July 04, 2024
Bennett picked for Kāinga Ora board reset
![Watermark](/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/logo-4.png)
![](https://waateanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/mntBLOCKSTORAGEhomemasternews_importersrcarihiabennett.jpg_1_Pub.jpg)
Former Te Runanga o Ngāi Tahu chief executive Arihia Bennett has been appointed as one of six new directors of the board of Kāinga Ora.
Housing Minister Chris Bishop also issued a new letter of expectations demanding better financial performance from the state housing provider, which has a portfolio of 70,000 homes worth $45 billion.
A board refresh was one of the recommendations of the independent review into Kāinga Ora led by Sir Bill English, which claimed the organisation was underperforming and there had not been a clear separation between the board’s governance role and operational management.
That report was contested by the former board, which included former Aotearoa Fisheries chair Robin Hapi.
Mr Bishop has asked the new board to focus on Kāinga Ora’s financial stability by delivering a credible turnaround plan to eliminate losses to Ministers by November this year.
Ms Bennett headed the runanga for almost 12 years before stepping down this year.
She has also been a director and chair of Ngai Tahu Development Corporation and served on the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Commission.
The other new members joining new chair Simon Moutter, who was appointed in May, are Jenn Bestwick, Alan Dent, Peter Jeffries, Fiona Mules and Ceinwen McNeil, the president of the New Zealand Association of Consulting and Engineering, who was on the English review panel.