Garry Moore- Community Housing Trust and CHA Council member
“I was absolutely on a high when I left the annual conference on Friday. The amazing topics, speakers and attendees was a stimulating smorgasbord of mind and heart food. I am still spinning! I know how much goes into making this sort of event run so smoothly. Your whole team, the four of you, were tireless and always there.”
Te Matapihi were encouraged to see strong political representation and clear commitment to the sector. We were particularly pleased to have Minister Te Ururoa Flavell open the conference alongside Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett.
Sherry Carne- Artemis Research Ltd said “I thought the conference was one of the better ones I have attended and it proved how CHA is really up to date with the issues the sector is facing. The topics were relevant to the current, changing environment and there were a couple of times when I would have really liked to have been in both workshop options. I was interested to see how much is ‘in development’ stages still – Housing Bonds, Minister English’s comment about tell us about your project. It was great to network with others who work in the sector and realise we are all facing similar issues. Good speakers – and good political, local and national, presence“.
Allan Pollard- Trusthouse “I would like to pass on my thanks to you and all the Team at CHA for what I thought was an outstanding conference that really highlighted the issues before the social housing sector. Personally the whole conference has lifted the fog around the transfer process. It highlights to me that no matter what price is paid for the upcoming transfers it is where the additional funds are coming from to regenerate and/or redevelop stock that is modern, affordable and creates the community aesthetics that are so important to community well-being that is the really important issue that is not yet properly addressed. I was not satisfied that any government official answered this question with any real clarity or, in fact, even understands the issue. Stock transfers is the easy part, it is how anyone is going to be able to develop the stock without capital subsidy or angel investors that is the part that no one seems very clear about.”
Nick Collins- Beacon Pathway”Congratulations to you and your team – a superbly run conference delivering real value to participants. Furthermore you effectively managed to get real alignment with Ministers which will provide even better foundations on which to grow the community housing sector.”
Margaret Speirs from the Wellington Women’s Boarding House said “I found Dr Sam Tsemberis’s talk informative, thought-provoking, exciting……..so impressive! He was the highlight of the one day I spent at the conference.”
Richard Norman – Victoria University was also very positive in his comments “Thanks for providing the opportunity to visit the Trust House houses in Masterton and for the very strong programme of the community housing conference. The visit reinforced for me the need to have sufficient funds to rebuild stock that is now more than fifty years old. Congratulations on the contribution Community Housing Aotearoa is making to the housing affordability issue that is fundamental to so many of the issues that Bill English has rightly been raising. My work has mostly been focused on central government and the quality of the analysis and argument you’ve been organising is a great contribution to helping the system move beyond policy and delivery which clearly needs rethinking. A major jump from the Nelson conference.”
Along with Bernard Teahan, Richard produced an article in May this year about Trust House. This is an important case example given the current focus on state housing transfers and as the only serious sale of Government houses to date. You can read the article here.
Annie Robinson- from Just Housing Otepoti said “I would just like to say a big Thank You to you all for organising such a fantastic conference last week. It seems that CHA has come such a long way from where they started .Not only are you at the forefront of talking to the right people but it feels like you are directing and influencing policy changes for the better, which is a stunning achievement. Your leadership and commitment to the sector is outstanding.Well done and please continue with the good work and keep up the pressure. It is helping all of us community providers.”
And Shona Atkinson-Bird- Accessible Properties was also positive in her feedback“I thought the venue worked well with the different rooms, the catering was excellent and the speakers were informative and encouraging. It was great to network with other housing providers to see what was working and what wasn’t for them.”
Kevin Hawkins – Connect Supporting Recovery, had this to say:
- “Fantastic pre-conference workshop on Housing First and I was especially impressed with how well the model was supported by evidence -something we could learn from.
- Great work on a best practice guide for providers
- An excellent gathering of ‘minds’ – great networking
- Very disappointed that tenancy management dropped of the radar. I believe we need parallel work on managing tenancies alongside the housing provision work; our houses are full of people who need to be ‘managed’, we should be adapting shared understandings and best practice in this area also. I believe this is going to become more and more an issue with IRR provision being directed at the most needy and potentially the most difficult tenants”
