EDITORIAL Our Heroes run with the ball

Fonterra chief executive officer Miles Hurrell took on the role three years ago when the ensuing challenges we now know about were unthinkable.

The Covid pandemic threw international commerce into chaos. Yet, Hurrell’s position — which was described as needing “courage” at the time of his appointment — has strengthened through the years of turbulence. Hurrell focused our flagship publicly-traded dairy cooperative on offloading equity interests, becoming leaner, and on the core business and emphasising its strong point — New Zealand milk.

“I feel proud of what our team has been able to achieve over the last few years,” Hurrell said recently, describing Fonterra as “where it needs to be”.

Deservedly then, Hurrell is today celebrated in the NZME’s Our Heroes 2022. He is a reminder of the kind of New Zealander we often talk about but do not always see — people who work through adversity and find a way to succeed. While many operations could be forgiven for maintaining a holding pattern in the face of indefinite and unprecedented difficulties, heroes see opportunities and grab them.

Speaking of adversity and opportunities, there are few shinier examples than the Black Ferns. Thumped on an end-of-year tour in 2021 by England and France, the turnaround to host the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2022 six months on must have seemed highly unlikely at best. But Ruby Tui leading celebrations at a soldout Eden Park with a joyous version of Tutira Mai Nga Iwi caps one of the greatest sporting achievements in New Zealand history. “People coming together,” goes the song, “that we should all be one; that there is unity in strength; and that there is also diversity within unity, which has to be cherished.”

In what have been a divisive few years, the Black Ferns drank from the well of support to help overcome the rest of the rugby world, and united the nation behind them. That’s why this year the Black Ferns are NZME’s f Our Heroes champions.

Resilience is a trait often admired in great New Zealanders of the past. Colin “Pinetree” Meads personified a stoic hardness but, also farming stock, Dames Jools and Lynda Topp present resilience with cackling delight and vivacity.

The twins wore their political views and sexuality front-and-centre during times when such matters were unpopular or simply not aired at all. Their true ability to “hang in there”, as they call it, has been demonstrated even more impressively in their health battles over more recent years.

Director and actor Taika Waititi continues to rock Hollywood with his brilliantly off-kilter New Zealandness; TV broadcaster Oriini Kaipara proudly beams into our living rooms in the evenings with her moko kauae; musical activist Rob Ruha is thrusting waiata Māori into the mainstream; and Rena Owen has gifted us with her portrayal of the much-missed Dame Whina Cooper.

But we all know that not all heroes are high-flying businessmen,

"Ruby Tui leading celebrations at a sold-out Eden Park with a joyous version of Tutira Mai Nga Iwi caps one of the greatest sporting achievements in New Zealand history."

sportswomen, or entertainers.

Mia Edmonds, Rosie Veldkamp and Ellie Oram each experienced horrific trauma at the hands of the same man. But the young women, who were sexually assaulted as high school students, refuse to be silenced. As sexual assault survivors, they were given automatic name suppression. However, the three waived this right in order to speak out. Would we, ourselves have such courage? Unless, God forbid, we were faced with such a challenge, we wouldn’t know. But we do know most others in this situation do not.

We have doctors Iryna Rybinkina and Jenny Beesley who flew into harm’s way to help out in Ukraine; The Bread Collective founder Ana Djokovic; surgical mesh survivor and advocate Sally Walker; feeder-of-theneedy Taka Peters; Make-It-16 campaigner Caeden Tipler; domestic violence fighter, the late Lesley Elliott; saver of four drowning people Shaun Ireton; and bulldozer-driver Hamish Pryde, who saved Wairoa from a devastating flood.

As well as being proud citizens of Aotearoa/New Zealand, when given a chance, Our Heroes scoop up the ball and dash with it.