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After ongoing problems with getting houses built, and then finding buyers for them, the Government gave KiwiBuild a makeover.
The target to build 100,000 houses in ten years was dropped, and a new Housing Minister, Megan Woods, was appointed.
However a risk register released to National's Judith Collins showed there were still 12 areas flagged as high risk.
They include a lack of resourcing to establish the programme effectively, losing control of the KiwiBuild 'story', poorly conceived investment decisions, perceptions funding is not being used fairly or transparently and failing to deliver expected outcomes and benefits.
That created the potential for legal challenges and a loss in confidence and trust from ministers and other key stakeholders, said the risk report.
It also lists a number of initiatives being done to manage those risks, including weekly meetings with ministers, a new approach to the work programme, looking at using contractors to fill staffing gaps and handling key data better.
Housing Minister Megan Woods told the House as part of the reset a number of risks and challenges were "identified and addressed".
They included building in areas with little demand, residency requirements putting some buyers off, the difficulty some people had raising a deposit and problems with developer underwrites.
The risk register, she said, was to list "high risk issues that could happen without adequate systems in place to mitigate them".
Ms Collins wanted to know why managing conflicts of interest was flagged.
Again, Ms Woods said that was about a "possible" risk and the register showed it was "being managed".
Legal challenges, including disputes and judicial reviews, relating to handling conflicts of interest and the procurement process were listed as possible risks.
The cause was not having the "capability or capacity" to keep the application and assessment process separate and a "lack of perceived separation between stakeholders and decision-makers".
"Does she agree with her ministry that Kiwibuild may have opened itself to potential legal ramifications due to any unfair processes?" asked Ms Collins.
The minister replied that like any public entity spending public money, KiwiBuild needed to have a "clearly spelt out risk register" that set out the risks and mitigations.
"This is no different than any other departmental risk register - so no I do not agree with her."
Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut
This Wednesday, we are having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.
John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!
As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!
John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.
Share your question below now ⬇️
Calling All Puzzle Masters! Can You Solve This?
When John was six years old he hammered a nail into his favorite tree to mark his height.
Ten years later at age sixteen, John returned to see how much higher the nail was.
If the tree grew by five centimetres each year, how much higher would the nail be?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
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Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?
Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.
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