Government making homelessness in Rotorua worse, says Waiariki MP Rawiri Waititi

Waiariki MP Rawiri Waititi claims the Government has put Rotorua on a “fast track” to greater homelessness by texting “one of their rich mates” to write a damning report on Kāinga Ora based on what he believes is “dodgy evidence”.

Housing Minister Chris Bishop has responded, saying the Te Pāti Māori co-leader is wrong and the independent review backed up concerns about the housing agency’s performance, while Rotorua MP Todd McClay says the Government needed to review Kāinga Ora’s spending and decision-making.

Waititi said if the Government was serious about reducing homelessness, it should commit to building more homes, not fewer.

His comments came after Kāinga Ora confirmed to the Rotorua Daily Post this week it was reassessing 110 planned home builds.

Some of Rotorua's Kāinga Ora developments (clockwise from top left): 99 Fairy Springs Rd, 87 to 89 Fairy Springs Rd, 261 Clayton Rd and 9 Mansfield Place. It is unclear which projects are under assessment. Photo / Andrew Warner

Kāinga Ora Bay of Plenty acting regional director Karen Healey said latest indications for Rotorua were that 217 homes would be delivered by the end of next June, and another 90 homes were contracted to be delivered by the following June for a total of 307 confirmed on the way.

Healey said 110 homes previously planned for the city were now being “reassessed” but it did not necessarily mean those homes would be scrapped.

She said Kāinga Ora was committed to meeting housing targets for the “priority” area.

The Government has made several changes at Kāinga Ora and signalled more would be on the way after May’s highly critical review led by former National Party leader Sir Bill English.

The review concluded the agency was underperforming and not financially viable. The agency pushed back, saying it was financially sustainable and some draft findings were incorrect.

Newshub reported in May it had obtained text messages showing Housing Minister Chris Bishop responded “Excellent lets (sic) do that” to English’s offer to help with the review, in an exchange two weeks before Bishop got Cabinet sign-off for the review in December.

Bishop told Newshub he followed the proper process in appointing English, and the text was “expressing interest in getting him to do the review”.

Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi. Photo / Marty Melville

In a statement on Wednesday afternoon responding to the Rotorua homes being put “on hold”, Waititi said he believed Bishop “should be ashamed of himself” for “ordering” his former National colleague to write a damning report based on what Waititi said in his opinion was “dodgy evidence”.

“With a quick text message to one of their rich mates, this Government has ensured that safe and affordable housing will remain out of reach for our most vulnerable whānau in Rotorua.”

Waititi said the Government was putting the city on a “fast track” to “privatisation, houselessness and homelessness”.

In his opinion: “What we are seeing in Rotorua is the real-world impact of this biased report which commands this Government to palm off responsibility to house our vulnerable. More of our whānau will end up homeless as a result of privatisation. They are letting business shape housing strategy.”

He said Prime Minister Christopher Luxon had repeatedly said it was working to increase housing supply but news of more than 100 homes now being under review showed the Government was “full of it”.

“If this Government were serious about solving the housing crisis, they would commit to building more homes than the last lot, not less.”

He said by choosing to, in his opinion, build less social housing, the Government was washing its hands of its responsibility to ensure every New Zealander was housed, fed and healthy.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development Rotorua Temporary Housing Dashboard for May 2024 reported there were 300 adults and 327 children in temporary housing in Rotorua. The Ministry of Social Development’s Housing Register for March had 897 applicants on the waitlist for social housing in Rotorua.

What National MPs say

Responding to Waititi’s comments, Bishop said: ”Like with most things he says, he is wrong.”

Bishop said Kāinga Ora was a very important organisation, including in Rotorua.

Housing Minister Chris Bishop. Photo / Mark Mitchell

“We commissioned an independent review into the organisation as promised during the election campaign as we had concerns over its performance.

“Those concerns were borne out by the review and we are now expecting a turnaround plan from the new board in the next few months. It’s important Kāinga Ora is operating efficiently and effectively.”

McClay said Waititi was incorrect because Rotorua people needed assurances Kāinga Ora was spending money wisely and making the right decisions.

“I have continued to have a lot of concern come from the Rotorua community about Kāinga Ora and their decision-making and therefore the Government’s review and looking closely at all spending is extremely important to build confidence in the organisation.”

McClay said it was not just the Government that should be building houses.

“We have had an important number of local groups and organisations reach out to the Government to build social and affordable housing in Rotorua. The first solution is to stop sending homeless people to Rotorua from out of town and we have done that.

“The second [solution] is to have a mix of housing providers, not just the Government which has been very, very expensive.”

English was contacted for comment.

Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.