Tenants out, tourists in as Paihia’s Kings Rd emergency housing closes down

The Tau-Whiu family worry what the future holds when they have to leave their emergency housing in Paihia’s Kings Rd. From left, Destiny Tau-Whiu, Kodee Tau-Whiu, 15, John Hohepa, Rob Whiu, Raquaan Tau-Whiu, 13, and Cori Tau-Whiu, 16, with Wyntah Tau-Whiu, 12, at front. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Yesterday marked the end of an era in Paihia’s Kings Rd, with the last families expected to move out of emergency accommodation at a sometimes-controversial backpackers lodge. But as tourists return, what will become of the families? How did they end up homeless and where will they go now? Reporter Peter de Graaf finds out.

After years of Covid restrictions and closed borders, Paihia is sprucing itself up and getting ready for the return of backpackers.

That’s cause for celebration in a town heavily dependent on tourism but the downside — for the people who’ve called Kings Rd home for the past few years anyway — is that some of Northland’s most vulnerable families could once again be left homeless.

During the pandemic, many of the hostels that line Paihia’s backpacker strip switched to offering emergency accommodation rather than staying empty and going broke.

It was a controversial move and blamed by many locals — unfairly, residents say — for a surge in crime.

Now, however, they have to pack up their meagre possessions and join the long waiting list for social housing or put themselves back at the mercy of New Zealand’s dysfunctional rental market.

They include the Tau-Whiu family who have lived at Bay Adventurer for the past 11 months.

Mum and dad and four kids aged 12-16 share a one-bedroom hostel unit but, despite the cramped quarters, father Rob Whiu said they were stoked to get it.

Adult daughter Destiny Tau-Whiu, who juggles two jobs at nearby motels, lives in another unit with her partner and three-year-old twins.

They’re among the last families to leave.

Their three-month notice period ended on Monday. The hostel’s owners want to get on with renovations so they can welcome tourists back in summer.

When the Advocate visited on Tuesday the family were still hanging on, saying they were struggling to find a rental or get help from government agencies.

Rob said he had worked as a floor sander for decades until his boss fell ill and closed the business.

About the same time, the family’s Kaikohe rental of 13 years was sold. With nowhere else to go, the family had to move in with Rob’s sister in Tautoro south of town.

That didn’t work out — “we clashed all the time” — so when Destiny found temporary accommodation at Bay Adventurer, Rob asked if there was space for the rest of the whānau.

“It’s a little one-bedroom flat but for us, it was home. We were rapt.”

Since then the older kids have landed jobs in Paihia hospitality outlets; the younger ones go to an alternative education provider a few doors down the road.

Rob said he wanted a stable place to live before he started looking for work again or enrolled the kids at school.

“It’s really hard with four kids. We try as hard as we can to steer them in the right direction.”

Destiny, 23, said she’d been to every real estate agent in town to ask about rentals.

“There’s heaps of houses here but we get turned down a lot, I don’t know why. Sometimes we get on the shortlist and we get our hopes up, but then they come back and say no. I’m super-worried, especially for my kids.”

Housing agencies were trying to push the family back to Kaikohe, she said.

“I don’t want to go back. There’s nothing there except community trauma. The kids are at Waitangi Kindy and they love it.”

Bay Adventurer was one of several backpacker hostels in Paihia converted to emergency housing during the pandemic. It is now being renovated for a return to tourism. Photo / Peter de Graaf

After three years at Bay Adventurer, Lydia Brown was one of the longest stayers.

She partitioned off her roughly 6m-by-4m room with curtains and furniture to create some privacy for herself and her nine-year-old son. She also shared the space with a dog and a cat.

Lydia said she had to find a new home after a relationship break-up.

“I tried everywhere, then this place came up. They were just turning it into emergency housing.”

Like the Tau-Whius, Lydia said she’d loved her time at the hostel with its sense of community, all the comings and goings, and the people she’d met.

She was aware many people blamed the street’s emergency accommodation for crime in the town, but most incidents were caused by outsiders bringing trouble, she said.

She acknowledged, however, the regular police call-outs for domestic violence.

“We are all at the lowest point of our lives. We have domestics. We’re all human.”

Lydia said she’d been looking for somewhere to live for the past five months. She was determined to stay in Paihia because her son was enjoying the local school.

“There’s so many houses out there empty because people want to rent them out as Airbnbs instead.”

However, Lydia got lucky on the day she was supposed to vacate her room when a “lovely lady” accepted her application for a small cottage in nearby Te Haumi.

She had hoped to move into her new home yesterday.

Also hopeful of moving out were the Tau-Whius. The family had an interview lined up at 9am yesterday for a home where they’d all be able to carry on living together.

That had not been confirmed when the Advocate went to press, however.

Kings Rd had a reputation for crime — much of it from outsiders targeting backpackers — long before the Covid pandemic. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Bay Adventurer is one of three Kings Rd establishments owned by the Great Adventure Tourism Company.

The firm also owns Peppertree Lodge, which has remained a tourist accommodation throughout the pandemic, and Pipi Patch, where rooms are rented out long term to local workers.

Bay Adventurer wasn’t the only hostel that switched to emergency accommodation, but it was the biggest and copped the most flak.

Manager Josh Crawford said the hostel would be renovated and rebranded with the aim of reopening as a family/backpacker lodge by Labour Weekend at the latest.

The last residents were due to move out yesterday.

They had been invited to take any bedding or furniture to help them get set up in their new homes.

Unlike, say, Rotorua’s Fenton St, Josh said Paihia had never had official, government-sanctioned emergency accommodation — which he believed was a mistake because it meant less help or funding was available to the residents.

He had been surprised by how limited MSD assistance was in Paihia, with iwi service providers often left to pick up the pieces.

He still had concerns for some of the residents who had moved out, especially those who had secured rentals on contracts of just three or six months.

That meant they could be back in the same position in a few months.

Criticism levelled at the hostel had been unfair, he said. There had been some high-profile incidents in the area but once arrests were made, the offenders were rarely traced back to Bay Adventurer.

People had also forgotten that Kings Rd was a hotspot long before Covid, he said.

Problems in the area had peaked around Christmas, but had calmed significantly since then.

He was optimistic the street would continue to improve as tourists returned, renovations were carried out, and Focus Paihia developed a family area on the beach nearby.

“Although it’s been very difficult over the last few years, we’ve actually been able to help a lot of people out,” he said.

“It’s easy for the public to dwell on the negative side of these operations, but they bring people indoors instead of having to live in a car or tent. Our team only hopes the best for them going forward.”

■ At publishing time yesterday the Tau-Whiu family were not yet assured of a place to live. Email peter.degraaf@nzme.co.nz in case their latest hopes are dashed and you can help them stay in the Paihia area.