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March 11, 2022
Co-opting locals helps Tāmaki Regeneration image
Peter Verschaffelt
Posted On March 11, 2022
Download AudioThe head of Tāmaki Regeneration says a controversial plan to renew state housing in East Auckland is succeeding after the concerns of protesters were heeded.
The initial removal of houses from Glen Innes, Panmure and Pt England sparked rowdy protests, but Shelly Katae says some of those protesters now sit on the board to her organisation, which is a joint venture between the government and Auckland Council.
Mana whenua are also involved at the table and as construction partners.
“A lot of our frontline team are locals that live in our state homes, that are predominantly Māori and Pacific Island so it’s a different place to be than it was 8 years ago and it’s the right place to be so I feel really proud of that journey even though there were a lot of skinned knees along the way as we learnt to do things the right way,” Ms Katae says.
She says more than 300 mainly Māori whānau from the area have been rehoused in modern, healthy homes, and work is going full steam ahead to build 10,000 more homes over the next 20 years while retaining the area’s cultural identity.
She says the houses are bigger and use land more efficiently.
Some of the state tenants, half of whom are Māori, are being helped to buy homes through shared ownership schemes.
Ms Katae says the remaining state houses in the area should also all be brought up to healthy homes standard by next year, and she’s already hearing from whānau who say they can now get through a winter without getting sick.
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