Papaioea Pl social housing tenant Helen Williams shares a laugh with Labour list MP Tāmati Coffey. Photo / Judith Lacy
Papaioea Pl social housing tenant Helen Williams shares a laugh with Labour list MP Tāmati Coffey. Photo / Judith Lacy
It's not every day you have four Labour MPs standing in your lounge, checking out your bathroom, having a peek at your bedroom and admiring your ornament-studded garden.
Last Friday, Papaioea Pl social housing resident Helen Williams was prepared with a red top on under her cardigan – a choice of clothing she was particularly keen for Labour list MP Tāmati Coffey to notice.
Accompanying Coffey, who needed no introduction to Williams, were three other members of the Government Local Government Caucus Committee – Palmerston North MP Tangi Utikere, Whanganui MP Steph Lewis and Nelson MP Rachel Boyack.
The Papaioea Pl site used to have 48 council houses and when completed, there will be 85 units. Stage one created 50 new units and stage 2a another 18. Those units were opened by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in July - the Government contributed $4.6 million for the development as part of its shovel-ready programme following Covid-19.
Stage 2b with a further 10 units is expected to be completed in October. The third and final stage will add seven units and a tenants' lounge, with construction starting in November.
Williams was a resident in the old units. While at 65 square metres they were larger, she is happy in her new "lovely and warm" 50sq m, double-glazed and well insulated home.
"We are very lucky to have this."
Papaioea Pl is close to the hospital, shops and the Rose & Crown pub. She doesn't hear the traffic from the busy Ruahine and Featherston streets - and not even the rescue helicopter coming and going from its base next to the hospital.
The thermostat-controlled heater hasn't clicked in much during the winter. "It really is warm, there's no heating on at the moment."
Her power bill in the colder months is $80 a month and in summer it's $50.
"I think the council has done damn well. A few more councils need to take it up."
Williams can't wait for the tenants' lounge to be built and is keen for it to have a pool table. She would like an outside storage shed for her brooms and buckets.
City council chief customer officer Chris Dyhrberg outlined to the MPs the progress made with the units. Demolition of the old units started in 2017, with the first new units ready in March 2019.
"We are really proud of these units, they are built to a high standard."
The kitchen, dining room and lounge are in one, there's a wet-area shower, a laundry cupboard and gardens.
The rent is set at 25 per cent of a tenant's income, so it is $84 for those receiving the supported living payment and $109 a week for those on NZ Super.
"The feedback has been absolutely fantastic, they love it here," Dyhrberg said.
The council has 10 social housing locations with more than 400 homes.
Papaioea Pl social housing tenant Ian Crellen with Labour MPs Rachel Boyack (left), Steph Lewis, Tangi Utikere and Tāmati Coffey. Photo / Judith Lacy
Boyack grew up in Palmerston North, attending Girls' High School, and after the visit was off to see her mother, well-known Palmy musician Jenny Boyack.
In her maiden speech in February, Rachel said Jenny was her hero.
"In the early 1990s, we were a sole-parent family. Financially, it was a scary time. Mum made many sacrifices to give our family the opportunities that every Kiwi kid deserves: to learn, play, thrive, and participate fully in our communities. I don't know how she balanced the budget to ensure we all had music lessons or how she juggled five different sports games every Saturday, but she did it."
