PHOTO: Kāinga Ora. FILE
Kāinga Ora has proposed reducing the team established to address Māori housing needs and fulfill Treaty of Waitangi obligations by half.
The Te Kurutao Group Māori currently has 48 full-time staff, and the organization is consulting with them on a plan to cut 27 positions.
This reduction brings the total number of proposed job cuts at the agency to 232, part of broader public sector cost-cutting measures.
The Public Service Association (PSA) stated that Te Kurutao assists Kāinga Ora in fulfilling its legislative duty to “understand, support, and enable the aspirations of Māori in relation to urban development.”
Statistics from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development show that 39% of Kāinga Ora tenants are Māori.
“This is outrageous at a time when it’s never been more important to provide healthy, secure, and affordable housing for Māori if we are to make real inroads into poverty in this country,” said PSA Te Kaihautū Māori Janice Panoho.
“Te Kurutao is the team of experts who bring a critical te ao Māori perspective to housing challenges, assisting other staff at Kāinga Ora and advising Māori on funding and planning issues.”
Their work supports Kāinga Ora in transforming ideas into projects that deliver affordable, quality housing for hapū and Māori organizations, she said.
Kāinga Ora noted that Te Kurutao Group Māori is one of the teams affected by reduced Budget funding.
The change proposal “will align with both the legislative obligations we are required to meet and the new funding levels,” said Ringa Raupa deputy chief executive Te Kurutao Group Māori, Te Ariki Pihama.
Job losses at Kāinga Ora are increasing as part of a wider public sector cost-cutting drive.
Having a dedicated team for Māori within Kāinga Ora is crucial, said Ali Hamlin-Paenga, acting chief executive of Māori housing advocacy group Te Matapihi.
Te Matapihi and Te Kurutao have a “very strong relationship” and collaborate to support Māori and ensure their housing needs are met, she said.
“[Te Kurutao] understand te ao Māori, they understand tikanga, they understand… the whenua, the papakāinga, they know what papakāinga means to whānau,” she said.
“We often are told that… ‘everybody understands’, and ‘everybody will work with you to achieve the housing aspirations of people’, but often that’s not the case – and so having a Māori focus and the allies across the Crown agencies is hugely important.”
With that in mind, the cuts are “disappointing,” Hamlin-Paenga said.
“There’s a theme across all of our Crown agencies that is coming to light here… in respect of departments within Crown agencies that have been set up to support Māori.”
However, Te Matapihi will continue to “work hard together” with the remaining staff in Te Kurutao to ensure the best outcomes for Māori, she said.
SOURCE: STUFF