Denis Dutton was a thought-provoking, good-humoured and inspirational critical thinker. Denis was a founder-member of the NZ Skeptics, a philosophy lecturer at Canterbury University and founder-editor of the highly regarded Arts & Letters Daily website.
He influenced and informed the thinking of people throughout New Zealand and worldwide.
The NZ Skeptics honour his example and his passion for critical thought with the Denis Dutton Award for New Zealand Skeptic of the Year. The award is given to the skeptic who has had the most impact within New Zealand skepticism. The award comes with a year’s free membership to the NZ Skeptics and $250 prize money.
2024 | Anke Richter | for shining a light on the murky world of cults, ensuring that New Zealanders are better informed and less likely to be sucked in by a guru, and that better support is available for those who are trying to leave. |
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2023 | Kelvin Morgan | for being a great source of NZ-based skeptical content on Twitter, and regularly providing quality content documenting some of the worst parts of conspiracy beliefs in New Zealand, gleaned from a variety of sources. |
2022 | David Farrier | for uncovering, highlighting and successfully unseating the leadership of Arise church and charismatic megachurch leaders. |
2021 | FACT Aotearoa | for being quick to jump on misinformation being promoted online and in public. A few of their prominent wins include contacting venues to shut down in-person anti-vaxxer events, and initiating a complaint to NZ’s Law Society about anti-vax lawyer Sue Grey. |
2018 | Jessica Macfarlane | for her tireless efforts as editor of the NZ Skeptics quarterly journal |
2017 | Helen Petousis-Harris and Lance O’Sullivan | for their courageous and highly visible contributions to the promotion of immunisation and vaccination in New Zealand. |
2016 | Siouxsie Wiles | for her continued efforts to bring skepticism to the media. This year alone she’s taken on MPs, anti-vaxxers and Mike Hosking, tackled topics such as e-cigarettes and the zika virus, and appeared in her regular radio slot “Skeptical Thoughts” with Graeme Hill on RadioLive. |
2015 | Daniel Ryan | for his work as President of Making Sense Fluoride, including giving a presentation to Hutt City Council – as well as his efforts helping to run the Society for Science Based Healthcare, NZ Skeptics and the Skeptical Activism group in Wellington (with an impressive 17 successful ASA complaints to his name). |
2014 | Mark Hanna | for tirelessly battling pseudoscience via the ASA, MedSafe and many other means, and for creating the Society for Science Based Healthcare. |