The NZDF will lease 61 new houses in Devonport. Photo: Supplied / NZ Navy
Starting work on the building of 13 new homes for defence personnel in the Manawatū is a "significant step forward", says the government.
"The largest defence housing project in decades is officially underway," Associate Defence Minister Chris Penk announced on Tuesday.
The project includes the 13 homes in Ohakea and Linton, as well as 10 at Burnham and another 50 at Waiouru.
Another 61 houses will be leased at Devonport, the Navy announced in April.
The $75m Waiouru project was approved in 2023 by the Labour-led government. While the work was described as urgent, construction has not started yet and the government will not say why not.
"The Waiouru project remains subject to commercial sensitivities and an announcement will be made once it's appropriate to do so," Penk's office said.
Penk - who was at Linton for a sod turning ceremony - said it was "the most ambitious defence housing initiative since the 1980s".
"This is just the beginning. The Defence Force is preparing to go to market around the end of 2025 for additional new housing at Linton, Ohakea, Burnham and Trentham Military Camp."
The Defence Capability Plan in April put the total housing spend over the next four years between $300 million and $600m
A NZ Defence Force (NZDF) statement this week said this spending was "subject to future budgets", and Penk has referred to spending "up to $600m".
An early 2023 estimate found it would require more than a billion dollars in capital and $2b operating spending over 25 years to regenerate all 1900 NZDF homes - "mostly in poor condition", although some upgrades have since been undertaken - across nine locations.
An upgrade plan in 2019 said Ohakea needed $50-60m for housing, spread over 2021-24.
In July 2024, NZDF said it was moving ahead with a half-billion expansion and housing upgrade in Waiouru over 25 years.
Budget 2025 put aside $20m over four years to lease homes and begin design work on new ones, with extra set aside to lease "planned housing in Waiouru".
This compared with $60m over four years to maintain information capability, and more than $2 billion for five maritime helicopters. It aimed to save $120m over the period by cutting civilian staff.
The housing programme's final aim was to deliver 277 new houses, modernise 877, dispose of 267 and rent out 524, the NZDF said on Tuesday.
At Linton camp, the barracks are also in poor condition, cold and noisy.
"Closure of entire barrack blocks or rooms for emergency repairs is a frequent occurrence," Penk told ministers in 2024.
A preliminary business case to upgrade the barracks was completed in April 2023.
Penk sought approval in April for the detailed business case for a public-private partnership to build more than 1100 new barrack rooms and a mess, telling ministers their condition "undermines learning and operational effectiveness", and was seeing people quit which was "a profound and current issue for the NZDF".
The defence housing announcement came shortly after announcement about school constructions, with the government announcing it would spend $413m on school upgrades. More than $350m of that was pre-announced funding.
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