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A Tauranga housing advocate says the Government needs to ring fence for Māori some of the money it allocates for housing programmes.
Through Ngā Pōtiki a Tamapahore Trust, Victoria Kingi has built more than 150 homes over the past decade on Māori land, treaty settlement land and in larger community housing partnerships.
It is one of three Māori groups picked to pilot the new progressive housing model.
She welcomed this week’s announcement of more support for first home buyers, but says the Government undermines programmes by not thinking about what Māori need to participate.
"In the particular context with Kainga Ora, the legislation required that the opportunity for partnership with housing developments etc be provided for. You can't provide for that if you don't have funding so the corollary is an expectation if that's what's required under the Act, there should be pūtea to support that," Ms Kingi says.
Programmes like those announced this week work on a first up, best dressed model, and for a number of reasons including the complexity of developing Māori land, it often takes Māori longer until they are ready to access such funding.
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