Māori business to build houses in Te Tai Rāwhiti
16 December 2020
December marks an exciting new chapter for Māori-owned construction company ICONIQ Group, a registered supplier member of Amotai, who has recently signed a Kāinga Ora contract to build seven homes in Te Tai Rawhiti.
The construction contract between ICONIQ Group and the housing and urban development organisation will initially see seven new build homes in Gisborne to be completed by June 2021, with plans for further housing development in the region.
The new development includes 2 two bedroom, 3 one bedroom and 2 four bedroom units being built on Oxford Street and Dennis Street in the Gisborne district.
ICONIQ Group Managing Director Nathan Te Miha says they engaged with Kāinga Ora through an introductory meeting held by Amotai in 2019.
“The meeting opened up discussions on how we could increase economic prosperity in the region. Gisborne is my home town so, I know too well of the housing deficit that exists there,” he shares.
“When I met Kāinga Ora I explained that if they gave ICONIQ Group this opportunity to build in Gisborne, I’d be able to make change in the region. Not just by making money, but in building homes, creating more employment and bringing in our own people and local iwi to build relationships. We’ll also be able to provide apprenticeships for youth who otherwise wouldn’t have that opportunity.”
With the seven new builds ICONIQ Group are delivering, it means employment for local Māori subcontractors across civil engineering, carpentry, plumbing and concreting.
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“We are already negotiating other housing developments in the region which will give locals here many years of work,” he adds.
Nathan says being on the supplier board for Kāinga Ora has also allowed his business to step into Government spaces and negotiate with experts on how best they can support local iwi and Māori families in smaller regions.
Programme Director for Kāinga Ora Nick Seymour says usually the agency would put out a tender for these projects. However in this case, they saw an opportunity to negotiate a direct contract with ICONIQ Group that would build and strengthen supplier diversity in the industry.
“It’s important to us to have people like ICONIQ Group at the forefront, growing their own organisation as well as bringing in their community and young people in the region who otherwise wouldn’t have opportunities for apprenticeships or exploring options in the industry. So, we guided ICONIQ Group along the negotiation process and how we would operate contractually,” he says.
“Nathan also has really good connections with local iwi leaders so he has been able to discuss with them their needs, instead of us telling them what we are going to build. ICONIQ is able to bring in local resources to build projects so we can house whānau but also provide work opportunities. That’s a double opportunity for us and for New Zealand to do something much better than we have done in the past.”
Seymour says being able to build relationships with and Pasifika businesses through Amotai has been a positive experience.
“Amotai operates nationally, so we are keen to tap into the national knowledge that Amotai have and see where we can engage further with Māori and Pasifika businesses in different regions. We know there’s a lot of need for families, and we can do much more to serve them by working with Amotai guiding us and connecting us with the right people.”