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A vacant block of land in Kaiti, once the site of community gatherings and whānau events, is being transformed into a beacon of hope for Gisborne’s housing crisis.
Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka attended an early-morning ground-breaking ceremony held by Te Rūnanganui o Ngāti Porou (TRONPnui) at 28 Tyndall Rd on Thursday where 48 homes will be built next to the runanganui’s iwi headquarters Te Tini o Porou.
The development, called Te Mano o Hamo, is a partnership between Te Rūnanganui o Ngāti Porou and Te Tūapapa Kura Kāinga – the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.
Te Rūnanganui o Ngāti Porou is leading the development, working with the ICONIQ Group, which will employ local tradespeople.
The development will include eight kaumātua flats, 16 duplexes, 12 two-level apartments and 12 three-level apartments.
Grant funding for the Kaiti development is about $16.6 million and the homes are scheduled for completion by August 2026.
All 48 homes will be affordable rentals where rent is capped at 80% of the market rent in a particular location.
“The development reflects our commitment to addressing the pressing housing challenges faced by our whānau, providing a pathway to stability, wellbeing and home ownership,” TRONPnui and Ngāti Porou Oranga chief executive George Reedy said.
The intent behind the name Te Mano o Hamo was to represent the founding Ngāti Porou tipuna Hamoterangi, pairing with the neighbouring Te Tini o Porou which represents the other founding Ngāti Porou tipuna Porourangai.
“This is an opportunity for whānau to get warm, safe, dry and affordable homes for our mokopuna and whānau,” Reedy said.
The whenua has been vacant and used as a space for Ngāti Porou whānau day events and other kaupapa, but will now be used for affordable housing.
“It was a pretty easy decision on what to use it for. You just need to see what is desperately needed in Gisborne, and it’s housing,” Reedy said.
“This is an opportunity for creating whare with affordable rents, which will be capped at 80% of market rate, which will give people the opportunity to get back on their feet.”
Being situated next to Te Tini o Porou, means those who live there will have easy access to wraparound support and services from Ngāti Porou Oranga, as well as connecting to their Ngāti Poroutanga (identity) and taking part in iwi kaupapa.
Reedy said a long-term goal was for the whānau living in the rentals to be able to save and ultimately get on to the homeownership ladder.
Potaka said Gisborne had suffered from housing underdevelopment and a lack of supply, further impacted by severe weather events.
“There were 487 households on the Housing Register [applicants for public housing] in Gisborne in November 2024. This equates to the third highest rate of households per 10,000 people throughout the country’s districts,” Potaka said.
“This partnership will help address the housing shortage and is a great example of how the Government can work with iwi to deliver real results for whānau.”
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Te Mano o Hamo is one of 12 projects supported by government grant funding of $82 million to enable 198 affordable rentals in New Zealand through the ministry’s most recent Māori housing announcement in November.
The East Coast is identified as one of “the priority locations”.
“The Government is deeply committed to making housing more affordable for all New Zealanders together with addressing the housing challenges faced by whānau Māori,” Potaka said. “This development is just one part of the overall picture of how we are trying to increase the availability of affordable housing.
“Developments like this also support the Government’s continued good progress to achieve the target of reducing those in emergency housing by 75% by 2030.”
Matai O’Connor, Ngāti Porou, has been a journalist for five years and Kaupapa Māori reporter at the Gisborne Herald for two years.
