Kaumatua from Ngāti Toa Rangatira yesterday blessed 12 new social homes in western Porirua built by its community housing subsidiary Te Āhuru Mōwai.
The company was established in 2020 to take over Kainga Ora’s housing portfolio from Tawa to Paekakariki, excluding Porirua East.
It has plans to build upwards of 2500 more homes over the next 50 years.
Chief executive James Te Puni says long term it aims to offer rent-to-own options, but for now, the priority is housing security.
“Our whānau have a human right on our own whenua, to be able to get up each morning and say ‘My home is my home’. There’s no danger that myself or my children or my mokos are going to, you know, get a note that says, hey, you need to, you need to make a move,” he says.
Housing Minister Chris Bishop says the 12 units replace four previous homes, and is everything the government wants to see in new housing developments.
