{"id":302464,"date":"2026-02-26T03:33:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T03:33:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/302464\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T03:33:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T03:33:11","slug":"three-hawkes-bay-finalists-in-kiwibank-new-zealander-of-the-year-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/302464\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Hawke\u2019s Bay finalists in Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"

At 27, Harlem-Cruz Ihaia has become a national voice for wh\u0101nau empowerment and community transformation.<\/p>\n

A mother of five, she is the founder of P\u016brotu Limited, which delivers support ranging from crisis assistance to personal development and employment pathways.<\/p>\n

Her work has supported more than 1000 families, bridging gaps across generations.<\/p>\n

Ihaia said being named a finalist feels \u201chumbling\u201d and is a reflection of everyone behind her mahi.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m super proud to be acknowledged for the work I do \u2026 I never do it to be recognised. It\u2019s just something that comes naturally to me,\u201d she told Hawke\u2019s Bay Today.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t do what I do without the village and the people that help me do this. So, this recognition also acknowledges everybody in the background that supports the mahi that I do within our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the drive to help others comes from her own whakapapa.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy great-great-grandmother helped the community when the World War was going on, then my great-grandmother helped establish the k\u014dhanga reo movement … I\u2019m just carrying on a legacy that was made for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ihaia is now leading in te k\u014dhanga reo, dedicated to revitalising te reo M\u0101ori for future generations.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dream is that wh\u0101nau can drop their kids at the k\u014dhanga and if they\u2019re needing any personal or professional development, they can just carry on to the next building down the road,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main goal was to create an intergenerational wealth for my community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr Jeremy T\u0101tere MacLeod<\/a>, a M\u0101ori language advocate and cultural strategist, has been named a finalist for the Tower New Zealand Local Hero of the Year Te Pou Toko o te Tau.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many people doing meaningful work across Aotearoa every day, and to be mentioned alongside them is a real honour,\u201d MacLeod said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve already won because it means the M\u0101ori language has won.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the biggest challenge for te reo M\u0101ori in Hawke\u2019s Bay is holding on to the progress communities have made.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve come so far here in Hawke\u2019s Bay with our openness and our appreciation of the M\u0101ori language and culture, and I would hate to see that go backwards because of any messaging that\u2019s coming out of Wellington,\u201d MacLeod said.<\/p>\n

\"DrDr Jeremy T\u0101tere MacLeod says any honour is really a win for te reo M\u0101ori. Photo \/ New Zealander of the Year Awards<\/p>\n

H\u014dhepa Hawke\u2019s Bay<\/a>, a finalist for Mitre 10 Community of the Year, says the recognition belongs not only to the organisation but to the entire region.<\/p>\n

CEO Santiago de Marco said being named one of three finalists nationwide was \u201cvery special\u201d for the community H\u014dhepa serves.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s recognition of the work everyone in the H\u014dhepa community does every day,\u201d de Marco said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis nomination celebrates inclusion, but it also reminds us there\u2019s still a long journey ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

He hopes the recognition encourages continued progress towards a more inclusive Hawke\u2019s Bay and New Zealand.<\/p>\n

\"H\u014dhepaH\u014dhepa Hawke\u2019s Bay\u2019s nomination celebrates inclusion across the region. Photo \/ New Zealander of the Year Awards<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, another finalist, Hamilton influencer and disability advocate Leighton Clarke, has been withdrawn<\/a> from the Local Hero of the Year category after awards organisers deemed some of his social media content not consistent with the values that underpin the awards.<\/p>\n

Clarke will still receive a Local Hero Medal for his contributions.<\/p>\n

Te koruru (patron) of the awards Miriama Kamo said this year\u2019s finalists exemplify leadership grounded in purpose and compassion.<\/p>\n

\u201cAcross every category, we see service, innovation and kaitiakitanga in action: protecting people and the planet, strengthening communities, advancing equity, and shaping bold solutions for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winners across all seven categories will be announced at a gala event in Auckland on March 19.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At 27, Harlem-Cruz Ihaia has become a national voice for wh\u0101nau empowerment and community transformation. A mother of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":302465,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[10779,1561,68793,1976,78,95012,117,111,43,139,69,1118,223,1529,379,35111],"class_list":{"0":"post-302464","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-awards","9":"tag-bay","10":"tag-finalists","11":"tag-hawkes","12":"tag-in","13":"tag-kiwibank","14":"tag-new","15":"tag-new-zealand","16":"tag-news","17":"tag-newzealand","18":"tag-nz","19":"tag-of","20":"tag-the","21":"tag-three","22":"tag-year","23":"tag-zealander"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302464\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/302465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}