Waipatu Papakāinga

Who developed it?

The Aorangi Māori Trust Board developed the Waipatu papakāinga. The Trust Board's trustees and whānau worked together to establish the first eight-home development. TPK describes the owners and trustees as leading the project and says the whānau wanted to rebuild their community

Sources: HDC property information (Waipatu), HDC ePlan property page (Waipatu), LINZ Data Service: property search

Who owned the land?

The land was Māori-owned land associated with the Aorangi Māori Trust Board. The first papakāinga was developed on Trust-owned land, with TPK describing the Trust as having deliberately looked at how its existing land assets could be used more effectively.

Sources: HDC property information (Waipatu), HDC ePlan property page (Waipatu), LINZ Data Service: property search

How many homes?

The first Aorangi papakāinga opened in Waipatu in 2015 with eight homes. At that time, only two were owned by whānau, with the remainder providing rental housing. A second papakāinga was developed on a neighbouring land block with 12 houses. Aorangi descendants owned 8, and 4 were affordable rentals with security of tenure.

What was the purpose?

The purpose of Waipatu Papakāinga was to provide affordable, healthy housing while rebuilding the Aorangi community, reconnecting descendants with whenua and whakapapa, and increasing Māori home ownership.

What planning was required?

TPK supported the Aorangi Māori Trust Board with feasibility studies, infrastructure costs, and capital grants for rental homes. For Stage 2 specifically, TPK provided $40,250 towards planning and feasibility. This demonstrates that planning was treated as a separate stage of the project, rather than something that only happened once construction started. The development required feasibility and infrastructure planning as well as the relevant council building/resource consenting processes.

What funding was required?

The first stage was initially supported through the Social Housing Unit. When TPK assumed responsibility for Māori housing funding in 2015, it continued to support the Aorangi Māori Trust Board with feasibility funding, infrastructure funding, and capital grants for rental homes. Stage 2 TPK provided: $40,250 for planning and feasibility, and $2.28 million towards the 12-home Stage 2 development. TPK describes the Stage 2 contribution as supporting 12 whare, six rental homes, and six homes for whānau ownership.

What infrastructure was required?

• The original eight-home development was described as being predominantly off-grid. The houses had solar panels, water supplied from an underground source, filtered water, communal gardens, and fruit trees. The project, therefore, wasn't simply a collection of houses. It needed systems for the site to function independently.
• Within Hastings District Council, the district plan states that a papakainga requires a minimum of 80 m2 of outdoor living, parking space, a service court, and a domestic sewage treatment system, if applicable.

Sources: District plan rules for papakāinga (HDC ePlan)

What barriers appeared?

Historical loss of whenua is a much deeper barrier than a conventional planning constraint. TPK documents the history of the Aorangi hapū losing their land and becoming displaced. The papakāinga was partly a response to this history. Before development, the Trust had limited assets, and some land was leased below market value, while other land was not leased and therefore not generating revenue. The Trust, therefore, needed to rethink how its land could be used to support its people. Papakāinga requires significant investment beyond the houses themselves. TPK specifically supported Aorangi with feasibility, infrastructure, and capital grants. The fact that these were separate funding categories demonstrates the financial complexity of getting papakāinga development ready. HDC's historical Papakāinga Guide explains that whānau experienced frustration with the development process and that the processes of HDC, TPK and the Māori Land Court did not always align.

What helped the project succeed?

The Aorangi Māori Trust Board provided the governance structure and drove the project. The project's strong cultural purpose was connected to whakapapa, whanaungatanga, manaakitanga, arohatanga, and rebuilding the Aorangi community. TPK specifically says these Māori principles were intended to be important ingredients in the design. And rather than trying to deliver everything at once, staging the construction from 8 homes and 12 homes allowed the Trust to develop its capability and expand the housing programme over time. The project benefited from sustained support from the Social Housing Unit/MBIE and later Te Puni Kōkiri. The Trust received dedicated funding for feasibility and planning before Stage 2 construction—mixed tenure. The latter development combined whānau ownership + affordable rentals. This helped address both housing affordability and long-term home ownership. The development was designed around more than individual houses, with the original project including shared gardens, fruit trees and independent infrastructure.

What could have shortened the process?

A more standardised planning framework may have reduced some of the uncertainty involved in earlier papakāinga development. However, it would not remove the need for infrastructure, building consent, funding or whānau decision-making.