Northland whānau pay the price for state housing cuts – Hūhana Lyndon
Huhana Lyndon on Thomas St Tikipunga in the community where she went to primary, intermediate and high school. Lyndon raises her children in Tikipunga today. She says she is lucky to be a homeowner as a single mother of three.
The Government claims it is committed to housing, yet right now we have a housing crisis, the worst in living memory, and the coalition’s policies are only making it harder for those who most need it to access housing.
The Government has cancelled 450 Kāinga Ora homes across Northland, leaving empty house lots and half-completed building projects in Whangārei, Kaikohe, Kaitāia.
The cancellation of these house builds cut deep into the community, hurting local whānau and tamariki. We have communities across Northland already starved of resources, support and access to services.
No spin from this Government can hide the fact that cancelling the completion of 450 homes by Kāinga Ora undermines Northland communities.
I was raised in Tikipunga in a state house and later, with the support of whānau, my young parents purchased a home on Vinegar Hill Rd; this part of Tikipunga was a mix of market rentals, townhouses and state homes. The community was tightknit and life was good.
Being able to put down roots in a community supports whānau to connect, allows tamariki to access schooling, make friends and grow a sense of place.
Yet this part of Tikipunga has seen the broad closure of homes and whānau moved from state homes in what Kāinga Ora described at the time as “a temporary measure” while it undertook a refresh, rebuild of homes.
Some of the whānau impacted originally understood their move to other parts of Whangārei was only temporary and that they could soon return to Vinegar Hill, Thomas and Balmoral St communities. This, unfortunately, is not the case for all.
Driving the streets and seeing the empty house lots, knowing whānau used to live there, brings an immense sadness for me.
These places were not merely houses, they were homes to many, their tūrangawaewae (a place to stand) in an urban setting.
As of June 2025, across Northland Territorial Authorities there are some 1011-plus whānau on the official MSD waiting list for Kāinga Ora housing. But word from community groups and housing providers points to numbers that are much higher, perhaps around three times the official figure.
Housing is a human right, and something to bear in mind when considering the good faith in which our tupuna signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
They did so in the understanding that the text of Te Tiriti would be honoured. I doubt our tūpuna ever expected their descendants would ever be impoverished, houseless in their own tribal territories.
Yet this is a reality today. Where is the justice?
Last month, Ngā Hapū o Whangārei hosted a Housing Hui at Te Ora Hou in Tikipunga, with more than 100 attendees from community, whānau, housing providers, social services, civic and tribal leaders in attendance.
I was fortunate to facilitate this hui, and acknowledge the contribution of representatives of Kāinga Ora and the Ministry for Housing and Urban Development who attended.
They were open about the current situation and the budget shortages we face in the North despite our region being identified as a priority.
Housing Providers shared at the hui their ongoing commitment to providing warm, dry, safe housing for whānau, but it’s clear money is tight and there’s very little certainty over future funding for housing in Northland.
Kāinga Ora has confirmed by June 2026 they will have completed 227 new house builds in the region, with 60 existing houses being refurbished.
It’s understood 59 Kāinga Ora homes will be sold on the open market. These are older homes where an assessment has deemed it does not make financial sense to refurbish. It’s not clear if these homes will be offered back to local hapū or iwi.
Community concern remains that state housing stock could continue to be sold off into private hands.
At a recent visit to Northland, Housing Minister Chris Bishop said that Tai Tokerau has the greatest social housing need in the country. Yet as we have heard from Government officials, we do not have the budget available to complete current Kāinga Ora housing plans for the North.
How will we be resourced to address the clear and evident need in our community?
Our community is mobilising. We have recently established a local working group as a part of a national campaign to Save State Houses, a petition has been launched to support raising community awareness on the cancellation of State Houses.
We understand that, nationally, there are 2000 Kāinga Ora homes sitting empty. The question is, do we as a country find that acceptable when so many of our most vulnerable children and families are homeless.
They deserve access to Kāinga Ora houses, they deserve a home. Please sign our petition at our.actionstation.org.nz.