An Initiative for our Pacific Community in Auckland

 

From Auckland Council

60 Pacific families to test financial management initiative

 

A new initiative aimed at tackling the lack of home ownership in the Pacific community will be launched by Auckland’s Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse this weekend.

The three-year pilot initiative, called Turanga, will trial a holistic approach that aims to improve the overall financial wellness of the participants, and identify and address barriers currently preventing many Pacific people from owning their own home.

With almost half of all Pacific Aucklanders living in crowded households and likely to experience long-term indebtedness, Penny Hulse says it is vital that urgent action is taken.

 

“There are significant challenges for many Aucklanders to become home-owners, but it can be especially hard for the Pacific community to get a foot on Auckland’s housing ladder,” she said.

The initiative will be launched in Manukau on Saturday 31 May, and will be attended by Councillor Alf Filipaina as well as other invited guests.

Twenty families a year will take part in Turanga, providing information about their financial, social and cultural circumstances to identify the challenges they face.

The findings will be used to develop a programme for each family tailored to their specific needs.

“The Turanga initiative will highlight the challenges that prevent home ownership, so we can start working with our Pacific community on actions that will make a difference,” said Penny Hulse.

“This is not a silver bullet that will fix the problem immediately; we have to be realistic about that. But in 15 to 20 years, one-in-eight of the working-age population aged 15 to 39 will be of Pacific origin.

“And if they are not able to get onto the housing ladder, it will have a significant impact on them, their families and the wider Auckland community.”

—ends—

 

I will be at the launch as part of the media contingent and will be either live Tweeting (#turanga) and/or will get full commentary up later in Queen’s Birthday weekend.

 

Talking Auckland has mentioned about housing provisions for not just Pacific people but those who do not follow the Anglo-Euro-Centric nuclear family model. Meaning our housing provisions do need to look at 4-6 bedroom super large homes tailored and affordable for our communities who “operate” in a collective family model. In extension our planning needs to look at social provisions such as communal socialising areas and roads that are really extension of communal front yards rather than car sewers (okay that can not apply to main roads).

 

And before any one packs a snark at this initiative I quote what the Deputy Mayor has said countless times (as have I): If South Auckland fails, ALL of Auckland FAILS.