Listen to June 5th 2017 to hear about the Queen’s Birthday Honours and type Honours in the search box to hear more about our Honours system.
The Queen’s Birthday Honours list was announced today. The Honours list is a list of New Zealanders who have performed extraordinary services to our country. Bill English, who had been the last Prime Minister, is now Sir Bill. He was knighted for his long service as an MP and Finance Minister.
The Topp twins, Linda and Jools Topp, are now both Dames for their services to the entertainment industry. They are musicians, comedians and much loved by New Zealanders. They said that music was never “work” for them – they enjoy performing and have been very generous in performing at many local events.
Perhaps more surprising is the award of Dame to Catherine Healy for her work for the Prostitutes Collective. She was responsible for forming the Prostitutes Collective with the aim of making prostitution safe for the women. This was the time when HIV and AIDs were of concern. The first step was to gain the support of the Ministry of Health then they needed a law change. The Prostitution Reform Act was passed in 2003, making prostitution legal for sex workers over the age of 18. It is illegal for those on a temporary visa.
Catherine Healy trained as a teacher and taught children for 9 years. She worked as a prostitute at first to earn more money and later became a political activist, aiming for a law change. In 2010, she was invited to Oxford University to debate the topic that prostitution should be decriminalised. She won the debate.
These are just a few of those people on the Honour’s list. They will receive their medals at Government House by the Governor General later this year.
Vocabulary
• knighted (v) – to become “Sir” (a knight is Sir X); his wife becomes Lady
• Dame – female of Sir; there is no title for the husband
• political activist – someone who works actively for political change
• debate (v and n) – to argue in an intelligent manner, an intelligent argument between two people or groups with opposing ideas.
• decriminalised – no longer a crime (de- it means remove)