“On the other hand, there are other councils that have smaller holdings, which play a really important social support role, which have been run quite well.”
Last year Bishop announced a shake-up of Government housing agency Kāinga Ora after a report that found operating deficits could increase to $700 million by 2027.
He said the Government’s focus since had been about making the agency as efficient as possible.
“And on supporting the community housing sector, which tends to be a bit more nimble and agile and offer extra support that maybe Government or councils often can’t,” he said.
Whanganui was affected by the shake-up of Kāinga Ora, which left 11 projects amounting to 138 houses in the district in limbo.
It drew criticism from some Whanganui councillors, including Josh Chandulal-Mackay, who earlier this year said it was “a direct and tangible example of the ratepayer having to step in because central government is abdicating their responsibilities to provide housing for this community”.
Bishop yesterday said the Government was redesigning the housing investment system to one that met regional need and it didn’t mean there wasn’t “potential for future investment down the line“.
“The system is quite impervious to need ... it’s pretty much one size fits all.”
He said 55% of the housing register needed a one-bedroom unit, which was only 12% of Kāinga Ora stock.
“We’re trying to redesign the system so we’re building the right house in the right place for the right people and we’ve got a long way to go.
“Council housing is part of that but I’m more interested in getting Kāinga Ora focused on building efficiently and being much more responsive to need.”
Bishop said the focus had been to “strip the costs out of Kāinga Ora and getting them to build more efficiently”.
“And we’re seeing some really good signs of that coming through.”
There had been several bespoke housing funds that led to “providers reorganising what they build in order to try to get money from different funds”, he said. “Which is a weird and perverse way of thinking about it.”
That has now been put into one flexible fund, with which the Government can commission houses from a range of providers based on what is needed.
He said a new investment strategy was due to be published in September.
“There’s potential for [Whanganui council] to be part of that fund.
“We want to take a very detailed, specific look at what Whanganui needs,” Bishop said.
“What’s the component of the register here? What are the characteristics of the people in need of housing in Whanganui? Let’s go out and build the right houses for those people.
“That’s not the way the system works at the moment.
“There’s a lot of unco-ordinated activity around the place in housing and we’ve got a big housing need around New Zealand, especially for social housing.”
While in Whanganui on the campaign trail in 2023, Bishop told the Chronicle his National Party had a policy of paying councils $25,000 for every new house consented above a five-year average.
The money could be used “for whatever they want”.
Yesterday, Bishop acknowledged that had not happened yet.
“We have essentially deferred consideration of it until next year because we’re living in fiscally constrained times,” he said.
“We are still committed to developing an incentive mechanism for councils around growth but I’ve been really clear with councils ... if the Government’s going to provide a revenue stream, central government needs to get something out of that.
“It has to be something to support the development of more houses.
“We’re committed to developing it, we’re just working on what that might be.”
While in Whanganui, Bishop visited Bremworth, which was last month awarded a three-year, $2m contract to supply wool carpets to Kāinga Ora for new builds and upgrades.
That will boost yarn production at the Whanganui plant and allow it to continue a 24-hour operation.
“It’s obviously great news for them, great news for Whanganui and great news for Kāinga Ora tenants as well,” Bishop said.
“It’s been extremely popular and it’s been very well received.”
Bishop said the Government had a commitment to consider New Zealand wool for use in new buildings and that could lead to more contracts.
“The future is a bright one.”
Bishop, who is also Transport Minister, visited the Durie Hill Elevator and attended a Business Whanganui Chamber of Commerce lunch while in the city.
Zaryd Wilson is the editor of the Whanganui Chronicle and has been a journalist covering the lower North Island for 13 years. He joined the Chronicle as a reporter in 2014 and has been editor since 2021.
