This year’s honours quietly confirm who really sets the rules in New Zealand – and it’s not just the judges in red robes
New Zealand’s King’s Birthday Honours list has once again proved a useful, acid test for what the establishment thinks “the law” is really for – and this year, the answer is: constitutional plumbing, commercial fire‑power and the unglamorous business of redress and governance.
Two of those honoured, Jim Farmer KC and Peter Boshier (pictured above in his new Facebook profile pic), sit on the LawFuel Power List, which suggests the market and the honours system are, for once, largely in agreement about where real influence lies.
Sir Peter Boshier: the state’s conscience
Peter Boshier’s knighthood feels less like a surprise and more like a footnote to a career spent making officialdom actually do what the Official Information Act says on the tin.
As Chief Ombudsman he turned a chronically reactive office into something approaching a constitutional watchdog, pushing for faster decisions, proactive release and a little less passive‑aggressive stonewalling from agencies.
Add his years as Principal Family Court Judge and his work in international family law and you get the classic New Zealand mix of modest demeanour and heavy duty impact.
heavyweight impact. His honour is also a quiet nod to the reality that in 2026, our most important “judges” often sit outside the formal courts, refereeing a never‑ending scrum between government secrecy and public patience.
Jim Farmer KC
Dr Jim Farmer KC’s CNZM is the system acknowledging what the bar and boardroom have known for years: when something large, complicated and litigiously dangerous erupts, Jim Farmer is one of the first names on the shortlist. From mega‑litigation like Equiticorp to big‑ticket competition law, he has been part of the backbone of New Zealand’s modern commercial jurisprudence.
Layer on his governance roles at Air New Zealand during the Ansett turbulence, his work with Team New Zealand and the Sports Tribunal, and his steady influence on the independent bar, and you have a lawyer whose reach extends well beyond the courtroom.
He is also, of course, a LawFuel Power List alumnus, which, naturally, we’re happy to regard as a leading indicator of honours‑list eligibility.
Paul Davison KC: redress and the hard stories
Paul Davison KC’s recognition in the King’s Service Order is a reminder that much of the profession’s most important work happens after the headlines, not before them. From the Mt Erebus Royal Commission litigation to the Lake Alice redress scheme and other difficult inquiries, Davison has spent a career working through the country’s more painful chapters with forensic care and a steady hand.
He represented Kim Dotcom during the heroic efforts of the US authorities to extradict the tech magnate following the extravagent made-for-tv efforts to arrest him at the famed mansion, for which Davison heavily criticised the police and others. He retired from the Court in August 2023, and has since resumed practice from Sangro Chambers as a mediator and providing litigation and consultancy advice.
Jenny Hughey
Jenny Hughey’s ONZM for community law and governance underlines that “access to justice” is not a slogan but a funding and governance problem – one she has spent years wrestling with across Community Law Centres Aotearoa and regional roles.
the fact that community law centres still function as a national network rather than a patchwork of local improvisation is in good part due to her efforts.
What this list is really saying
Strip away the ceremonial language and this year’s honours sketch a clear picture of what the legal establishment values:
- Watchdogs who keep the state honest.
- Silks who can navigate existential commercial disputes.
- Lawyers and academics who hold the system together at its edges – community law, inquiries, redress, environmental governance.
For a profession that often measures itself in reported judgments and silk appointments, it is striking how many of these careers are defined instead by designing, policing or repairing the frameworks the rest of us take for granted.
