Hon Tama Potaka
Associate Minister of Housing

Mahi has begun that will see dozens of affordable rental homes developed in Gisborne - a sign the Government’s partnership with Iwi is enabling more homes where they’re needed most, Associate Housing Tama Potaka says.

Mr Potaka attended a sod-turning ceremony to mark the start of earthworks for 48 new homes, ranging from one to four bedrooms, at the Te Mano o Hamo development in the Gisborne suburb of Kaiti today.

This development was made possible through a partnership between Te Rūnanganui o Ngāti Porou and Te Tūapapa Kura Kāinga - Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. Te Rūnanganui o Ngāti Porou is leading the development, working with the ICONIQ Group which will employ local tradespeople.

“Gisborne has suffered from housing underdevelopment and a lack of supply, coupled with damage from severe weather events. There were 487 households on the Housing Register in Gisborne in November 2024 - this equates to the third highest rate of households per 10,000 people throughout the country’s districts,” Mr Potaka says.

“This partnership will help address the housing shortage and is a great example of how the Government can work with Iwi to deliver real results for whānau.”

The project in Kaiti is one of 12 projects supported by Government grant funding of $82 million to enable 198 affordable rentals through the Ministry’s most recent Māori Housing announcement in November. Projects are located within the priority locations of Northland, East Coast, Hawkes Bay, Taranaki-Central North Island, Bay of Plenty including Rotorua and Waikato. Three of the projects are in Nelson, Taumarunui and Masterton.

The grant funding for the Kaiti development is approximately $16.6 million. The homes are scheduled for completion by August 2026. All 48 homes will be affordable rentals where rent is capped at 80 percent of the market rent in a particular location.

“The Government is deeply committed to making housing more affordable for all New Zealanders together with addressing the housing challenges faced by whānau Māori. This development is just one part of the overall picture of how we are trying to increase the availability of affordable housing,” Mr Potaka says.

“Developments like this also support the Government’s continued good progress to achieve the target of reducing those in emergency housing by 75 percent by 2030.”

© Scoop Media