Lewis Ratapu of Tātau Tātau o te Wairoa. Photo / RNZ
An iwi organisation in Wairoa is calling for urgent expansion of the Government’s investment in housing and community initiatives to meet the high level of need in the community.
Minister of Housing Chris Bishop says the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development was in “early-stage discussions” with Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa about other housing opportunities it can support.
A statement last week from the iwi organisation was prompted by the release of credit reporting agency Centrix’s June Credit Indicator report, which revealed Wairoa had the highest rate of consumer credit arrears in the country at 18.3%.
The next highest district was Kawerau at 18.07%, while the national average was 12.51%.
Lewis Ratapu, Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa chief executive officer, said the stats were “shocking, but they’re not surprising”.
“Wairoa locals are under intense pressure — crippled by high living costs, low incomes, overcrowded housing, and the long tail of climate disasters. The fact that nearly one in five people here are in arrears is a symptom of systemic failure, not personal irresponsibility.
“Our own research shows we need at least 420 homes to meet current demand and recover from the devastation of Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2024 floods. Over 57 whānau are still living in temporary accommodation, and many others are in old, inadequate homes — 80% of our housing stock was built before 1980, and more than a third are damp."
He also pointed to the level of unemployment in Wairoa, over 9.9% or about twice the national average of around 5%, and household incomes 36% lower than the national average.
“These aren’t just numbers — they’re daily struggles for our whānau, and they demand urgent, targeted investment in locally-led housing and economic development.”
Tātau Tātau urged the Government to expand its investment in community-led solutions like its affordable housing development Te Rauā and its horticultural arm Haumako, designed to generate jobs and economic opportunities.
“We’ve shown what can be achieved when local knowledge and national support come together. Now we need the Government to walk alongside us, so we can scale these solutions to meet the real scale of the challenge,” Ratapu said.
Te Rauā will have 43 homes when complete, and the Te Rauā Affordable Rental Grant means those eligible will pay only 80% of market rent.
Haumako currently employs 17 fulltime staff and aims to create 60 seasonal jobs by 2027, with 70ha of orchards and crop fields under development.
Housing Minister Chris Bishop said the Government had recently announced Hawke’s Bay as a priority location for piloting a community-led approach to social housing.
“The region was selected due to the high level of housing need, with disproportionate numbers of people in emergency and temporary housing and on the social housing waitlist,” Bishop said.
“The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development [HUD] is working with the Hawke’s Bay Matariki Housing Leadership Group, which includes Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa and community housing providers, on a community-led approach to delivering up to 150 social homes across the region, including Wairoa.”
The ministry had two existing contracts with Tātau Tātau, one for 56 affordable rentals and the other for 70 temporary housing placements as part of the cyclone response.
“HUD is also currently in early-stage discussions with Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa regarding other housing opportunities it can support.”
Finance Minister Nicola Willis paid a visit to Hawke’s Bay on Friday, and said she wanted to acknowledge “it has been really tough” for the people of Wairoa due to inflation, flooding and an economic downturn.
She said the Government had been working with Wairoa to help prevent future flood events on the river.
The Government’s partnership with the Hawke’s Bay Matariki Housing Leadership Group included “a commitment to more than 100 community housing places” across Hawke’s Bay, particularly through Emerge Aotearoa.
“That local leadership will work on what that means for Wairoa,” Willis said.
She said places like Wairoa benefited when industries grow and create more jobs, such as the wool, growing, and meat sectors.
She said the Government was working to get inflation under control, wages growing faster, and lower interest rates.