It is an absolute honour to be a semi-finalist in the 2019 Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Awards.

Thirty years ago, I started out on a journey in public health with a commitment to improve the health of Māori.

Today, we are seeing global interest in New Zealand’s response to how our country is pursuing harm-reduction technologies to support people to stop smoking. We have come a very long way – from one of telling people what to do, to one where we recognise that people will choose healthier options if they exist and if they are supported to change.

Throughout my career as a public health researcher, with a particular focus on reducing the harms of smoking, one thing has remained consistently important - that of staying connected to the people you are trying to help. It is only through listening to people’s views and personal journeys that we truly get to appreciate and understand how policies impact people.

New Zealand is a very special place, with unique and special people. It is a privilege to be short-listed alongside nine other New Zealanders who are working on the top concerns of our time: the need to prevent violence, the need to address the economic and social determinants of inequity and the need for more acceptable and effective mental health and rehabilitation services. Smoking, as a way of coping, is closely linked to these concerns.

This recognition is certainly not mine alone. It is shared with many people who have encouraged and supported me to persist through significant challenges and who have helped me to build on the successes.

It is recognition for all the people working to find new ways to help our people survive given the demands and constraints of modern society. As Sir James Henare once said:

E kore e taea te oranga mō te tangata i te aroha me te pipi anake.
We can no longer live on love and pipi alone.

(From Merata Kawharu’s book Tāhuhu Kōrero, 2008).

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