November 22, 2020
New homes start of community-building
The first project to be completed under the Hastings Place-Based initiative was opened on Saturday by Maori Development Minister Willie Jackson.
The papakāinga in Waiōhiki includes four new three-bedroom homes which will be rented to whanau by Te Hiiri Whānau Trust, as well as a refurbished house that is being used for transitional housing.
The project was funded by Te Puni Kōkiri in partnership with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, with the trust also taking out a $700,000 loan.
Mr Jackson says the place-based approach is intended to ensure housing issues in hotspot regions are addressed more effectively.
He says the return of whānau to rural ancestral land not only builds and sustains communities but connects whānau to their history, marae, awa and maunga.
Trustee and project manager Laurie O’Reilly says the houses are just the start, and the next stage is the enhancement of peoples’ wairua, tinana, mauri.
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