Pacific Profiles - Cook Island Maori

Tenure

• In 2001, 24 percent of Cook Island Maori aged 15 years and over stated that they owned or partly owned their own home – slightly below the level of 26 percent for the Pacific population. The comparable figure for the New Zealand population was 55 percent.
• Cook Island Maori women (25 percent) were slightly more likely than Cook Island Maori men (23 percent) to own the home in which they lived.
• Cook Island Maori in the older age groups had a higher home ownership rate than their younger counterparts. In 2001, 48 percent of Cook Island Maori aged between 45 and 64 years owned their own home, whereas among those aged between 25 and 44 years the equivalent proportion was 26 percent.
• Cook Island Maori born overseas were more likely to own their own home (31 percent) than New Zealand-born Cook Island Maori (19 percent). The older age structure of the overseas-born Cook Island Maori population is a contributing factor to this difference.

Rental housing

• The proportion of Cook Island Maori people living in rental accommodation increased from 53 percent in 1991 to 57 percent in 1996 and to 63 percent in 2001. Conversely, the proportion of the Cook Island Maori population living in dwellings owned (with or without a mortgage) by a member of the household decreased from 47 percent in 1991 to 43 percent in 1996 and to 37 percent in 2001.
• The trend away from home ownership mirrors the national situation, with the proportion of the New Zealand population living in rental housing increasing from 25 percent in 1991 to 33 percent in 2001.
• Among those Cook Island Maori living in rental accommodation, 49 percent were in Housing New Zealand accommodation in 2001 – down from 57 percent in 1996.
• Proportionately more overseas-born Cook Island Maori people living in rental housing were in Housing New Zealand accommodation than those born in New Zealand (59 percent and 44 percent respectively).
• Of those Cook Island Maori living in rented accommodation in 2001, nearly half (49 percent) were living in households paying less than $150 a week in rent. The comparable proportion for the New Zealand population was 38 percent.
• The levels of weekly rent paid by Cook Island Maori people are similar to the Pacific population, as figure 9.2 shows.