Professor Bev Lawton has been named Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year for 2025 at a special ceremony held in Auckland on Thursday evening.
Lawton, a pioneering women’s health expert from Wellington, was recognised for her lifelong dedication to improving health care for women in Aotearoa, especially for Māori communities.
She is the founder of Te Tātai Hauora o Hine, the National Centre for Women’s Health Research Aotearoa, and has led major advances in cervical cancer screening, maternal health, and health equity. Her work helped New Zealand become the first high-income country to introduce HPV self-testing as the main method for cervical cancer screening—a move expected to save lives and improve testing rates for wāhine Māori, particularly in rural areas.
Lawton, who has Ngāti Porou ancestry, was praised by judges as “a true champion” who ensures her research leads to real change and who works closely with the communities she serves. Her ability to clearly share health information has helped raise awareness across the country, and her ideas continue to shape New Zealand’s healthcare system.
The awards evening also honoured seven other inspiring individuals and groups:
Young New Zealander of the Year: Eteroa Lafaele, a Samoan software engineer helping Pacific communities access digital tools
Senior New Zealander of the Year: Elizabeth Ellis, a leader in Māori arts and education
Innovator of the Year: Emma Lewisham, founder of a science-based, sustainable skincare brand
Sustainability Leader of the Year: Deborah Manning, a food-rescue leader helping fight food waste
Local Hero of the Year: Subash Chandar K, a YouTuber supporting students with free NCEA maths lessons
Community of the Year: The Lake Alice Survivors, who stood up for justice after mistreatment in a psychiatric unit
Legacy Award: Sir Mark Dunajtschik and Dorothy Spotswood, generous donors improving healthcare and education
very interesting
I loved reading it because, I never knew that maybe chocolate might be gone in the future!
save the chocolate…
I enjoyed this reading because
it show what climate changes does!!
they might have to move most chocolate into a colder place, since the climate clock is getting low
so temperature might get higher.
i love chocolate
I’m allergic to dairy, but this makes me sad for my best friends all around NZ (don’t think it’s weird because I actually do). And my chocolate loving cousin, her name is Dana (I’m from South Korea and she told me how to spell her name in Korean but its not pronounced like Dana).
I know that there are chocolate lovers around the world so, poor them or if you like chocolate poor you (even though I’m allergic to dairy, or to make it easy dairy products: cheese, milk, butter etc).