Kāinga Ora solvent, but there are 'troubling reports' about the social housing agency

Current Kāinga Ora chair and Labour era minister Mark Gosche - safe for now. (Image: NZME)

Tue, 19 Dec 2023

There is no doubt that Kāinga Ora is solvent, but an array of “troubling reports” about procurement and financial management are driving the urgent review of the social housing agency, says housing minister, Chris Bishop.With $45 billion of assets and $12.7b of debt, Kāinga Ora (KO) does not appear to be over-geared, even with the prediction that its debt will balloon to $28.9b by 2033.Asked directly by BusinessDesk whether KO was solvent, Bishop replied: “I am advised they are solvent.”But there were “worrying tre...

Subscribe to BusinessDesk

Stay informed on business, government and financial developments across New Zealand.

Deeply researched, twice-edited and fact-checked news
Annual subscribers also receive a complimentary subscription to The Wall Street Journal
Personalised email news alerts, plus gift up to 5 stories a month to non-subscribers

You can cancel anytime with two clicks, an email or a phone call.
Find out more.

We are serious about journalism.

Name {{ registerForm.errors.get('name') }}

Email address {{ registerForm.errors.get('email') }}

Phone Number {{ registerForm.errors.get('phone') }}

Job Title {{ registerForm.errors.get('title') }}

Password Minimum password length of 8 characters.
Require at least one upper and lowercase, numeric, and special character. {{ registerForm.errors.get('password') }}

Repeat password {{ registerForm.errors.get('password_confirmation') }}

We had trouble validating your card. It's possible your card provider is preventing us from charging the card. Please contact your card provider or customer support.

Credit Card

Cardholder's name

{{ __(plans[index].name) | capitalize }} {{ plans[index].attributes.old_price | currency }} {{ plans[index].price | currency }}

All subscriptions auto renew but are easy to cancel.

I Accept The Terms Of Service

{{ registerForm.errors.get('terms') }}

Tax: {{ taxAmount(selectedPlan) | currency }}

Total Price Including Tax: {{ priceWithTax(selectedPlan) | currency }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerSeat ? '/ '+ spark.seatName : '' }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerTeam ? '/ '+ __('teams.team') : '' }} / {{ __(selectedPlan.interval) | capitalize }}

Markets Market Close

Infratil, Mainfreight hit by US news flow; NZX down 2.3%

The S&P/NZX 50 fell 2.33% to 11,836.69 points.

Gregor Thompson 5:55pm

Markets

ACC slams CDL's new offer for Millennium & Copthorne shares

The shares lifted 27% on the revised offer.

Rebecca Howard 5:15pm

ACC slams CDL's new offer for Millennium & Copthorne shares

Infrastructure

NZTA moves forward with Bay of Plenty highway

Bishop promises freight and housing perks from $3b roading project.

Oliver Lewis 4:40pm

NZTA moves forward with Bay of Plenty highway

Sponsored

Bayleys Total Property Issue 3 out now

Backed by Bayleys’ national strength and global reach

Bayleys

Sponsored

Go beyond reporting zero emissions

Clean energy that helps businesses and communities thrive

Meridian Energy

More Finance

Finance

FNZ extends controversial catch-up offer

Fintech FNZ has extended its deadline for “catch-up” equity offers, as employee shareholders say discontent grows.In March, the global fintech offered its class B shareholders a “catch-up” offer after it revealed their holdings could be massively diluted following its August capi...

Victoria Young 16 Apr 2025