ISSUE 34 | DECEMBER 2024
Message from our Chief Executive
Tēnā koutou,
Our housing delivery operating model change process continues at Kāinga Ora as we prepare to stand up our new Housing Delivery Group at the beginning of February. I recently announced Caroline McDowall has been appointed to the new General Manager role and there have been significant appointments made to the new Group.
The Housing Delivery Group stands up on 3 February and will be focussed on delivering the Kāinga Ora build and renewal programme. You will hear more from Caroline and her team in the new year.
Of course, with this change we also say goodbye to some of our people from the Construction and Innovation, Urban Planning and Design and Commercial Group teams. In particular, I acknowledge and thank Patrick Dougherty, General Manager Construction & Innovation, and Hayley Fitchett, Acting General Manager Urban Planning and Design, who have now both left the agency. I thank everyone for the enormous contributions they have made to delivering housing for Aotearoa and wish them all the best for the future.
Late last month we also provided the Government our proposed reset plan outlining how Kāinga Ora intends to enhance our performance and deliver on our core objectives effectively. This plan is with the Government for consideration, and we await feedback.
In the meantime, we remain focussed on our current social housing projects and the work we have planned for the coming years. By 30 June 2026 we will deliver 2,650 new social homes throughout the country and renew a further 3,000 homes as we update our housing portfolio. We will have a keen focus on making sure we have the right homes in the right locations and our homes are suitable for the people that need them.
While we will continue to significantly renovate homes, in some cases our renewals will mean demolishing or selling older homes that are no longer fit-for-purpose and replacing them with newly built homes, where they are needed. Read more about our approach to delivering social housing on our website.
In our last issue of Development and Construction Matters for 2024, we look back on the great progress of our large-scale urban development projects and share news about how we are working to gain even more efficiency as we plan and design these extensive projects.
We look forward to continuing to deliver our mahi with the important support of our partners and suppliers in 2025. From all of us at Kāinga Ora, we wish you and your whānau a peaceful festive season and a very happy new year.
Ngā mihi maioha,
Matt Crockett
Chief Executive, Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities
Major Infrastructure Upgrades Completed at Wellington’s Largest Residential Site
Kāinga Ora, in partnership with Te Aranga Alliance and Ngāti Toa Rangatira, has completed significant civil and infrastructure work at Wellington’s largest residential site, the Esk site in Te Rā Nui Porirua Development.
Works included replacing outdated pipes, upgrading stormwater systems, and constructing wetlands to reduce flooding and improve water quality in Cannons Creek Park.
The completed works have enabled more than 100 new warm, dry homes, many of which will be affordable homes for the Pasific community, to be delivered through a partnership between the Central Pacific Collective and Ngāti Toa Rangatira.
New Pilot to Accelerate Complex Urban Development Projects
In November, Kainga Ora kicked off an initiative to drive down costs and achieve efficiencies for the delivery of urban development projects. Working collaboratively with organisations and agencies this programme has the potential to achieve results benefitting the industry throughout Aotearoa.
After conducting baseline research to better understand why urban development in New Zealand has historically been inefficient and expensive, we designed and have now launched a pilot aimed at tackling identified issues. The pilot will start with a focus on the neighbourhood planning phase, covering the agreement of a precinct business case through to the delivery all design drawings, documentation and necessary agreements to enable a smooth and efficient detailed design and consenting process.
Early design work indicates the initiative could reduce the neighbourhood planning timeframe from three years down to 23 weeks. We are excited to be working closely with our partners to shorten timeframes and reduce costs while delivering thriving neighbourhoods.
Need to know:
Check out our Annual Report for the 2023/24 financial year for an overview of the financial and organisational performance of Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities.
A quick reminder about the Kāinga Ora gift policy – as public servants our people need to maintain the highest standards of integrity so may respectfully decline any gifts, gratuities or hospitality from our partners and suppliers.
Meri Kirihimete from Kāinga Ora - Homes and Communities
