Housing project a first for NZ

Monday, 15 May 2023

Central Pacific Collective chief executive Fa'amatuainu Tino Pereira says the Our Whare Our Fale project is a first in New Zealand.

A project between Porirua’s Pasifika community and mana whenua – a first in Aotearoa – aims to build up to 300 affordable, multigenerational homes in the city’s eastern suburbs over the next decade.

The Our Whare Our Fale initiative is spearheaded by the Central Pacific Collective. The houses will be built at Esk Place – a site in Cannons Creek within the boundaries of Castor Cres and Matahourua Cres, where 55 old state houses are being replaced as part of the Government’s $1.5 billion Porirua Development project.

Central Pacific Collective chief executive Fa’amatuainu Tino Pereira said Our Whare Our Fale was unique.

“It is the biggest for any Pacific project in the history of this country.

Porirua’s Pasifika community and mana whenua are teaming up to build affordable homes at Esk Place in Cannons Creek.

“It is not an idea from Kāinga Ora. It is a project that was community-based and led by a community organisation.”

Local iwi Ngāti Toa Rangatira, which has first right of refusal over the land blocks, backed the initiative by making more than 300 sections available.

Houses built by Our Whare Our Fale will be designed for typical Pacific multigenerational families.

A recent Statistics New Zealand report on housing in Aotearoa found living in large houses can improve wellbeing in Pacific families and prevent loneliness.

But Census data from 2018 shows only one-in-three Pasifika people in New Zealand own their own home. More half live in homes with at least one housing problem, like cold, mould or dampness, compared with to 32% of the total population. Almost 40% are living in a dwelling without enough bedrooms for the people living there.

“Our communities have been living for generations under poor housing. The fact that nothing has been done about it [is] what we’re trying to address or begin to address,” Pereira said.

“We have Pacific people in emergency housing, social housing … now we are moving towards home ownership. The project is part of driving wellbeing outcomes … about improving health, education. It’s about building communities for one of the poorest populations in the country.”

The houses the initiative planned to build would be large and purpose-built for intergeneration Pacific families instead of “Kāinga Ora-type boxes”, he said.

The initiative has already received $500,000 from last year’s Budget and is working on a business case to secure more government funding.

A board of six trustees called the Pasefika Housing Trust Board was appointed in April to oversee the project. It is chaired by Wellington City Missioner Murray Edridge and includes Ngāti Toa chief executive Helmut Modlik, plus experts in health, finance, and urban design.