Professor Rangi Mātāmua has been crowned the 2023 Kiwibank New Zealander of the year Te Pou Whakarae o Aotearoa.
Prof Mātāmua, also known as the "man behind Matariki", has been campaigning for Matariki to be celebrated for years.
In 2022, the country celebrated Matariki as a national public holiday for the first time - a landmark moment for Aotearoa, but also for Prof Mātāmua who has dedicated his career to sharing traditional Māori astronomy knowledge.
The pioneering Māori scholar was appointed as chief advisor to the Government on the Māori New Year.
Prof Mātāmua was nominated alongside Sir John Kirwan, Ruby Tui and Jools and Lynda Topp (aka the Topp Twins).
Previous winners of the New Zealander of the Year award include Sir Tā Tipene O'Regan (2022), Dr Siouxsie Wiles (2021), Jennifer Te Atamira Ward-Lealand (2020), Mike King (2019), Kristine Bartlett (2018), Taika Waititi (2017), Richie McCaw (2016), Sir Stephen Tindall (2015), Dr Lance O'Sullivan (2014), Dame Anne Salmond (2013), Sir Richard Taylor (2012), Sir Paul Callaghan (2011) and Sir Ray Avery (2010).
The 2023 University of Canterbury Young New Zealander of the Year Te Mātātahi o te Tau winner was Shaneel Lal.
As New Zealand celebrated 50 years of Pride in Aotearoa, Lal was on the frontlines – igniting the country in a successful battle to end Conversion Therapy.
Lal founded the Conversion Therapy Action Group and was a key figure in the movement to ban the practise.
Lal was nominated alongside Elliot Jones and Georgia Latu.
The 2023 Ryman Healthcare Senior New Zealander of the Year Te Mātāpuputu o te Tau winner was Sir Mark Dunajtschik KNZM.
A concentration camp survivor turned remarkable philanthropist, Sir Dunajtschik has overcome devastating adversity to ultimately change lives across Aotearoa.
Sir Dunajtschik has contributed to a range of philanthropic causes and charities for more than 40 years including helping found a helicopter rescue service in Wellington in the mid-1970s, the precursor to the Westpac Helicopter rescue service, and financed the service for 10 years. He also donated $53 million to build and gift a new children’s hospital to Capital and Coast District Health Board.
The 2023 Spark New Zealand Innovator of the Year Te Pou Whakairo o te Tau winner was Emily Blythe.
Blythe is making airport fog delays a thing of the past with her ground-breaking technology, Pyper Vision.
The 2023 MFE New Zealand Environmental Hero of the Year Te Toa Taiao o te Tau winner was Camden Howitt.
As an inspiring leader and determined problem solver, Howitt is devoted to protecting and regenerating te taiao, and has spent over a decade driving collaborative solutions around Aotearoa and the Pacific.
The 2023 Mitre 10 New Zealand Community of the Year Ngā Pou Whirinaki o te Tau winner was Kindness Collective.
Kindness Collective (KC) is a charity that spreads kindness by connecting children and families with the things they need – from everyday essentials to moments of joy.
The 2023 Kiwibank New Zealand Local Hero of the Year Te Pou Toko o Te Tau winner was Dr Ellen Nelson.
Working day and night to bring 563 Afghanis to the safety of New Zealand, Dr Nelson rallied a small team from her rural Manawatū home to save the lives of colleagues that had supported the New Zealand Army.
