Origins

State housing in New Zealand dates from 1894 with the establishment of the State Advances Office.^[5]

In 1905, Prime Minister Richard Seddon introduced the Workers Dwellings Act 1905, introducing public housing to New Zealand. This Act made New Zealand the first nation in the Western world to provide public housing for its citizens. The scheme ultimately failed in 1906 when the workers could no longer afford to pay the high rents asked by the Government for the properties.^[6]

The first official state house was opened in 1937 at 12 Fife Lane in Miramar in Wellington.^[7]

Housing New Zealand, 1974-2019

Housing Corporation of New Zealand was formed in 1974 through a merger of the State Advances Corporation (SAC) and the Housing Division of the Ministry of Works.^[8]

The Housing New Zealand Corporation in its current form is a statutory corporation that was established on 1 July 2001 under the Housing Corporation Act 1974, as amended by the Housing Corporation Amendment Act 2001. This was an amalgamation of Housing New Zealand Limited, Community Housing Limited, and the Ministry of Social Policy. In 2018 the Labour-led coalition government removed the word Corporation from the name and it was formally known as Housing New Zealand (HNZ).^[9]

Kāinga Ora, 2019–present

On 1 October 2019 the Labour-led government merged Housing New Zealand with its development subsidiary HLC and the KiwiBuild Unit from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to form a new Crown entity called Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities.^[10][11]

Between 2018 and June 2023, Kāinga Ora's debt grew from NZ$2.7 billion to NZ$12.3 billion. Following the 2023 New Zealand general election, the incoming National-led coalition government announced that former Prime Minister Bill English, financial expert Simon Allen, and Ceinwein McNeil would be leading an independent review into the agency's financial situation, procurement, and asset management.^[12]

In March 2024, Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Finance Minister Nicola Willis ordered Kāinga Ora to end the previous Labour Government's "Sustainable Tenancies Framework" and take disciplinary action against unruly tenants and those with overdue rent including evictions and relocations.^[13] The Government's announcement was criticised by Green Party housing spokesperson Tamatha Paul, who described the policy as seeking to create a category of "undeserving poor" and argued that housing was a basic right. Labour Party housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty responded that the Government's policy failed to address the housing shortage. By contrast, ACT Party leader David Seymour and Manurewa-Papakura Ward Councillor Daniel Newman welcomed the eviction of unruly stae housing tenants.^[14]

Ministers responsible

The shareholding ministers of all Housing New Zealand subsidiaries are the Minister of Housing and the Minister of Finance.

The Minister of Housing/and Urban Development

• The Hon. Mark Gosche (2001–2003)^[15][18]
• The Hon. Steve Maharey (2003–2007)^[19]
• The Hon. Maryan Street (2007–2008)^[20]
• The Hon. Phil Heatley (2008–2013)^[21][22]
• The Hon. Nick Smith (2013–2014)^[23][24]
• The Hon. Paula Bennett (2014–2016)^[25]
• The Hon. Amy Adams (2016–2017)^[26]
• The Hon. Phil Twyford (2017–2019)^[27]
• The Hon. Megan Woods (2019–2023)^[28]
• The Hon. Chris Bishop (2023–present)

Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing)

• The Hon. Kris Faafoi (2019–2020)^[29]
• The Hon. Poto Williams (2020-2022)^[30]
• The Hon. Tama Potaka (2023–present)

Associate Minister of Housing and Urban Development/Minister for Building and Construction

• The Hon. Jenny Salesa (2017–2019)^[27]

Associate Minister of Housing (Maori)

• The Hon. Nanaia Mahuta (2019–2020)^[29]
• The Hon. Peeni Henare (2020–2023)^[30]

Associate Minister of Housing (Homelessness)

• The Hon. Marama Davidson (2020–2023)^[30]

The Minister of Finance

• The Hon. Michael Cullen (2001–2008)^[19]
• The Rt. Hon. Bill English (2008–2016)^[24]
• The Hon. Steven Joyce (2016–2017)^[26]
• The Hon. Grant Robertson (2017–2023)^[27]
• The Hon. Nicola Willis (2023–present)

Board

Senior management

The Kāinga Ora Leadership Team at 23 July 2021 was as follows.

Arena Williams advertisement

In November 2021, Kāinga Ora drew controversy after Newshub and Radio New Zealand reported that the agency had used Labour Party candidate Arena Williams in a taxpayer funded advertisement in 2020, compromising its political neutrality. Kāinga Ora drew criticism from Housing Minister Megan Woods and National Party Nicola Willis on the grounds of professionalism and compromising its political neutrality.^[40][41] Woods subsequently reported the agency to the Public Service Commission.^[42] The National Party called for an investigation into Kāinga Ora, alleging a cover up and "culture of deceit."^[41]