It has been a long journey since starting work at Whakatāne District Council as a planner for Diane Turner who was honoured in the King’s Birthday honours list with a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

The former Whakatāne council chief executive has received the honour for services to governance, seniors and Māori.

Mrs Turner’s notable achievements included demonstrating leadership during major national crises and, more recently, a pivotal role in advancing the older person’s sector.

She worked for the Whakatāne council for almost 30 years, the last five years as chief executive from 2006 to 2011. Despite moving on to roles in the South Island and Wellington, where she spends most of her time, she still calls Whakatāne home.

She and husband Athol Hamilton still have their home of 30 years in the Whakatāne township, an 1870s villa-style farmhouse they have beautifully renovated.

“I’ve been coming home every other weekend, so it’s still home,” Mrs Turner said.

She said she was “blown away” to hear she was to receive the honour.

Having held various positions at the council, her leadership skills came to public notice during the Eastern Bay flooding in 2004 and the Matatā debris flow in 2005 and their aftermath.

"I oversaw some quite major projects following those two events, including the creation of new stormwater and wastewater systems,” she said.

In 2012 she was nationally recognised as a Civil Defence Emergency Management controller and for her innovation in recovery management. However, by this time, she had taken on a new role far from Whakatāne.

In September 2011, she took on the role of deputy chief executive of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority where she was able to use the skills and experience she had learned in the Eastern Bay to support the recovery.

This included the development of key recovery frameworks empowering affected communities with sustainable recovery policies.

After two years in this role, she spent three years with Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, supporting their development contribution to earthquake recovery.

She led an integrated approach to their response and participation in earthquake recovery enabling whānau values and priorities to be reflected in decision-making at local and government levels.

During that time, she oversaw the establishment of the first South Island Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency, Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu, where she led a $15 million investment fund designed to build whānau capability, fostering collective ownership by nine South Island iwi.

"It was great to be able to use my skills and knowledge to support them and their aspirations. Seeing the city change in the way it has, has been really amazing,” she said.

For almost nine years now, Mrs Turner has been director of the Office for Seniors.

“Our role is to assist the Minister for Seniors to advocate for the interests and issues of older people,” she said.

She has championed initiatives under the national strategy, Better Later Life – He Oranga Kaumātua 2019 to 2034, including an internationally award-winning digital literacy training programme.

She has also represented New Zealand as a World Health Organisation technical adviser on ageing and age-friendly initiatives.

“We are fortunate we have also been able to, through our networks, share what we’ve learnt and developed here, internationally as well. So that has figured in my last couple of years here.”

She has relished being able to maintain links with both the Eastern Bay and with district councils in this role, despite being based in Wellington.

“I’ve actually had linkages with Eastern Bay Villages and Kawerau Districts Aging in Place (KADAP), which was nice. I’ve watched that flourish in the Eastern Bay.

“We have a small grants programme so both KADAP and Eastern Bay Villages have benefited from that.”

She plans to eventually return to Whakatāne on a more permanent basis.

She also championed the establishment of the World Health Organisation programme, Age Friendly Cities and Communities, in New Zealand.

“I have over half the councils in New Zealand as part of our network. Whakatāne is on my hit list for when I'm back there,” she said.