Georgina Beyer was a New Zealand Labour Party politician who represented Wairarapa in the Parliament of New Zealand from 1999 to 2005, after serving as mayor of Carterton from 1995 to 1999. Beyer was the world's first openly transgender mayor, and the world's first openly transgender member of parliament. As a member of the Labour Party Beyer supported progressive policies including prostitution law reform, civil unions, anti-discrimination laws, and the promotion of Māori rights. She resigned in 2007, and, in 2014, unsuccessfully stood for election on behalf of the Mana Party.
Maryan Street is a New Zealand unionist, academic and former politician. She was president of the New Zealand Labour Party from 1993 to 1995 and a Labour Party list member of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 2005 until 2014.
Jennifer Mary Bornholdt is a New Zealand poet and anthologist. She was New Zealand's Poet Laureate in 2005-2007.
Bryan Alexander Waddle is a veteran New Zealand-born sports broadcaster, sometimes called "The voice of New Zealand cricket".
The Topp Twins are the folk singing and activist sister comedy duo of New Zealand entertainers Jools and Lynda Topp. They are known for their country music influenced style, live shows and television performances. They often perform as characters, the most notable being the roles Ken & Ken, and Camp Mother & Camp Leader.
Richard John Frizzell is a New Zealand artist known for his pop art paintings and prints. His work often features Kiwiana iconography combined with motifs from Māori art traditions, such as the tiki and tā moko. He is based in Auckland.
Donna Tusiata Avia is a New Zealand poet and children's author. She has been recognised for her work through receiving a 2020 Queen's Birthday Honour and in 2021 her collection The Savage Coloniser won the Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. The Savage Coloniser and her previous work Wild Dogs Under My Skirt have been turned into live stage plays presented in a number of locations.
Peter Northe Wells was a New Zealand writer, filmmaker, and historian. He was mainly known for his fiction, but also explored his interest in gay and historical themes in a number of expressive drama and documentary films from the 1980s onwards.
Karlo Estelle Mila is a New Zealand writer and poet of Tongan, Pālagi and Samoan descent. Her first collection, Dream Fish Floating, received the NZSA Jessie Mackay Award for Best First Book of Poetry in 2006 at the Montana New Zealand Book Awards. She has subsequently published two further poetry collections, A Well Written Body (2008) and Goddess Muscle (2020), the latter of which was longlisted for the Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry.
Vaosa ole Tagaloa Makerita Urale is a documentary director and playwright, and a leading figure in contemporary Polynesian theatre in New Zealand. She has produced landmark productions in the performing arts. She is the writer of the play Frangipani Perfume, the first Pacific play written by a woman for an all-female cast. Working in different art mediums, Urale also works in film and television. She is the director of the political documentary Children of the Revolution that won the Qantas Award (2008) for Best Māori Programme.
Bob McCoskrie is the National Director of the New Zealand conservative Christian non-profit NGO Family First New Zealand.
Fiona Samuel is a New Zealand writer, actor and director who was raised Scotland from 1961 until the age of five. She moved to New Zealand and grew up in Christchurch before moving to Wellington to train as an actor at the New Zealand Drama School. She graduated from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School in 1980 with a Diploma in Acting. Samuel's award-winning career spans theatre, film, radio and television.
Lorae Ann Parry is a New Zealand playwright and actor.
Hens' Teeth Women's Comedy Company is a woman-only comedy troupe based in Wellington, New Zealand founded in 1988.
Paula Joy Green is a New Zealand poet and children's author.
Tracey Kathleen Dorothy McIntosh is a New Zealand sociology and criminology academic. She is of Māori descent and is currently a Professor of Indigenous Studies and Co-Head of Te Wānanga o Waipapa at the University of Auckland.
Barbara Helen Else, also known as Barbara Neale, is a New Zealand writer, editor, and playwright. She has written novels for adults and children, plays, short stories and articles and has edited anthologies of children's stories. She has received a number of awards and fellowships including the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to literature, the Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal and the Victoria University of Wellington's Writer's Fellowship.
Anne Else is a New Zealand writer, researcher and editor.
Gillian Brooker Greer, also known as Gillian Boddy, is a New Zealand teacher, a literary scholar specialising in the works of Katherine Mansfield, a heath advocate, an advisor to the New Zealand Government and has been an administrator of numerous non profit organisations. She was the chief executive of the National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ) from 2017 to 2018 and an assistant vice-chancellor of Victoria University of Wellington.
Michèle Edith A'Court is a New Zealand comedian, writer and feminist. She has toured New Zealand and international venues with her standup comedy shows and in 2010 was awarded the Female Comedian of the Decade at the NZ Comedy Guild Awards. A'Court has appeared in many TV shows since the late 1980s including What Now, 7Days and The Project. She is a regular columnist with The Spinoff and the author of two books. She was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the entertainment and comedy industries, in the 2023 New Year Honours.
