John Ransfield, Rotorua, QSM, for services to the New Zealand Police and the community
Mr John Ransfield, of Te Arawa, Tainui, Ngai Tahu, Raukawa, Tuhoe and Ngati Porou descent, has been a firearms licensing vetter for the New Zealand Police in the Eastern Bay of Plenty for 20 years. On a voluntary basis, he led the implementation of the extremely successful programme, Whakatūpato ki te Mau Pū - Safety with Firearms. He has travelled to remote rural areas at his own expense in the Bay of Plenty, East Coast, Far North and Te Urewera promoting firearms safety and licensing compliance. He recruits and trains instructors for the programme which is run in conjunction with the New Zealand Mountain Safety Council, an organisation that Mr Ransfield has been involved with for 30 years, and the New Zealand Police. Mr Ransfield has been a member of the New Zealand Police Search and Rescue for 30 years, and is President of the Rotorua Hunting Club. He is a member of seven Māori trust boards and two marae trusts. In 2011 Mr Ransfield received the Outdoors New Zealand Outdoors Excellence Volunteer of the Year award.