Partnership bolsters bid for ‘critical’ iwi housing aspirations

A partnership with Kāinga Ora is strengthening iwi aspirations to provide much-needed housing at Aotearoa’s southern-most marae.

Te Rūnaka o Awarua, a Ngāi Tahu hapū based at Te Rau Aroha Marae in Motupōhue (Bluff), has set itself the goal of delivering more affordable housing for its community as home ownership rates slow and rent prices increase.

The number of Māori who call Motupōhue home has also grown in recent years to almost half the area’s 1,800-person population. Nationally, Māori make up 16.5%.

“We need to be able to provide for our people so that they can remain here in a place that is safe and warm and creates opportunities for our people,” says Corey Bragg, Project Manager at Te Rūnaka o Awarua.

Already, the marae operates as a hub for its community, with its main building used for community events and as a Civil Defence base during emergencies. The Rūnaka also runs an early childhood centre, Te Rourou Whakatipuranga o Awarua, and in 2022 opened six kaumātua units.

Recently, the Invercargill City Council made a decision to review its land holdings, including a block directly next to the marae. The Rūnaka saw this as an opportunity to explore its aspirations further, but lacked the technical expertise to develop a proposal for acquiring the land.

A block of land next to Te Rau Aroha Marae in Bluff could become much-needed housing for the community.

However, through existing relationships built with Te Kurutao, the Māori Operations Group at Kāinga Ora, the Rūnaka was able to access the support it needed.

“Te Kurutao have taken a lot of time to build good, trusting relationships with local Māori,” says Paki Maaka, Kāinga Ora Principal Urban Designer.

“So our role now is to look at the potential for what that acquisition of land – and eventually what that development – would offer back, not just to Māori but to the whole community.”

While it will not fund the acquisition of the whenua, Kāinga Ora has an important role in supporting Māori aspirations, helping to build capability and supporting whānau wellbeing.

Kāinga Ora urban planning, design, construction and infrastructure experts have partnered with the Rūnaka to explore its housing aspirations.

For Awarua, that meant working with Kāinga Ora town planners, civil engineering and construction experts, urban designers and landscape architects to develop a proposal to present to Council.

“It's all about bringing those experts together to get a bit of an idea of the types of plans we could put together to develop that site for housing,” says Kahurangi Tapsell, a town planner and Principal Advisor – Te Kurutao at Kāinga Ora.

“So the key urgency for now is to get something in place, so that we can complete a proposal to go to council to try and get ownership of the land for the Rūnaka.”

Work to develop the proposal is advancing, and Te Rūnaka o Awarua Executive Member Pania Coote says she has been “overwhelmed” by the support and expertise provided by Kāinga Ora.

“Kāinga Ora have provided a huge amount of resource to support the development … or even putting our vision on paper so that we can actually go out and explore funding opportunities,” she says.

For Corey, the partnership with Kāinga Ora has meant more than support and access to resources.

“Most importantly, they've helped us to pull together and work through our vision, work through our aspirations around housing,” he says.

“That gives us that next step up in just making sure that we head in the right direction.”