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Day One | Tuesday, 6 May 2025

8:50

Chairperson’s Opening Remarks

Philippa Howden-Chapman CNZM QSO, Professor of Public Health, University of Otago; Director, New Zealand Centre for Sustainable Cities

The Big Picture – Policy Past, Present, and Future

9:00

Government Keynote: Painting a reform roadmap to strengthen the community housing sector

  • Decentralising community housing from Kainga Ora to the broader Community Housing sector

  • Assessing the impact of policies like MDRS, Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and the interest deductibility law

  • What will the introduction of a National Infrastructure Agency mean for affordable housing in New Zealand?

9:30

Keynote: Addressing the affordability housing status-quo and how we can do better

  • Understanding the where, why, and how of the New Zealand housing crisis

  • Acknowledging that affordable housing either requires cheaper builds or more subsidies

  • Identifying where our future opportunities lie to deliver more affordable housing


Shamubeel Eaqub, Chief Economist, Simplicity

10:00

What is the role of CHPs in solving New Zealand’s housing crisis

  • Laying out a vision for how CHPs can achieve the greatest social good

  • Determining how government policy will impact the future of the CHP sector

  • Preparing your CHP for both inevitable and unpredictable policy and market change


Paul Gilberd, Chief Executive Officer, Community Housing Aotearoa Ngā Wharerau o Aotearoa

10:30

Morning Tea

11:00

Analysing housing supply across major metros versus demand and affordability

  • Supply side policy solutions to improve housing affordability across NZ’s largest cities have been advanced over recent years

  • With more supply now being enabled, is this starting to have any effect on price?

  • Is the supply “real” and at a macro policy level are we focusing on the right things to improve housing affordability?


Mark Davey, City Planning Manager, Chief Planner, Hamilton City Council

Aged Care Housing

11:30

Research Panel: What does the research say about the future of housing for the elderly?

  • Measuring the scale of housing unaffordability for New Zealand’s ageing population

  • Determining why housing is critical to the wellbeing of our ageing population

  • Addressing housing for ageing New Zealanders as a wholistic issue that involves health and financial considerations

  • Identifying measures that could make a difference for over 65s searching for sustainable housing solutions


Moderator: Dr Patrick Nolan, Director – Policy and Research, Te Ara Ahunga Ora - Retirement Commission


Dr Lara Vlietstra, Lecturer Physical Activity and Health, CARE Co-Director, University of Otago


Dr Paula O’Kane, Senior Lecturer, CARE Co-Director, University of Otago

12:10

Advancing the health and wellbeing of older people through affordable shared living with light support

  • Championing the benefits of supported living with companionship for older people

  • Working in partnership with local communities to meet the needs of our ageing population

  • Exploring an innovative and practical response to our health and housing crises


Ruth Seabright, Executive Officer, Abbeyfield

12:40

Enhancing the health and wellbeing of older residents through community-focused living and holistic support systems

  • Encouraging a community living approach designed for elderly residents.

  • Assessing the suitability of communal living models for aged care within community housing.


Rangimahora Reddy, CEO, Rauawaawa Kaumātua Charitable Trust


Yvonne Wilson, Housing Manager – Korowai Manaaki, Te Runanga o Kirikiriroa

Financing

11:30

Panel: Preparing CHPs and Trusts for opportunities and challenges around financing

  • Where will financing come from and how to attract it

  • Assessing the viability of bank funding options for affordable housing

  • Financing future developments through impact investment

  • What are investors looking for from CHPs and Trusts? Are certain types of housing more attractive than others?


Roy Thompson, Co-Founder and Managing Director, New Ground Capital


Terri Eggleton, Impact Investment Manager, Bay Trust


Heiko Jonkers, Senior Product Manager - Social and Affordable Housing, Westpac

12:30

Unlocking finance for CHPs at scale, connecting financial markets and the opportunity for Government to support finance for CHPs efficiently

  • An overview of the new Community Housing Funding Agency

  • Awakening the sleeping giant that is financial markets while understanding its capacity and requirements for investing

  • Learning lessons from overseas and applying it to unlocking finance at scale

  • How philanthropy, impact investment, financial markets and Government can deliver more homes and unlock greater efficiency?


James Palmer, CEO, Community Finance

1:10

Lunch

2:10

Reconvene in main room and then make way to Roundtables

2:20

Roundtables

Roundtable A - How do CHPs build their capability and capacity in preparation for the management and acquisition of Kainga Ora stock?

Conrad LaPointe, Chief Executive Officer, Habitat for Humanity


Roundtable B - What are tenants looking for in the design of new affordable housing?

Maxine Stiling, Tenancy Quality Manager, Haumaru Housing


Roundtable C – Creating a pathway from emergency housing to sustainable tenancy


Roundtable D – Unpacking the impact of development contributions on housing: What are the challenges and opportunities to improve efficiency?

Adrienne Miller, Chief Executive Officer, Urban Development Institute of New Zealand UDINZ

Community Integration

3:20

Case Study: Addressing housing shortages for local workers through deals with investors

  • How will Te Anau’s planned 30-unit village provide much needed accommodation to local workers?

  • Working with builders and manufacturers to provide investor confidence

  • Measuring the community impact of local worker accommodation units


Nathan Benfell, Chair, Fiordland Business Association

3:50

Afternoon Tea

4:20

Hopuhopu Development Case Study: Setting the standard for modern and affordable housing for iwi

  • Connecting people, culture, and place to provide communities rather than just shelter

  • Developing in a way that speaks to the unique needs of Waikato Tainui

  • Ensuring this development is sustainable and resilient to future change


Marae Tukere, General Manager, Oranga, Waikato-Tainui


Alieta Waitoa, General Manager, Operations, Waikato-Tainui

4:50

Te Pākau Maru Case Study: Beyond Housing – Building Intentional Communities

  • Exploration of the redevelopment of a brownfield site through a people-centred and place-based approach

  • Understanding key funding and financing considerations when building intentional mixed tenure communities


Annie Wilson, General Manager, Kāinga Maha


James Stewart, General Manager, Home Capital Partners

5:20

Chairperson’s Closing Address

5:30

End of Day One

Day Two | Wednesday, 7 May 2025

9:00

Chairperson’s Opening Remarks

Professor Nevil Pierse, BSc, MSc, PhD, Research Professor, Co-Director of He Kainga Oranga / Housing and Health Research Programme, University of  Otago

Unique Affordable and Community Housing Solutions 

9:15

Why is shared ownership so important in achieving an affordable future housing landscape?

  • What is shared ownership and what does it achieve as a tenure product?

  • What sort of costs can a CHP or Trust expect from offering shared ownership?

  • Setting up a shared ownership scheme within your organisations: a cost-benefit analysis

  • Evaluating the lived experience and community impacts of shared ownership schemes


Dominic Foote, Chief Executive Officer, New Zealand Housing Foundation

9:45

Locking in affordable housing commitments from developers by utilising inclusionary zoning 

  • How can inclusionary housing become such an important tool in building affordable housing in the future?

  • Making the case to developers that inclusionary zoning is in their financial interest


Julie Scott, CEO, Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust

10:15

Morning Tea 

10:45

Case Study: Weighing the pros and cons of operating as a for-profit CHP

  • Explaining how Modus Community Housing works and the benefits it sees in its for-profit model

  • Exploring whether the for-profit CHP model can work at scale

  • Tackling the potential downsides to for-profit CHPs and how these can be overcome


David Nixon, CEO, Modus Community Housing

Local Council Housing

11:15

Panel: Navigating the uncertainty around funding for local council housing

  • Identifying where local councils can positively influence affordable housing

  • Strengthening partnerships to assist with affordable housing when funding runs dry

  • Communicating the extent to which council can and cannot influence housing outcomes

  • Agreeing on the role councils should be playing in affordable housing in 10 years


Moderator: Kayla Stewart, Housing Policy & Strategy Specialist, Waitaki District Council


Bruce Rendall, Head of City Growth and Property, Christchurch City Council


Gill Brown, Principal Policy Advisor – Housing, Dunedin City Council

12:05

Engaging in the practice of land Banking for proactive relocation in the face of climate change

  • Purchasing land to secure homes for residents who will be dislocated due to environmental change in the future

  • Funding the relocation of property owners by selling a portion of new stock at market rate and reserving the rest for a direct transfer

  • Managing the desires of each property owner by allowing them the right to sell their home, design their own home, and be included in the transition process

  • How does this scheme help with housing affordability, and can it be used as a model across New Zealand?


Hamish Dobbie, Chief Executive Officer, Huruni District Council

12:35

Lunch

Sustainable Construction

1:45

Outlining the future of offsite manufacturing and how CHPs and Councils can get involved

  • Embracing the modular and tiny homes revolution while it is still new

  • The importance of an all-of-government OSM strategy to help stimulate the sector

  • Using the Ministry of Education’s increase in OSM as a template for Community Housing

  • How can CHPs and Councils use OSM as part their next affordable housing develop project?


Scott Fisher, CEO, Offsite NZ

2:15

Panel: How can the future of affordable housing achieve financial and environmental sustainability through innovative design and construction

  • What are the most exciting design and construction trends that we should be looking towards?

  • What can CHPs/Councils/Developers/Trusts/Architects do with minimal budget and in the short term to make their existing stock more sustainable?

  • What are the minimum sustainability requirements that new developments or retrofits should incorporate and how do we ensure this happens?


Guy Shaw, Interim Chair, Board Member, Te Tōpūtanga o te Whare Korou ki Aotearoa, Passive House Institute NZ

Representative, BRANZ

3:05

Afternoon Tea

3:35

How can sustainability make housing more affordable

Creating an affordable housing legacy

4:05

Closing Panel: Building a Resilient Future in Community Housing

  • Understanding where the sector wants to head and whether it is trending in that direction

  • Identifying the single most important change that can be made by each CHP, Council and Developer


Judy Matai’a, Head of Housing and Pasefika Development, VisionWest Community Trust


Vicki Sykes, Chief Executive Officer, Monte Cecilia Housing Trust


Conrad LaPointe, Chief Executive Officer, Habitat for Humanity

5:00

End of Day

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