Building a new future

Changing the narrative on Māori housing includes recognising the success stories not getting media coverage.

- LAUREN JAMES

Google the words "Māori housing" and the first site that pops up is Te Ara The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Further down, you'll find the work of government agencies. What you won't see is the great work being undertaken across Aotearoa by whānau, hapu, iwi and Māori rōpū and the bespoke housing solutions for Mäori by Māori.

In many places, when the subject of Maori housing is raised, people automatically default to papakainga or emergency and social housing. While we celebrate and acknowledge all the amazing mahi that happens in these spaces, we need to change the narrative.

At the recent biennial National Māori Housing Conference in Rotorua, speakers from across the motu talked on a range of topics, including the whakapapa of homelessness, Maori off-site manufacturing and Māori-inspired urban design and development. While this is welcome, we need more regular exposure of these sorts of issues.

When the spotlight is on Maori housing, it often focuses on problems. As a person who lives in Rotorua, I feel it's a real pity that the great work of iwi in this town doesn't get the attention it deserves.