Mt Albert mum says she was assaulted by Kāinga Ora resident as her young kids watched on

• A single Auckland mum claims she was attacked by a fellow Kāinga Ora resident in her driveway.
• The mum says she received little help from Kāinga Ora and fears for the safety of herself and her young children.
• Kāinga Ora and police have opened an investigation into the incident.

A single mum says she fears for the safety of her and her young children after she was attacked by a fellow Kāinga Ora resident in her driveway.

The woman said she moved into the Kāinga Ora residence in Mt Albert a year and a half ago to escape a domestic violence situation - only to be met with more violence.

On Saturday, the mum was walking out of her driveway with her two young children, aged 3 and 5, when her 5-year-old son asked a question about an item of their neighbours.

She claimed the neighbours started hurling abuse at her boy from the balcony above.

As she loaded her children into the car, she was pushed from behind and pulled to the ground before receiving several blows to the head.

She said she attempted to fight off the woman, who she later found out was her neighbour’s sister, while her children screamed.

“She was saying ‘I don’t give a f*** about your kids’.”

She said her head was slammed into the car window where her 5-year-old son sat in his booster seat.

A police spokesperson said their inquiries are ongoing and no arrests have been made.

Kāinga Ora Central and East Auckland Director John Tubberty said they are looking into the incident.

“We are working hard to get a full picture of what happened, but are unable to provide any specific details for privacy reasons.

“If we find evidence that disruptive behaviour occurred, we will take action using the tools available to us as a landlord under the Residential Tenancies Act.

“This would include making it clear to the tenant that the behaviour is unacceptable, and their tenancy is at risk.”

The mum said there have been multiple incidents over the last two months that left her and her young children terrified in their home.

She said they are not sleeping due to the constant loud music, cleaning noises and yelling that happen “at all hours of the night”.

She claimed three weeks ago, a male visitor of the woman “took a swing at her” after she politely asked him to turn down his loud music.

She said her complaints to the police and Kāinga Ora were met with little to no support.

“[Kāinga Ora] just told me to keep on making complaints as it shows up in their system more… but they didn’t do anything to help,” she said.

“They just told me not to engage with her.

“I felt stuck.”

She said it escalated again a week later the night before an important surgery when the noise above her “became too much”.

“They were cleaning or moving furniture at like [2.00am].”

“And I thought ‘Stuff this, no one is doing anything and I can not do this anymore’.”

She claimed she knocked on her neighbour’s door and was met with threats of violence.

“And just straight away, like, started verbally threatening me,” she said.

“She chased me down the stairs and I ran into my house while her babies were crying and I ran into my apartment, locked my door and she was yelling at me, telling me when she sees me, she’s going to attack me.”

She said she worries about the mental health effects on her young children from not feeling safe.

“[My son] is so scared of the neighbour.

“He said we need to move to a different house if they are going to hurt us again... he doesn’t even want to go outside to get into our car anymore.”

Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.