Housing, aquaculture and environmental developments may be on the way with a small portion of the fast track projects being Māori-led.

At least 14 of the 149 fast track projects are iwi and hapū-led and partnered developments, mostly aimed at expanding housing and aquaculture centres, and addressing environmental and financial impacts on tangata whenua. Māori development minister Tama Potaka says these projects have the potential to boost Māori economic growth and create “greater equality of opportunity”.

A spot on the fast track list doesn’t guarantee a project will go ahead – the list highlights projects the government believes are worth developing, but owners will still need to apply for consideration, with an expert panel then making a final approval. In a statement, Potaka said promoting the growth of iwi and Māori assets would help close the “economic delta between Māori and the rest of New Zealand”.

“The seven aquaculture and farming projects, for example, can strengthen partnerships with iwi to boost Māori development with an expected output of up to 143,000 tonnes per annum,” Potaka said.

Other projects on the list have been criticised for potentially harming the whenua and breaching te Tiriti o Waitangi. Hapū in Northland have already criticised plans to extend the region’s only commercial shipping port for breaching the treaty – the planned port had previously been refused consent due to concerns it would negatively impact cultural values of tangata whenua.

“I think the biggest problem is actually with the Fast Track Act itself. We have, along with many of our other hapū around the motu, submitted an opposition to the act,” Juliane Chetham, spokesperson for Patuharakeke Te Iwi Trust Board, told RNZ.

“[It] is really prejudicial to us because the only sort of Māori provisions that are in there relate to iwi that have got settlements … much of the north do not have settlements, so it’s very prejudicial to the Whangārei tribes because we are not in that position yet and may be some time away.”

Northland

Northland iwi will see the most benefits from the government’s fast track projects list. Te Hau Ora Ō Ngāpuhi, the health entity representing the country’s largest iwi, will see new housing developments along Bisset Road, Kaikohe. The Bisset Road Project is expected to deliver 100 new one, two and three-bedroom “affordable” rentals and community housing. In August, Te Hau Ora Ō Ngāpuhi estimated 90 houses would be built for whānau who had been priced out of the community.

A restoration project for Lake Ōmāpere, owned by the Lake Ōmāpere Trust on behalf of all Ngāpuhi, may also be fast-tracked. The project for the region’s largest lake, located in Kaikohe, will aim to restore the mauri and water quality of the lake through dredging, wetland construction and water level management for the “long-term sustainable use of the lake for the benefit of Ngāpuhi.”

In April 2023, former Ngāpuhi chairman Wane Wharerau called for the government, local council and public to help clean up Lake Ōmāpere. Its condition has degraded over the last three decades due to sediment from forest degradation, and the lake is prone to toxic algae blooms. A formal working agreement between the Trust and council was signed in December to tackle the issue of the lake’s health.

Further north, two Muriwhenua iwi will benefit from separate land and aquaculture projects. The Ngāi Takoto Fast Track Projects plans to develop 140 residential units, water storage and campsite renovations in the Far North, while Te Aupōuri’s Fisheries entity will look to develop nine new marine farms.

Auckland

An application from the Ministry of Housing and Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau, the Carrington Residential Development is one of the largest housing projects on the fast track list. 40 hectares of Crown-owned land in Mt Albert will be used as the new site of 4,000-4,500 homes, to be built over the next 10-15 years.

A separate housing application from Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust was also fast-tracked, with 420 residential and retirement units to be built in the Te Ārai Precinct, alongside the establishment of affordable Ngāti Manuhiri housing. Improvement to land and access of Te Ārai Regional Park are also expected, as well as measures to reduce pressures on the local ecosystem.

Despite originally criticising the Fast Track Bill, Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust chair Terrence Hohneck said the project would be “a step towards us beginning to fully realise the commercial redress opportunities of the land, returned through the settlement process, to the benefit of Ngāti Manuhiri.”

Waikato

A “master-planned” residential project pitched by Waikato-Tainui has also been fast tracked. A new neighbourhood spanning 68 hectares with 1100-1300 homes will be built alongside a neighbourhood centre, while a large retail centre will be built nearby on a 14 hectare site. Meanwhile, Te Awa Lakes Project will see a 2,500 dwelling medium density development on the northern edge of Hamilton City.

A report commissioned by the Waikato Mayoral Forum for 2023 found demand in social housing in the region had more than doubled and the price of housing had risen 45% in the previous five years. The report found that 61,000 more homes would be needed in the region by 2043. Two days following the fast track announcements, the government pledged a $35m investment for 100 homes in partnership with Waikato-Tainui.

Bay of Plenty

A total of 605 residential allotments and a 2.5 hectare commercial precinct will be built as a part of Ngā Pōtiki ā Tamapahore Trust’s Tara Road Development. The development will be built in Pāpāmoa, an area expected to see a spike in urban growth as Tauranga looks to tackle its housing crisis.

Hawke’s Bay

A housing project brought forward by treaty settlement entity Mana Ahuriri will see the development of a “green communities” commercial and industrial park over some 380 hectares, as well as a 1,000 home extension in Bay View, north of Napier. 

Like many other areas of Aotearoa, Napier has a shortage of social housing, made worse by destruction to homes following Cyclone Gabrielle. Mana Ahuriri’s project will also see the creation of ecological parks as well as the preservation and development of key cultural landmarks and features in the area.

South Island

Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Waewae may be able to develop papakāinga beside their marae in Arahua, Awatuna, on the West Coast. With 84% of land in the West Coast being conservational, the region is experiencing a housing shortage, especially for warm and dry homes.

Māori-led CCKV Developments will expand housing on Kākā Valley’s Maitahi Village with 50 new residential allotments which have been earmarked for Ngāti Koata. The iwi became one of the largest landowners in Maitahi Village in 2021, after they were invited, alongside three other local families, to share land ownership. The area had been privately owned for 50 years, and wasn’t included in the settlement process for Ngāti Koata.

Ngāti Koata also own a 25% share in CKSV Māpua Ltd Partnership, which plans to form a mixed-density community and residential development with 320 homes as well as a recreation reserve and community building in the Tasman. The project also includes plans for restoration of the Seaton Valley stream.

Ngāi Tahu Seafood’s Hananui Aquaculture Project in Southland may see an estimated 2,500 hectares of marine space used for farming finfish. With consent declined for the project last year due to concerns over potential adverse effects on threatened species, its inclusion in the bill has been criticised by environmental groups, with WWF-New Zealand calling it “incredibly short-sighted”. Recognised as Aotearoa’s wealthiest iwi, Ngāi Tahu assets have been bolstered by the seafood and tourism industry. The iwi also plans to develop industrial land in Canterbury, which is included on the fast track list too.