Shelley Katae is the Chief Executive Officer of Tāmaki Regeneration Company, a Crown and Auckland Council entity dedicated to bringing 10,500 new healthy, modern homes, and upgraded streets, parks and town centres to Glen Innes, Point England, and Panmure in East Auckland.
Watch Shelley’s interview with Rachel Smalley below as they discuss growing up in small but mighty rural towns, the loss of te reo Māori and identity, leaving behind the stigma around public housing, and so much more. This is the fourth of a seven-part interview series for WOMAN, where Rachel will be uncovering extraordinary stories from a handful of exceptional kiwi women. Each has their own unique story to tell. Watch Shelley’s full interview below.
Watch the full interview here:
There are around 20,00 people that live in Glen Innes, Point England, and Panmure combined, with the majority of this population being Māori and Pasifika. Shelley Katae and the Tāmaki Regeneration Company’s goal is to replace 2,500 dilapidated homes in the area with 10,500 state affordable rentals and shared ownership homes, as well as introducing social and economic programmes.
“I think that, like anyone growing up in Aotearoa, we absolutely want to see all of our kids grow up in a home that gives them a sound base to achieve aspirations, get an education, have a job, be safe, be warm, dry and healthy. I think we have to collectively make sure that everybody has that opportunity,” says Shelley.
“Only 8% of Māori in Tāmaki own their own home, 9% Pasifika, and 63% Pakeha. We do want Pakeha to remain at 63%, absolutely, but we’ve got a job to do to change those inequities that quite often occur for our Māori and Pacific whānau. I feel gutted that today we have a real stigma around public housing. So that’s kind of the first thing I think we need to move away from.”
Shelley and the organisation’s vision is massive – and has never been achieved in New Zealand before – but she is a self-proclaimed “perpetual optimist” and devoted to bettering the future of Aotearoa.
Listen to full audio version here:
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