Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern meeting with Marie Tuu and Matua Fred Mitai, front right, both tenants of the new public homes in Hastings. Photo / Warren Buckland
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern meeting with Marie Tuu and Matua Fred Mitai, front right, both tenants of the new public homes in Hastings. Photo / Warren Buckland
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the Government is playing catch up with public housing as 40 new Kāinga Ora homes were unveiled in Hastings.
In today's visit to Hawke's Bay, the Prime Minister attended the opening of the homes around Kauri St and Kauri Pl and enjoyed tea with someof the tenants.
She said she wanted whānau in emergency housing and on housing waiting lists for years to know that the Government was building as fast as it could.
She said 10 per cent of the entire country's public housing supply had been built by the Labour Government in the past few years alone.
"The pity is, had we been building at the rate we are building at now under the last government, we could have cleared that waiting list," Ardern said.
"We are playing catch up but at a significant wait."
She said her Government had built more than 10,000 public houses nationwide and more than 4000 are under construction.
"We've quadrupled transitional housing and we've made sure we continue with things like the emergency housing grants to make sure people are in shelter," Ardern said.
Some of the 40 new public homes in a Kāinga Ora development around Kauri St and Kauri Pl in Hastings, which officially opened on Thursday. Photo / Warren Buckland
She said another 600 houses were under way in Hawke's Bay alone.
"We have had a major build programme in city centres like Auckland, but what we've needed is to ensure that we are building at pace across the country and that's what we see."
She said the Government was working with communities to identify the nature of the housing need and meeting that need.
She said 40 new public houses in Hastings meant 35 individuals leave the waiting list and housing for more who were in unsuitable homes.
"To hear the stories of some of those today, some out of hotels, others out of overcrowding, it is exactly what we need," Ardern said.
She said the Government was focused on increasing the stock of public housing and transitional housing, but they also wanted to ensure the housing market itself continued to produce enough supply.
The Prime Minister said demand for housing had outstripped supply, contributing to more people joining the wait list for public housing.
She said part of the solution to the unmet demand for housing was to keep training apprentices.
"Some of what constrains building is whether or not you've got enough apprentices."
She said the Government has focused on training people, making apprenticeships free and supporting employers with incentives.
Bruce McTaggart, PM Jacinda Ardern and Sir Graeme Avery, unveiling a plaque at the official opening of the Hawke's Bay Regional Aquatic Centre on Thursday. Photo / Warren Buckland
Ardern also attended yesterday's official opening of the Hawke's Bay Regional Aquatic Centre, which will open to the public on September 1.
She said it was great to see a project on the scale of the centre, which the Government had invested in during the Covid pandemic, finish within 20 months.
"Being able to have here in this region not just an Olympic-level facility, but an international, world championship level facility, one that is accessible and would be able to be used by our para athletes as well, is an exciting prospect."
She said the facilities would not only be for training or recreation, but also to help children learn to swim.
"We're a nation that loves to be in the water, we've got to make learning to swim as easy and accessible as possible, because that is what is going to keep our kids and our young people and, let's be honest, our adults safer later in life."
