Paul Majurey: Eke Panuku supports housing choice

Paul Majurey, Eke Panuku board chairman. Photo / Supplied

OPINION:

John Tamihere's opinion piece in yesterday's Herald, on his long-running dispute with Eke Panuku that has led to next week's Human Rights Review Tribunal hearing, requires a response.

From next week Auckland Council and Eke Panuku Development Auckland will appear at the Tribunal to give our side of the story, after attempts to bring this matter to a conclusion outside of an expensive formal process.

The proceedings allege that we had set a social housing cap on all our development sites everywhere, and that this was discriminatory. The hearing focuses on a "cap" on social housing for a specific development site in Old Papatoetoe, called Tavern Lane, and the Eke Panuku "Guidance on Housing Mix for Precincts and Eke Panuku Sites", which has since been withdrawn.

Tamihere continues to reference guidance that are no longer in place. We both agree that communities need a range of residential choices. This is not to be achieved through imposing a rigid cap across all our developments – Eke Panuku has never held such a policy, nor operated that way in practice.

We stand by our position that the essential outcomes it set for that site in its negotiations with Ngai Tai Waipareira Housing Ltd were an appropriate approach to that site in that location at that time.

Eke Panuku is not a social housing provider, it is an urban regeneration agency. Part of our role is to enable the development of thriving communities by supporting access to homes across the full housing spectrum: from social through to affordable and market options. We are committed to facilitating a range of residential choices and aspire to promote an appropriate housing mix in our locations. You can see the results of our work in places like Avondale and Manukau where our agreements are enabling lots of different new homes.

Paul Majurey, Eke Panuku board chairman. Photo / Supplied

Eke Panuku remains committed to promoting an appropriate housing mix in our development locations so that we can support successful urban regeneration across Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

Eke Panuku actively worked to settle this matter and limit the impact on ratepayers. Our offers have not been accepted. Instead, substantial legal fees have needed to be spent to defend these proceedings that have been brought against us.

The funds could be better spent on forward looking social and community projects and that the time and energy of all parties involved could be put to better use.

We look forward to the time after the proceedings, where our staff can get back to their day jobs to support Auckland's growth, revitalise town centres and continue to enable new houses with our best practice approaches.