Family of seven settled in Kauri Place, Hastings

We were one of the first families to move into Kauri Place and we are feeling really settled here, says Marie. “I was so excited when we got the call to come and have a look at this brand new home for our family. It was a dream come true.”

“Even though the motel owners were good to us, living in the motel was very hard. I had lost all hope. Our life was on hold and I was so worried for my children. Everyone living in the motel was stressed and there was lots of swearing and sometimes fighting.”

Petelo and Marie moved from Samoa to New Zealand in 2016. “We moved in with my sister. When she moved to Australia we stayed in the house. Our baby was seven months old when we got the call from the landlord saying they wanted to sell the house. We had nowhere to go. A friend let the seven of us stay with them for a week; in one room! Then we were offered rooms in the motel. While we were grateful for this, I never thought we would still be there two years and eight months later.”

“The motel rooms were so very small. My husband and I slept with our two boys in the living room. There was nowhere to put clothes for seven people and we could only ever have two people in the kitchen at once. Education is very important to us. In the motel the children had to do their homework on the beds.”

“We spent the COVID lockdowns in the motel. I know lockdown was hard for everyone but being in three small motel rooms with seven people was impossible. Our baby was still small and we had four other energetic kids wanting to be outside running around and they couldn’t.”

“Even after lockdown finished we were still restricted. We couldn’t have any visitors. If the children wanted to meet friends it had to be out on the road side.”

The family is exactly why Kāinga Ora is focused on building warm, safe dry homes as quickly as possible, says Kāinga Ora East North Island Regional Director Naomi Whitewood (Ngāti Porou, Ngāpuhi).

“We need to get people out of motels, cars, garages and other unsuitable living spaces so that they can get on with their lives.”

Hastings is recognised as an area of severe housing deprivation, with 804 applicants on the Housing Register as of 31 March 2022.

Since September 2020 Kāinga Ora has delivered 188 new public homes and 28 extra transitional homes in Hastings. As at 30 June 2022, 133 homes are in progress (in procurement, contracted or in construction) and contracts are in place to purchase 34 homes from developers once construction is completed.

Forty of those new homes are in Kauri Street and Kauri Place, Mahora. The development is the largest delivery from Kāinga Ora under the Hastings Place Based housing plan. It is also one of the largest completed projects by Kāinga Ora outside of New Zealand’s main centres.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister of Housing and Urban Design Megan Woods visited the development on Thursday 11 August to see the new homes and talk to residents. The homes are a mix of single story, two-storey and duplex homes. They were designed in collaboration with iwi and Hastings District Council using a place-based approach.

For Marie her new home has made such a difference to her family’s lives. “I have put pictures up on the walls and decorated the home to make it our own. I enjoy keeping the house clean and tidy.”

“It is so lovely. There is space for the whole family and we are happy. It is filled with light and is nice and warm. The kitchen is large and we have a table big enough for us all to sit around and have dinner together. Three of the children go to St Mary’s School and it is very close.”“

“Hastings is our home and we are now talking about the future. Our long term aim is to buy our own home but for now we are so happy to be here. With my husband working, I need to be around to look after the kids in the day and help with their homework. Soon I would like to get a job working night shifts so I can contribute to the household. I couldn’t even think about doing this in the motel.”