Hon Jenny Salesa
Associate Minister for Housing and Urban Development
Minister for Ethnic Communities
28 March 2018
PĀNUI PĀPĀHO
Public housing for Asian seniors opens in Panmure
A new development of 36 public housing units specifically designed for Asian seniors will open in Panmure today, says
Ethnic Communities and Associate Housing and Urban Development Minister Jenny Salesa.
The development has been built by the Chinese New Settlers Services Trust (CNSST), in partnership with the Ministry of
Social Development and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). MBIE’s Social Housing Fund provided
capital funding of more than $5.2 million towards the project.
“CNSST Kotuku House will house Asian seniors in Auckland that face a number of social issues, including isolation,
safety concerns and a lack of independent living options,” Jenny Salesa said.
“As the number of New Zealanders aged over 65 continues to rise, developments such as these will be increasingly in
demand.
“The Chinese New Settlers Services Trust provides social services for more than 15,000 local Asian migrants each year
and the opening of Kotuku House shows this group is responsive to the needs of its community.
“This Government is committed to increasing the supply of long-term public housing but we cannot do this alone. Working
closely in partnership with our Community Housing Providers, such as the CNSST, will be critical in achieving our
goals,” Jenny Salesa said.
CNSST’s Executive Director, Jenny Wang, says Kotuku House is just the start of what the Trust aims to achieve in the
public housing space.
“The Trust is focussed on developing further social housing projects for local Asian seniors, and re-investing our
housing surpluses back into social housing to meet the increased housing, social and cultural demands of the people we
work with,” she said.
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