A GONG!
Congratulations to Pauline Luyten of Aoraki Legal becoming a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to rugby and the Pacific community.
Ms Pauline-Jean Luyten is a legal professional with governance experience across the community sector and with national and provincial rugby.
She co-founded the Tongan Society South Canterbury in 2016, serving as Chair from 2020 to 2023, and remains on the Board to close service gaps for the local Tongan and wider Pacific community. She has led several strengths-based cultural, social and wellbeing initiatives across South Canterbury. She served as a Trustee of Community Trust Mid and South Canterbury from 2020 to 2025, where her expertise drove positive community outcomes. She became the first Pacific woman appointed to the South Canterbury Provincial Rugby Union Board, and in 2022 the first Pacific woman to be appointed to the New Zealand Rugby (NZR) Board as an emerging director. She was appointed to the NZR Pasifika Advisory Group and elected Co-Chair in 2021. In 2024 her leadership helped secure formal Pacific representation within the NZR’s new governance structure. She also led the development of NZR’s 2024 Pasifika Rugby Strategy, aimed at attracting, supporting and equipping more Pacific participation in rugby in New Zealand, from playing to non‑playing roles. Mrs Luyten is a Peer Mentor for NZR’s Women in Rugby Governance Programme and the Pasifika representative on NZR’s Stakeholder Panel.
We all congratulate Pauline for her services to the community.