Tēnā koe Adam

I acknowledge receipt of your official information request to Kāinga Ora -
Homes and Communities dated 1 October 2025 for information on the disposal
of Dixon Street flats Wellington.

We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible and in
any event no later than 30 October 2025, being 20 working days after the
day your request was received. If we are unable to respond to your request
by then, we will notify you of an extension of that timeframe.

Ngā mihi

Ministerial Services
People and Assurance Group

Freephone: 0800 801 601 | Kainga Ora – Homes and Communities
PO Box 2628 Wellington 6140 | New Zealand Government | www.kaingaora.govt
 

 

------------------- Original Message -------------------
From: Adam Irish <[FOI #32438 email]>; 
Received: Wed Oct 01 2025 17:20:07 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
To: GRU Jobs <[Kāinga Ora request email]>; 
Subject: Official Information request - Official Information Act request
Disposal of Dixon Street Flats Wellington

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Dear Kāinga Ora Homes and Communities,

This request is made under the Official Information Act 1982. It concerns
the disposal by Kāinga Ora of the Dixon Street Flats (134 Dixon Street,
Wellington) to Taranaki Whānui entities, followed within weeks by resale
at approximately triple the price.

The public is entitled to a complete account of how a Crown entity
disposed of an iconic public building at apparent gross undervalue, and
why systems designed to safeguard taxpayer value so comprehensively
failed.

Right of First Refusal (RFR) obligations

- All legal advice, internal memoranda, and briefings on Kāinga Ora’s
obligations under Treaty settlement RFR provisions in relation to this
property.

- Confirmation whether Kāinga Ora was required by law to sell at market
value, or whether it chose to interpret the legislation in a way that
allowed a discount.

- If it were legally able to dispose at a discount why it selected a
discount to in-effect gift equity to a specific entity over another at the
cost to taxpayers.

- Any records acknowledging that to sell at below-market value is to erode
Crown balance sheet integrity and short-change taxpayers.

Offer process and iwi eligibility

- The statutory basis under which Kāinga Ora determined which iwi entity
was entitled to the RFR offer for the Dixon Street Flats.

- Confirmation whether more than one iwi settlement entity held RFR rights
over the property.

- how Kāinga Ora decided which entity to approach.

- whether the property was offered to more than one iwi, and if not, why
not.

- Any internal or external legal advice on whether the RFR was
administered lawfully in light of overlapping iwi interests.

- If more than one was eligible,- In Wellington, there are multiple iwi
with overlapping interests and separate settlement arrangements (e.g.
Taranaki Whānui, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Te Āti Awa, and others), records
showing:

- Whether all groups were offered the option to buy it under market value
and could have legally been offered it below market value.

- If Kāinga Ora is empowered to dispose of Crown property under the Right
of First Refusal at less than market value, what if any lower limit
applies? In principle, could another iwi organisation (with the legal
ability to fall under the RFR) have been offered the Dixon Street Flats
for a nominal sum (e.g. $1) if it advanced a stronger claim to being the
primary applicant under the RFR? Please provide any legal or policy advice
held by Kāinga Ora that defines the boundaries of permissible discounting
under RFR, and clarifies whether there are statutory or fiduciary
constraints preventing disposals at non-market based prices.

Eligibility of the purchaser entity

- Confirmation of the legal identity of the purchaser (company name,
charitable trust, or Iwi authority) to whom Kāinga Ora sold the Dixon
Street Flats.

- Evidence that this entity is the mandated settlement entity under the
relevant Treaty settlement legislation entitled to exercise RFR rights.

- Any internal or external legal advice Kāinga Ora received about whether
the entity met the statutory definition of an RFR holder.

- If the entity was not the mandated settlement entity, all records
explaining the legal authority under which Kāinga Ora proceeded with the
sale.

Obligations on purchaser post-sale

- Copies of any contractual terms, covenants, or statutory obligations
imposed on the purchaser to maintain, protect, or invest in the Dixon
Street Flats after acquisition.

- Records showing whether Kāinga Ora considered attaching such obligations
(given the building’s heritage status and taxpayer value at stake).

- Confirmation whether Kāinga Ora retains any monitoring, reporting, or
clawback rights if the property is resold, neglected, demolished, not
developed, and timeframes.

- Any internal or external legal advice regarding Kāinga Ora’s duty to
safeguard the asset’s condition when transferring it under RFR.

Valuations and pricing

- Copies of all valuations (internal and external) relied upon before the
sale.

- The building's Council Valuation.

- All correspondence discussing how a sale price of $1.04m was defensible,
particularly when resale weeks later achieved three times that figure.

- Documentation explaining whether valuations were stress-tested against
open-market offers or development yield analysis.

- Any acknowledgement that taxpayers have effectively subsidised a
windfall profit for subsequent owners. And what legal basis the Crown
Entity had to not protect public funds and act outside its remit.

Governance and decision-making

- Board minutes, executive papers, and delegated authority approvals
showing who authorised the transaction and on what rationale.

- Any probity or audit reports warning of the reputational and fiscal risk
of proceeding at undervalue.

- Any Treasury or HUD input, or ministerial briefings, raising concern
about disposal of public assets without returning a fair market value.

Ministerial awareness

- All briefings, aides-mémoire, or reports prepared for the Minister of
Housing (Hon. Chris Bishop) or his office concerning the Dixon Street
Flats sale.

- Confirmation of the date(s) on which the Minister or his office was
informed of:
    - the decision to sell the property,
    - the proposed sale price, and
    - the difference between that price and market value.

- Any records of the Minister or his office raising questions or concerns
about the transaction, or conversely endorsing the approach.

- Any correspondence between Kāinga Ora and the Minister’s office on the
potential reputational or fiscal risks of the disposal.

Legal exposure and escalation

- Material assessing whether Kāinga Ora’s actions exposed the Crown to
Judicial Review for illegality, unreasonableness, or improper purpose.

- Records of any discussion regarding any staff misconduct or probity and
procurement failures, referral to the Auditor-General, Serious Fraud
Office, or Ombudsman.

- Copies of any complaints received, and Kāinga Ora’s internal treatment
of those complaints.

Systemic issues

- Reports or reviews considering whether the Treaty RFR process has
repeatedly led to below-market sales, and the cumulative fiscal loss to
taxpayers.

- Any advice to Ministers or the Kāinga Ora Board recommending reform of
RFR processes to prevent taxpayer erosion.

- Any acknowledgement that such disposals, if repeated, amount to a
systematic transfer of public wealth for private or ideological ends.

Statutory obligations

- If you intend to withhold any information, please, identify the specific
ground under the OIA and explain in detail why it applies; and

Provide the balancing analysis under s.9(1) OIA, recognising the
overwhelming public interest in transparency where taxpayer value has been
apparently sacrificed. If no information exists, please state that clearly
under s.18(e).

Why commercial/confidential grounds do not apply

I note that Kāinga Ora often seeks to withhold information under
s.9(2)(b)(ii) (commercial prejudice) or s.9(2)(ba) (confidentiality).
Those grounds are inapplicable here because, the transaction is complete.
There is no live negotiation to prejudice, no ongoing tender, and no
commercial sensitivity remaining.

The public interest overrides any residual confidentiality. Taxpayers have
borne the loss. Transparency about how and why an asset was disposed at
undervalue is essential to prevent recurrence.

- RFR is a statutory process it was a Crown disposal governed by law.
Shielding the terms now serves no lawful purpose.

- The resale is public record. Market value has already been exposed
through the resale price, eliminating any arguable confidentiality.

Accordingly, any withholding under these grounds would be a misapplication
of the OIA and contrary to s.9(1), which requires release where the public
interest in accountability outweighs any claimed harm.

This request is not made lightly. Kāinga Ora is a Crown entity, funded by
and accountable to the public. To dispose of an asset at such undervalue
is not a minor accounting irregularity but a betrayal of it duty of
stewardship public financial assets that have been built up and maintained
by generations of tax payers.

The public deserves to know whether this was incompetence, ideology, or
deliberate disregard for legal and fiduciary obligations. If the evidence
shows that Kāinga Ora has normalised such practice, then this OIA response
will provide the foundation for investigation, reform by Minister/s,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the Auditor-General, Public Service
Commission, or the courts.

I look forward to your response within the statutory timeframe.

Nāku noa nā

Adam

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