December 05, 2022
Tairawhiti takes charge of housing future
The head of an East Coast iwi housing partnership says iwi need to embrace innovation if they are to meet the needs of their people.
Toitū Tairāwhiti last week hosted a wananga at Gisborne’s Te Poho Rawiri Marae of iwi involved in housing.
Annette Wehi says catching up on housing requires partnerships with the crown and with local authorities, as well as with financial agencies and established firms in the sector.
In response to problems with supply last year because of Covid lockdowns, Toitū Tairāwhiti worked with its Huntly-based prefabricated housing supplier BuiltSmart to set up a construction facilty in Gisborne, Te Whare o Hineakua.
“We opened on October 28 and now we have six bays where at full production we will produce 24 houses at a time. Tht brings the economic development back here to Tairawhiti. We get the employment here, we upskill our own people in terms of apprenticeships and trades training and our people get homes which are more affordable, much faster,” Ms Wehi says.
Toitū Tairāwhiti has also arranged a special session of the Maori Land Court to speed up the formation of ahuwhenua trusts needed for papakainga housing projects.