News from New Zealand: Our colleagues Ali Memon and Mike Gunder have received significant awards at the New Zealand Planning Institute's recent annual conference.

Prof Ali Memon (Lincoln University) was awarded the New Zealand Planning Institute’s premier award at its conference in Wellington last week. This is only the third time in twenty years the Gold medal has been awarded. In acknowledging Ali’s “outstanding service to the profession”  and summarising his “exceptionally meritorious contribution to the theory and practice of planning through his research and many publications, more than 100, over a sustained period of over thirty years” the citation concludes: "Ali received the Institute’s Distinguished Service Award in 1994, but has not rested, and the Gold Medal Award acknowledges his exceptional sustained outstanding contribution to the profession through service, theory and practice."

Prof Mike Gunder (Auckland University) has been appointed as a Fellow of the NZPI (there are only ten other fellows). The citation summarises Mike’s “very distinguished practical and academic planning career spanning more than 30 years”, noting “In many respects Michael’s academic career and his contribution to the education and training of our planning students is without peer” and concludes ”Michael thoroughly deserves a Fellow appointment in this Institute in recognition of his conspicuous service to the profession and to the education of our future planners”

Lincoln University also received an “Award of Merit” for the Lincoln Planning Review. The Award of Merit recognises: A meritorious contribution to the theory or practice of planning; or Meritorious service to the profession. In this case as the citation concludes "NZPI recognises the Lincoln Planning Review as a medium for experiential learning that links undergraduates at Lincoln to the wider planning profession, and constitutes a very innovative and meritorious contribution to improving the teaching and practice of planning"