IPWEA Awards Winners

Winner of the Supreme Award, and Winner of the Excellence in Environmental & Sustainability category

Piritahi Alliance’s approach to diverting thousands of tonnes of construction waste away from landfill in its House Removal Programme has won the alliance two prestigious awards in the 2021 IPWEA NZ Asset Management Awards. The first was as winners of Excellence in Environmental & Sustainability Award Category. The House Removal Programme (HRP) went on to win the inaugural Kōmata O Te Rangi Taonga Supreme Award.

IPWEA NZ (The Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia) presented its highest accolade ever in the 16-year history of the coveted awards taking place at the Asset Management Excellence Awards Virtual Edition on Thursday, 24 February 2022.

The precious Kōmata O Te Rangi Taonga was presented to Alliance General Manager Mat Tucker for its outstanding House Removal Programme, recognising the very best in asset management. 

The significance of the Awards was outlined by IPWEA NZ Chief Executive Murray Pugh.

“The inaugural Supreme Asset Management Award is an important development in elevating the standing of our Asset Management profession and helping the public to see and understand the importance of asset management in our communities.  Kōmata O Te Rangi is presented to the project that stands out as an exemplar of asset management at its very best and we are delighted to celebrate this accolade with Piritahi and Kāinga Ora”. - Murray Pugh, IPWEA NZ Chief Executive  

Mat Tucker was thrilled with the recognition, “Piritahi is honoured to be named winners of IPWEA NZ’s inaugural Supreme Asset Management Award, and equally thrilled to win in our category as well.   

“The House Removal Programme is a shining example of alliancing at its best, as we work collaboratively with our client and partner, Kāinga Ora, to achieve sustainable, environmental, and innovative outcomes across the programme. We love coming to work every day to enable more warm, dry homes in Tāmaki Makaurau, but we’re just as passionate about adding value to our communities and protecting the environment while we do this important work. We are proud to share this accolade with Kāinga Ora and all of our alliance partners today,” says Mat Tucker, Piritahi Alliance General Manager. 

“The Piritahi Alliance was established with social, cultural, economic, and environmental policies in place, including targets to measure its success. With the significant task of removing 7,000 old state houses in Tāmaki Makaurau, the Piritahi House Removal Programme swung into action, standing up to its commitment, while collaborating in the true spirit of partnership with Kāinga Ora."
- Mark Fraser, General Manager Urban Development Delivery, Kāinga Ora

The scale of the Piritahi project is enormous - to remove 7,000 old state houses that are no longer fit for purpose. On average, a state house weighs 55 tonnes. Simple maths gives an estimated total tonnage of the project at a staggering 385,000 tonnes of house-waste alone – not including soil waste.  

All this waste requires a savings plan and that is where the wisdom of the House Removal Programme fits in. In simple terms, the relocation programme saves 30% of homes. They are being reused by communities around the country for various purposes. When a home cannot be relocated the reuse and recycle approach diverts 80% of construction waste away from landfills. On average, this saves over 1,000 tonnes of waste each month. This programme is having a profound effect on the environment.  

Relocatable houses are being provided to Ara, a charitable trust that uses them to help train young construction apprentices and secondary school students in gateway projects.

Piritahi and Kāinga Ora are also investigating the provision of more appropriate, relocatable houses to iwi and to urban Māori groups, non-governmental organisations, and community groups.

One such community group is the Tongan community where Piritahi has donated six deconstructed homes to the Tongan Disaster Relief effort to replace homes that were destroyed in the Hunga TongaHungaHa'apai volcanic eruption of January 2022.  

The IPWEA Kōmata O Te Rangi Taonga is now on the move.


It has been decided to share the special IPWEA Supreme Award achievement with all our partners in the true spirit of the Alliance. This means Mat and key members of the Delivery team on the House Removal Programme will be attending staff forums at home companies and talking about the award, the work behind it and celebrating the win as one we can all share in.  

The first stop for the taonga was Woods at their monthly staff BBQ in March. Woods’ employee and Piritahi Community Liaison Advisor at Waikōwhai Nathan Saluni offered the karakia before Mat presented the Supreme Award to Woods Managing Director Mark Williams. Each home company will also be presented a copy of their own framed certificate for keeps.  

IPWEA NZ CE Murray Pugh joined the all-staff Alliance Hui recently to outline the reasons behind the success of the House Removal Programme in the IPWEA Awards.

Category Winner – Excellence in Environmental and Sustainability 

Pugh welcomed the opportunity to meet the Piritahi Alliance team and outlined the steps the judging panel took to reach their decision in choosing the Piritahi House Removal Programme (PHRP) as the Category winner. Pugh said the Piritahi entry showed an extremely high standard of excellence in asset management and that it met a “very high bar” set under the judging criteria.   

What stood out was the innovation and achievements that are being reached. Pugh said, “When the judges looked at the House Removal Programme, it really stood out as something that asset managers across NZ, regardless of their asset type, need to be striving for.”

The judging panel was particularly impressed with the sustainable community focus of the Programme that sets out to Reuse, Recycle, Relocate homes away from landfills. “That is what set the PHRP entry apart from the rest. This sustainability should be at the heart of excellence in asset management in this country which is to deliver a certain level of service that meets community expectations,” he added. “The PHRP met that ideal and is showing how to do it very well – how to engage with the community, how to understand the community, what its expectations are and to execute on that.”

Having that social impact was seen by the judges as significantly contributing to sustainability. Pugh outlined that it was not just environmental sustainability alone - but social, cultural and wellbeing sustainability as well.   

OVERALL WINNER - Supreme Asset Management Excellence Award, Kōmata o te Rangi

When it came to choosing the inaugural Supreme Award winner Piritahi was in the mix with the other seven category winners.

That list of category winners includes projects by Downer, Fulton Hogan, Waikato District Council, Far North District Council, Dunedin City Council, Wellington City Council, Beca, Waka Kotahi, Watercare Services Ltd and others.    

What tipped the balance?  

Murray Pugh said the sustainability and environmental impact of the programme is also the current focus for communities around the world.  “They are critical national issues and global issues, achieving global goals is vital to the community local and abroad."

The Piritahi House Removal Programme (PHRP) is an amazing example of taking action and getting real results. The way that the PHRP has gone about the engagement and participation of the community really stands out in the excellence level. It has become the beacon of achieving a Supreme Award." - Murray Pugh, IPWEA NZ Chief Executive

Pugh explained the Supreme Award category was installed in the IPWEA Awards to elevate the profile of Asset Management Excellence in Aotearoa, New Zealand.  

IPWEA Awards Winners

Winner of the Supreme Award, and Winner of the Excellence in Environmental & Sustainability category

Piritahi Alliance’s approach to diverting thousands of tonnes of construction waste away from landfill in its House Removal Programme has won the alliance two prestigious awards in the 2021 IPWEA NZ Asset Management Awards. The first was as winners of Excellence in Environmental & Sustainability Award Category. The House Removal Programme (HRP) went on to win the inaugural Kōmata O Te Rangi Taonga Supreme Award.

IPWEA NZ (The Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia) presented its highest accolade ever in the 16-year history of the coveted awards taking place at the Asset Management Excellence Awards Virtual Edition on Thursday, 24 February 2022.

The precious Kōmata O Te Rangi Taonga was presented to Alliance General Manager Mat Tucker for its outstanding House Removal Programme, recognising the very best in asset management. 

The significance of the Awards was outlined by IPWEA NZ Chief Executive Murray Pugh.

“The inaugural Supreme Asset Management Award is an important development in elevating the standing of our Asset Management profession and helping the public to see and understand the importance of asset management in our communities.  Kōmata O Te Rangi is presented to the project that stands out as an exemplar of asset management at its very best and we are delighted to celebrate this accolade with Piritahi and Kāinga Ora”. - Murray Pugh, IPWEA NZ Chief Executive  

Mat Tucker was thrilled with the recognition, “Piritahi is honoured to be named winners of IPWEA NZ’s inaugural Supreme Asset Management Award, and equally thrilled to win in our category as well.   

“The House Removal Programme is a shining example of alliancing at its best, as we work collaboratively with our client and partner, Kāinga Ora, to achieve sustainable, environmental, and innovative outcomes across the programme. We love coming to work every day to enable more warm, dry homes in Tāmaki Makaurau, but we’re just as passionate about adding value to our communities and protecting the environment while we do this important work. We are proud to share this accolade with Kāinga Ora and all of our alliance partners today,” says Mat Tucker, Piritahi Alliance General Manager. 

“The Piritahi Alliance was established with social, cultural, economic, and environmental policies in place, including targets to measure its success. With the significant task of removing 7,000 old state houses in Tāmaki Makaurau, the Piritahi House Removal Programme swung into action, standing up to its commitment, while collaborating in the true spirit of partnership with Kāinga Ora."
- Mark Fraser, General Manager Urban Development Delivery, Kāinga Ora

The scale of the Piritahi project is enormous - to remove 7,000 old state houses that are no longer fit for purpose. On average, a state house weighs 55 tonnes. Simple maths gives an estimated total tonnage of the project at a staggering 385,000 tonnes of house-waste alone – not including soil waste.  

All this waste requires a savings plan and that is where the wisdom of the House Removal Programme fits in. In simple terms, the relocation programme saves 30% of homes. They are being reused by communities around the country for various purposes. When a home cannot be relocated the reuse and recycle approach diverts 80% of construction waste away from landfills. On average, this saves over 1,000 tonnes of waste each month. This programme is having a profound effect on the environment.  

Relocatable houses are being provided to Ara, a charitable trust that uses them to help train young construction apprentices and secondary school students in gateway projects.

Piritahi and Kāinga Ora are also investigating the provision of more appropriate, relocatable houses to iwi and to urban Māori groups, non-governmental organisations, and community groups.

One such community group is the Tongan community where Piritahi has donated six deconstructed homes to the Tongan Disaster Relief effort to replace homes that were destroyed in the Hunga TongaHungaHa'apai volcanic eruption of January 2022.  

The IPWEA Kōmata O Te Rangi Taonga is now on the move.


It has been decided to share the special IPWEA Supreme Award achievement with all our partners in the true spirit of the Alliance. This means Mat and key members of the Delivery team on the House Removal Programme will be attending staff forums at home companies and talking about the award, the work behind it and celebrating the win as one we can all share in.  

The first stop for the taonga was Woods at their monthly staff BBQ in March. Woods’ employee and Piritahi Community Liaison Advisor at Waikōwhai Nathan Saluni offered the karakia before Mat presented the Supreme Award to Woods Managing Director Mark Williams. Each home company will also be presented a copy of their own framed certificate for keeps.  

IPWEA NZ CE Murray Pugh joined the all-staff Alliance Hui recently to outline the reasons behind the success of the House Removal Programme in the IPWEA Awards.

Category Winner – Excellence in Environmental and Sustainability 

Pugh welcomed the opportunity to meet the Piritahi Alliance team and outlined the steps the judging panel took to reach their decision in choosing the Piritahi House Removal Programme (PHRP) as the Category winner. Pugh said the Piritahi entry showed an extremely high standard of excellence in asset management and that it met a “very high bar” set under the judging criteria.   

What stood out was the innovation and achievements that are being reached. Pugh said, “When the judges looked at the House Removal Programme, it really stood out as something that asset managers across NZ, regardless of their asset type, need to be striving for.”

The judging panel was particularly impressed with the sustainable community focus of the Programme that sets out to Reuse, Recycle, Relocate homes away from landfills. “That is what set the PHRP entry apart from the rest. This sustainability should be at the heart of excellence in asset management in this country which is to deliver a certain level of service that meets community expectations,” he added. “The PHRP met that ideal and is showing how to do it very well – how to engage with the community, how to understand the community, what its expectations are and to execute on that.”

Having that social impact was seen by the judges as significantly contributing to sustainability. Pugh outlined that it was not just environmental sustainability alone - but social, cultural and wellbeing sustainability as well.   

OVERALL WINNER - Supreme Asset Management Excellence Award, Kōmata o te Rangi

When it came to choosing the inaugural Supreme Award winner Piritahi was in the mix with the other seven category winners.

That list of category winners includes projects by Downer, Fulton Hogan, Waikato District Council, Far North District Council, Dunedin City Council, Wellington City Council, Beca, Waka Kotahi, Watercare Services Ltd and others.    

What tipped the balance?  

Murray Pugh said the sustainability and environmental impact of the programme is also the current focus for communities around the world.  “They are critical national issues and global issues, achieving global goals is vital to the community local and abroad."

The Piritahi House Removal Programme (PHRP) is an amazing example of taking action and getting real results. The way that the PHRP has gone about the engagement and participation of the community really stands out in the excellence level. It has become the beacon of achieving a Supreme Award." - Murray Pugh, IPWEA NZ Chief Executive

Pugh explained the Supreme Award category was installed in the IPWEA Awards to elevate the profile of Asset Management Excellence in Aotearoa, New Zealand.  

IPWEA Awards Winners

Winner of the Supreme Award, and Winner of the Excellence in Environmental & Sustainability category

Piritahi Alliance’s approach to diverting thousands of tonnes of construction waste away from landfill in its House Removal Programme has won the alliance two prestigious awards in the 2021 IPWEA NZ Asset Management Awards. The first was as winners of Excellence in Environmental & Sustainability Award Category. The House Removal Programme (HRP) went on to win the inaugural Kōmata O Te Rangi Taonga Supreme Award.

IPWEA NZ (The Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia) presented its highest accolade ever in the 16-year history of the coveted awards taking place at the Asset Management Excellence Awards Virtual Edition on Thursday, 24 February 2022.

The precious Kōmata O Te Rangi Taonga was presented to Alliance General Manager Mat Tucker for its outstanding House Removal Programme, recognising the very best in asset management. 

The significance of the Awards was outlined by IPWEA NZ Chief Executive Murray Pugh.

“The inaugural Supreme Asset Management Award is an important development in elevating the standing of our Asset Management profession and helping the public to see and understand the importance of asset management in our communities.  Kōmata O Te Rangi is presented to the project that stands out as an exemplar of asset management at its very best and we are delighted to celebrate this accolade with Piritahi and Kāinga Ora”. - Murray Pugh, IPWEA NZ Chief Executive  

Mat Tucker was thrilled with the recognition, “Piritahi is honoured to be named winners of IPWEA NZ’s inaugural Supreme Asset Management Award, and equally thrilled to win in our category as well.   

“The House Removal Programme is a shining example of alliancing at its best, as we work collaboratively with our client and partner, Kāinga Ora, to achieve sustainable, environmental, and innovative outcomes across the programme. We love coming to work every day to enable more warm, dry homes in Tāmaki Makaurau, but we’re just as passionate about adding value to our communities and protecting the environment while we do this important work. We are proud to share this accolade with Kāinga Ora and all of our alliance partners today,” says Mat Tucker, Piritahi Alliance General Manager. 

“The Piritahi Alliance was established with social, cultural, economic, and environmental policies in place, including targets to measure its success. With the significant task of removing 7,000 old state houses in Tāmaki Makaurau, the Piritahi House Removal Programme swung into action, standing up to its commitment, while collaborating in the true spirit of partnership with Kāinga Ora."
- Mark Fraser, General Manager Urban Development Delivery, Kāinga Ora

The scale of the Piritahi project is enormous - to remove 7,000 old state houses that are no longer fit for purpose. On average, a state house weighs 55 tonnes. Simple maths gives an estimated total tonnage of the project at a staggering 385,000 tonnes of house-waste alone – not including soil waste.  

All this waste requires a savings plan and that is where the wisdom of the House Removal Programme fits in. In simple terms, the relocation programme saves 30% of homes. They are being reused by communities around the country for various purposes. When a home cannot be relocated the reuse and recycle approach diverts 80% of construction waste away from landfills. On average, this saves over 1,000 tonnes of waste each month. This programme is having a profound effect on the environment.  

Relocatable houses are being provided to Ara, a charitable trust that uses them to help train young construction apprentices and secondary school students in gateway projects.

Piritahi and Kāinga Ora are also investigating the provision of more appropriate, relocatable houses to iwi and to urban Māori groups, non-governmental organisations, and community groups.

One such community group is the Tongan community where Piritahi has donated six deconstructed homes to the Tongan Disaster Relief effort to replace homes that were destroyed in the Hunga TongaHungaHa'apai volcanic eruption of January 2022.  

The IPWEA Kōmata O Te Rangi Taonga is now on the move.


It has been decided to share the special IPWEA Supreme Award achievement with all our partners in the true spirit of the Alliance. This means Mat and key members of the Delivery team on the House Removal Programme will be attending staff forums at home companies and talking about the award, the work behind it and celebrating the win as one we can all share in.  

The first stop for the taonga was Woods at their monthly staff BBQ in March. Woods’ employee and Piritahi Community Liaison Advisor at Waikōwhai Nathan Saluni offered the karakia before Mat presented the Supreme Award to Woods Managing Director Mark Williams. Each home company will also be presented a copy of their own framed certificate for keeps.  

IPWEA NZ CE Murray Pugh joined the all-staff Alliance Hui recently to outline the reasons behind the success of the House Removal Programme in the IPWEA Awards.

Category Winner – Excellence in Environmental and Sustainability 

Pugh welcomed the opportunity to meet the Piritahi Alliance team and outlined the steps the judging panel took to reach their decision in choosing the Piritahi House Removal Programme (PHRP) as the Category winner. Pugh said the Piritahi entry showed an extremely high standard of excellence in asset management and that it met a “very high bar” set under the judging criteria.   

What stood out was the innovation and achievements that are being reached. Pugh said, “When the judges looked at the House Removal Programme, it really stood out as something that asset managers across NZ, regardless of their asset type, need to be striving for.”

The judging panel was particularly impressed with the sustainable community focus of the Programme that sets out to Reuse, Recycle, Relocate homes away from landfills. “That is what set the PHRP entry apart from the rest. This sustainability should be at the heart of excellence in asset management in this country which is to deliver a certain level of service that meets community expectations,” he added. “The PHRP met that ideal and is showing how to do it very well – how to engage with the community, how to understand the community, what its expectations are and to execute on that.”

Having that social impact was seen by the judges as significantly contributing to sustainability. Pugh outlined that it was not just environmental sustainability alone - but social, cultural and wellbeing sustainability as well.   

OVERALL WINNER - Supreme Asset Management Excellence Award, Kōmata o te Rangi

When it came to choosing the inaugural Supreme Award winner Piritahi was in the mix with the other seven category winners.

That list of category winners includes projects by Downer, Fulton Hogan, Waikato District Council, Far North District Council, Dunedin City Council, Wellington City Council, Beca, Waka Kotahi, Watercare Services Ltd and others.    

What tipped the balance?  

Murray Pugh said the sustainability and environmental impact of the programme is also the current focus for communities around the world.  “They are critical national issues and global issues, achieving global goals is vital to the community local and abroad."

The Piritahi House Removal Programme (PHRP) is an amazing example of taking action and getting real results. The way that the PHRP has gone about the engagement and participation of the community really stands out in the excellence level. It has become the beacon of achieving a Supreme Award." - Murray Pugh, IPWEA NZ Chief Executive

Pugh explained the Supreme Award category was installed in the IPWEA Awards to elevate the profile of Asset Management Excellence in Aotearoa, New Zealand.