Grace Dorset, ONZM, Rotorua
For services to Māori. Mrs Grace Dorset has, for more than 20 years, been Manager, Director and programme designer of the Te Akatea Iwi Tauawhi Trust, which specialises in stopping child abuse and family violence. She was a member of the Parole Board from 2002 to 2009. She is a member of the Waikeria Prison Board and the Rotorua Prisoners’ Families Network Support group. She has worked intensively with generations of the victims of abuse, teaching them communication and listening skills. The Te Akatea Iwi Tauawhi Trust runs a community-funded counselling agency in the Whakaturia complex at Ohinemutu, where she was raised. She established a unique six-week programme, ‘Elimination of Violent Practices’, using kaumātua to provide leadership on alternatives to violence. She has been a Rotorua Girls’ High School Trustee. Mrs Dorset is highly regarded in the Bay of Plenty and Central Plateau for her outstanding leadership and the courage she has shown over many years in addressing challenging and sensitive issues.