Papakāinga housing and marae

Ngāi Tahu as mana whenua often have difficulty establishing papakāinga housing and marae and the activities associated with these kinds of development on Māori reserves and Māori-owned land.

Drivers for change

Current plans limit the potential development of Māori land, sometimes because it isn’t zoned for development and because there isn’t the infrastructure to support it. This has become increasingly important more recently, as a number of our current Waitaha/Canterbury marae are subject to the impacts of climate change and rising sea levels. Because of their location on the coast or close to lakes or rivers, some are already looking at relocating to avoid the risk of flooding.

What we heard

We did not raise this issue during the first phase of our engagement, but kōrero with papatipu rūnanga since that time has made it clear we need to have that conversation now.

What we can influence

  • We can provide clearer or stronger direction on how Māori land is defined, enable or encourage zoning that supports development of Māori land in an urban environment, and require that barriers be removed from current regional and district plans.
  • We can also give direction on including appropriate supporting infrastructure associated with Māori land in areas zoned for development.