PHOTO: Andrew McKenzie, the chief executive of Kāinga Ora.
Chief Executive of Kāinga Ora Resigns Amid Government Changes
Andrew McKenzie, the chief executive of Kāinga Ora, has decided to step down from his position. He will be leaving the agency at the end of October, according to a statement released by chairman Simon Moutter this afternoon. Moutter himself was recently appointed as part of these changes to the state housing corporation.
McKenzie is set to receive a payout of $365,500 upon his departure, which corresponds to six months of his base salary, as stipulated by his contract.
“The Government has made a number of significant changes to Kāinga Ora’s role in the wider housing system through its Budget 2024,” Moutter explained. He added that further changes are expected in response to an independent review. These changes will reduce the scope and scale of the organization’s activities significantly.
Moutter noted that these changes have altered the chief executive role in a way that reduces its scale and accountabilities, which diverges from what McKenzie agreed to when he extended his contract last year. Consequently, McKenzie’s departure is being treated as a redundancy due to the material reduction in his role’s responsibilities, in line with his employment agreement.
In May, Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced a major shake-up of Kāinga Ora following a highly critical report. The report, led by former Prime Minister Sir Bill English, revealed that the agency was facing annual deficits of $700 million and had been excessively borrowing, taking advantage of its easy access to Government credit without proper fiscal discipline.
Bishop indicated the need for significant savings and changes in funding and financing to make Kāinga Ora financially viable. At today’s post-Cabinet press conference, he emphasized concerns about the governance of Kāinga Ora, particularly regarding its easy access to debt. Bishop also mentioned a planned overhaul of the Kāinga Ora board but ruled out a mass sell-off of state houses.
In his statement, Moutter praised McKenzie’s leadership over the past eight years, acknowledging his role in establishing Kāinga Ora, steering it through the challenges of Covid-19, improving tenant outcomes, and launching New Zealand’s largest housing construction programme. He credited McKenzie with delivering land that will facilitate the construction of tens of thousands of new homes in the coming decade and wished him well in his future endeavors beyond Kāinga Ora.
SOURCE: NZHERALD