhui Ahumahi and since 2021 has chaired Ringa Hora Services Workforce Development Council, as part of the Reform of Vocational Education. She has been a founding Trustee and Director of Korou Digital Trust and Agency since 2019, which aims to create equitable access to digital careers in rural areas such as Te Wairoa. She is a Trustee of Poutama Trust and member of the Māori Economic Development Advisory Board across government. Ms Edwards previously served as a Māori Language Commissioner and on the Parininihi Ki Waitotara group boards, including as Parininihi Ki Waitotara Education Trust Chair.