July 13, 2014
New unit to oversee Maori housing
The Government will set up a national Maori housing unit within the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment to co-ordinate strategic Maori housing policy across government.
Associate Housing Minister Tariana Turia says the Government wants to see more Maori organisations involved in building houses, managing rental tenancies, providing affordable rentals and developing home ownership programmes.
The new unit will support the implementation of the new Maori housing strategy He Whare Ahuru He Oranga Tangata.
It will be helped by a reference group of Maori business and housing practitioners.
Mrs Turia says she is also bringing housing within the Whanau Ora framework by giving the North Island commissioning agency, Te Pou Matakana, the responsibility for administering the Maori Housing Fund and Kainga Whenua infrastructure grants.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services have identified housing costs as a major contributor to income inequality.
Policy advisor Paul Barber says half of all the people receiving the accommodation supplement are spending more than 50 percent of their income on rent or mortgage finance costs.
He says Maori and Pacific communities are more affected than others, and the present programme of housing reform isn’t making the promised difference for the most vulnerable.
People are being driven into homelessness because of the lack of affordable rental housing, andpeople’s health is being damaged by health is damaged by living in poor quality, over-crowded houses.
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