This afternoon, in a very moving ceremony at Government House Wellington, Dame Cindy presented New Zealand Bravery Awards to five extraordinary New Zealanders, for their actions in response to the Whakaari/White Island eruption on 9 December 2019. As the Governor-General remarked in her speech: 'The efforts of these brave New Zealanders serve to remind us of our lifelong responsibility to each other, and bring to mind the whakataukī: he toa taumata rau – bravery has many resting places.'
![Mr Graeme Hopcroft, Dame Cindy Kiro](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_width_full_column/public/2023-05/04%20Graeme%20Hopcroft-2.jpg?itok=l1o6euRO)