Wairaka - housing in Mt Albert, Unitech

Kiwibuild is the name the 2017 Labour Coalition Government gave to its policy for providing affordable housing and speeding house construction in New Zealand. This was to be done by partnering with private developers, councils and iwi to undertake major greenfield and revitalisation projects. The first scheme to be announced involves the purchase and development of 29 hectares of land at Unitec's Mt Albert campus; an idea which which was already being considered. (Until the 1980s the Carrington Mental Hospital occupied what became the Unitec site)

Three thousand-to-four thousand houses are proposed, a 'mix of affordable KiwiBuild homes for first-home-buyers, public housing and open market houses.' The density will be much higher than in a typical New Zealand suburb.

The government's view is that the market has failed; the private sector cannot undertake developments like this on its own because they're too complex and there's too much risk. Infrastructure issues including the provision of transport facilities need to be addressed. The development is likely to be influenced by lessons from Hobsonville.