Auckland
For services to alcohol harm reduction
University of Otago Professor Emerita Jennie Lynne Connor has been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to alcohol harm reduction and supporting women in public health.
The 64-year-old has been an advocate for evidence-based alcohol policy, in order to improve health, wellbeing and reduce inequities among and between communities.
She has devoted academic research to health effects of alcohol in the population, and evaluated policies for their effectiveness in reducing harm.
Her work was used extensively by the New Zealand Law Commission in the 2009 liquor law review which produced recommendations for new national alcohol policy.
Prof Connor helped establish Alcohol Action New Zealand in 2009 — an organisation dedicated to advocacy of evidence-based alcohol policy — and runs annual conferences, communicates with politicians and corrects misinformation.
She is a founding board member of the Health Coalition Aotearoa (HCA) and is a member of its alcohol expert panel which is advocating for the review of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act.
She has also provided mentoring, support and supervision for young women in public health.
Between 2010 and 2020, she was the chair of preventive and social medicine at the University of Otago, and on her retirement in 2020 she was named Professor Emerita.
Prof Connor said the honour was "unexpected" and she was humble about the recognition it brought.
She was "grateful" for the support and recognition she has had for her work, but said it did not happen without the help of a lot of other people along the way.
"The honour is for work beyond what your job itself is. It’s for work that I felt was important to do, given my training and my ability to do it.
"It involves a whole network of people who are essentially going above and beyond their job to try to put together something that is more meaningful — something that could potentially improve the place we live in."
Cromwell
For services to the pharmaceutical sector
Bernard "Bernie" McKone always looked likely to become involved in medicine.
His mother was a nurse, he served as a cadet with St John and worked as a delivery boy for a pharmacy in Dunedin while at secondary school.
"The subjects lined up and I ended up going to pharmacy school," he said.
He started his primary schooling in Westport, then returned to the West Coast after graduation for an internship in Greymouth.
In 1983, he went to Gore for one week as a locum, "and became entrenched for 38 years".
"I was always more comfortable in the rural sector where you had a long-term relationship with many of your patients," Mr McKone said
He has held roles on pharmaceutical and health organisations since the 1990s, and helped set up clinical pharmacist services in general practices in Gore and Invercargill.
Being made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit came "out of the blue", he said, but he was glad to see the importance of pharmacists recognised as their role in medicine increased.
"I think pharmacy is the unseen face in the medical sector," he said.
Mr McKone contributed to normalising conversation around men’s health by discussing the issues on radio and running men’s health stalls at popular events such as Field Days.
"I think the success for me was when my son at 16 or 17 would talk about men’s health issues."
In 2015, he was named Pharmacist of the Year by the Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand, and last year received the society’s highest award, the Gold Medal.
He sees his role within pharmacy as a mentor and an advocate and, as he moves into retirement, plans to continue in assessment and consulting roles.
Within the wider community, Mr McKone has been heavily involved with sports, is current president of the Cromwell Rotary Club and participates in musical theatre, with a role in Les Miserables planned in Clyde in May.
