A health professional who has dedicated her career to injury prevention says her Queen's Birthday honour came "out of the blue".
Carolyn Coggan has been made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to health.
She was involved in the establishment of the inaugural Injury Prevention Network in 1999, and has been a key member of numerous health and safety initiatives.
Over the years she had witnessed a huge attitude change towards community safety, she said.
"There has been some incredible gains. If you just look at road safety, the whole attitude of wearing a seatbelt has changed; the whole attitude to drink driving has changed."
Dr Coggan also noted the reporting of family violence had increased since the It's Not OK campaign.
"There's been some really significant gains."
People shouldn't be "wrapped in cotton wool" but there needs to be good risk management, she said.
"To me it's about being vibrant and safe, not being restrictive."
The honour shone a light on community safety, she said.
"I'm accepting it on behalf of all the people who work in the area of community safety. To me it's not so much a personal award as a collective."
Dr Coggan was awarded Sweden's Karolinski Institute International Career Development Award in 2008 as well as the Te Manaia Leadership Award for Community Safety in 2008.
