Maori Affairs buys houses

Press, 7 April 1987, Page 14

Maori Affairs buys houses

PA Wellington The Maori Affairs Department has bought 24 more houses in Whangarei from the Marsden Refining Company for $1,256 million. The purchase is the second stage of a big housing project in Northland, and eventually 100 houses worth $5 million will be bought. The Minister of Maori Affairs, Mr Wetere, said the department was aiming for “good quality, low-

cost housing.” The houses just bought from the refining company ranged in price from $48,500 to $53,350, he said. Mr Wetere said other accommodation initiatives were also under way in Northland. “During the last year, Maori Affairs settled 85 Maori families in their own homes there. “A housing shortage in Northland has helped push up prices and many families just cannot afford

to buy one and at . the same time, Maori families are moving back to their ancestral land. “Maori Affairs has been able to shift a number of housing units to the rural areas, and renovate them into three and four-bed-room homes.” Mr Wetere believed traditional Maori communities had a viable future under the scheme, whereas in the past the alternative had been to live in a tent, old vehicle or caravan.