default-output-block.skip-main
National

Hasting District Council housing initiative wins award from its peers

Hastings District Council received triple honours at this year's Local Government New Zealand Excellence Awards.

“It was a huge occasion really - to be called a finalist, we were pretty excited about that," councillor Bayden Barber says.

“So, to actually win two awards and be a finalist in another, we were very happy to be acknowledged.”

The council's initiative to combat the region's housing crisis received the Kāinga Ora Homes and Communities Excellence Award for Social wellbeing award.

The council's plan not only includes building new houses and papakāinga but also addresses homelessness, and repairing Māori-owned homes to make them healthier.

“It’s not just housing - it’s getting the right housing,” Barber says.

“It’s about making the marae the centre or the glue of that community, so it's not just housing, it’s kainga, it’s whakapapa, it’s feeling healthy and supported.”

Toitoi  - Hawke’s Bay Arts and Events Centre won the Creative New Zealand Excellence Award for cultural wellbeing. Mahi for Youth received a highly commended in the social wellbeing section, beaten out of first place by Hastings’ housing plan.