Former state housing in Kauri St, Hastings in February 2020, on a site where 40 new homes are being built. Photo / Warren Buckland
Former state housing in Kauri St, Hastings in February 2020, on a site where 40 new homes are being built. Photo / Warren Buckland
Hawke's Bay leaders have welcomed Government plans for more public housing in a region facing a soaring social housing waitlist.
As of last September, 1514 people were on the housing register, approved, but waiting, for homes in the region and the Government's public housing plan, released on Thursday, says Napierand Hastings have severe housing deprivation.
That's up 889 per cent in five years, when the waitlist was 153 people, Ministry of Social Development figures show.
A Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga - Ministry of Housing and Urban Development spokesperson said they expect to have provided around 240 public housing places in Hastings by 2024, including 70 transitional housing places by next year.
The ministry expects to also have 240 more places in Napier including 80 transitional.
Central Hawke's Bay and Wairoa will also get more over the next four years.
Tukituki MP Anna Lorck said the extra public housing is excellent news and will have a significant impact on the district, which has the fifth highest per capita need for housing in New Zealand.
Tukituki MP Anna Lorck, right, and Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise both welcomed the news that both Hastings and Napier were targeted in the Government's Public Housing Plan. Photo / Warren Buckland
"But it's only one part of working through the housing crisis," she said.
Lorck said more public housing directly helps vulnerable people in need, but because the crisis affects other people as well, more initiatives are needed, such as more support for first-home buyers is a priority for the Government.
The Government has also been working with iwi on upskilling tradespeople and giving free apprenticeships.
Māori make up 68 per cent of those on the housing register in the Hastings district.
Hastings District Council mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said the city's housing crisis is one of the biggest challenges and is something she works on every day.
"We will be helping the Government to deliver these homes because for us, it is about delivering quality homes as fast as possible," she said.
"Our goal remains to have all Hastings whānau out of motels and in their own homes."
Hazlehurst added that Hastings has led the way with papakāinga housing and finding the right model of Maori home ownership on Maori land, and she looks forward to the Government's further support for papakāinga housing.
"Now our next major focus will be finalising the Hastings Medium Term Housing Strategy, which outlines how we can provide enough homes in the right places that are accessible to everyone."
Napier mayor Kirsten Wise said the Napier City Council welcomed the announcement of the Government's Public Housing Plan.
"There is a real shortage of housing not only in Napier, but the entire Hawke's Bay region," she said.
"I look forward to a closer working partnership with the Government and other agencies to make a greater impact in this area."
