Housing Minister Phil Heatley says a project to build three three-bedroomed houses and two kaumatua flats on the Chatham Islands, will go some way to easing a housing issue for Maori residents.
The Ngati Mutunga O Wharekauri Iwi Trust has contributed $830,000 towards the project and that money has been matched by a grant from the Government's Housing Innovation Fund.
The fund provides community housing providers and iwi organisations with money to build or buy community rental housing and is aimed at providing opportunities for affordable home ownership.
Mr Heatley says the project on the Chathams is a great example of iwi wanting to meet the needs of its people.
