Latest / The SME Stream / Major businesses are closing in provincial NZ: How can we save our small towns?

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Major businesses are closing in provincial NZ: How can we save our small towns? · The SME Stream

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  Speaker 1: Cura. I'm Susan Nordquitzt and for Chelsea Daniels and this
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  Speaker 1: is the Front Page, a daily podcast presented by the
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  Speaker 1: New Zealand Herald. Provincial New Zealand is Hurting. Alliance Group
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  Speaker 1: is proposing to close its Timidoo meat processing plant in
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  Speaker 1: Smithfield with a loss of hundreds of jobs, and earlier
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  Speaker 1: this month, Windstone Pulp International said it would close two
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  Speaker 1: mills near Ohokuni, which will see two hundred and thirty
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  Speaker 1: people lose their jobs. To discuss the impact facing small
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  Speaker 1: towns in New Zealand and if there's a way out
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  Speaker 1: from them today on the Front Page, we are joined
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  Speaker 1: by doctor Sean Connolly, senior lecturer at the School of
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  Speaker 1: Geography at the University of Otago. Sean, what are the
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  Speaker 1: ramifications going to be for those small centers who are
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  Speaker 1: facing the loss of major employers.
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  Speaker 2: I think in the first instance, it's a period of
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  Speaker 2: crisis and people feeling all kinds of uncertainty around what
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  Speaker 2: their futures look like. That's on an individual level, but
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  Speaker 2: also for the wider community. It's likely that those that
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  Speaker 2: are able to will move and they'll find work elsewhere.
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  Speaker 2: They'll take their skills elsewhere, but that not everyone will
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  Speaker 2: be able to move, and they'll be quite worried about
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  Speaker 2: their economic future and their livelihoods overall, likely to see decline.
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  Speaker 2: In the younger population, they're more likely to move to
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  Speaker 2: other opportunities. So you see an out migration of younger people,
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  Speaker 2: people with families, and that could have the flow on
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  Speaker 2: effect on the viability of some schools and some more
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  Speaker 2: rural and remote places.
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  Speaker 1: What does history show us about the impact of big
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  Speaker 1: businesses leaving smaller centers.
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  Speaker 2: Often in the smaller places that are very much resource
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  Speaker 2: dependent or in this single industry pendent, see a rapid
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  Speaker 2: population decline and it takes quite a while for that
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  Speaker 2: to stabilize at a much lower population level, much lower
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  Speaker 2: level of economic activity.
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  Speaker 1: Sean, one of the major concerns is going to be
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  Speaker 1: around population decline in these centers. What would a mass
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  Speaker 1: exodus of people mean for a community.
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  Speaker 2: Once you have a substantial out migration from a community,
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  Speaker 2: it really starts to question the viability of the town
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  Speaker 2: in the future. You've got issues around the viability of
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  Speaker 2: health services, whether that's doctors at pharmacy, pharmacists, or schools,
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  Speaker 2: and whether that's sort of closing classrooms and losing teachers,
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  Speaker 2: or the closure of entire schools. You see the out
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  Speaker 2: migration of people that are volunteering in the community, so
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  Speaker 2: you won't have as many people volunteering for sports clubs
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  Speaker 2: and that kind of thing, and a real impact on
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  Speaker 2: the us and sort of the social networks in those communities.
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  Speaker 2: So it is really important to avoid or to manage
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  Speaker 2: decline in such a way that this crisis period doesn't
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  Speaker 2: lead to a self fulfilling downward spiral.
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  Speaker 1: Is that your fear with some of these towns.
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  Speaker 2: Some of the smaller towns. Yeah, certainly, once you reach
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  Speaker 2: a certain critical mass, the options for the future get
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  Speaker 2: narrowed much quicker. But that doesn't mean that it's sort
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  Speaker 2: of that it's all lost. There are communities that have
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  Speaker 2: rallied around and saved their health services, for example, and
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  Speaker 2: set up their own trust so that they run doctors'
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  Speaker 2: offices and health centers and pharmacists to maintain that level
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  Speaker 2: of service in the community. Because I think it's important
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  Speaker 2: to remember that these small towns don't exist in isolation.
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  Speaker 2: They are a critical service provider for the much wider
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  Speaker 2: rural district that rely on.
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  Speaker 3: Heart break and devastation tonight for Ruape District communities in
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  Speaker 3: the central North Island. It follows confirmation this afternoon that
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  Speaker 3: the region's biggest employer is closing its two mills with
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  Speaker 3: the loss of around two hundred and thirty jobs. The
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  Speaker 3: Kuriyoway pult Mill and tounguy Wi Sawmill are located along
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  Speaker 3: State Highway forty nine. For shut down a massive blow
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  Speaker 3: for nearby communities like Wayuu or Hakune and rights he.
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  Speaker 4: A terrible day for meat workers and tomorrow that's right.
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  Speaker 4: Alliance Group has announced its proposing to close its Smithfield
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  Speaker 4: Meat Works. If confirmed, sheep meat, calves and night shift
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  Speaker 4: venison processing will stop at the end of the season
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  Speaker 4: and the remaining venison at the end of the year
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  Speaker 4: at the latest. The Timidoo plant employees more than six
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  Speaker 4: hundred people at peak season. Mayor and Nigel Bowen says
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  Speaker 4: it's a proposal that will deeply hurt the community.
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  Speaker 5: Now.
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  Speaker 1: State sen Zed says areas like the West Coast and
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  Speaker 1: Southland could lose population over the next few years. What
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  Speaker 1: other towns are at risk of seeing population decl and
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  Speaker 1: why do you think that is so?
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  Speaker 2: If you look at the profile, it is relatively uneven
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  Speaker 2: the small towns and rural centers. A lot of the
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  Speaker 2: small more isolated communities in the central North Island, on
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  Speaker 2: the West Coast and in Southland are seeing population decline,
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  Speaker 2: but that's not uniform. There are some places that are
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  Speaker 2: located within the commuter belt of the larger cities that
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  Speaker 2: we've seen some growth in. We've seen other places that
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  Speaker 2: are actually struggling to deal with growth because of the
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  Speaker 2: physical amenities of a place, the tourism potential retirees moving
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  Speaker 2: out of the city to some of these places as well.
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  Speaker 1: I think it's fair to say that many people, especially
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  Speaker 1: those in urban cities, don't really consider a lot of
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  Speaker 1: these towns that we're talking about arry the tourists spots
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  Speaker 1: or the towns that we drive through to get somewhere.
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  Speaker 1: In your opinion, what is the importance of having thriving
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  Speaker 1: small towns.
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  Speaker 2: They play a really important role. We often forget that
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  Speaker 2: the smaller towns, towns of ten thousand people or less.
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  Speaker 2: Just under twenty percent of our population lives in these
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  Speaker 2: kinds of communities, so there's lots of employment activity, there,
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  Speaker 2: lots of businesses, and they're a key driver for our
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  Speaker 2: GDP in terms of the tradable, not so much the services,
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  Speaker 2: but the goods really rely on the services that those
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  Speaker 2: small towns provide, and so they do play an important
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  Speaker 2: role in a social sense sort of just the value
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  Speaker 2: of those communities in those places, but also in an
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  Speaker 2: economic sense, we really need that divers city of cities,
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  Speaker 2: towns and smaller rural communities.
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  Speaker 1: Given the importions that you place on small towns, what
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  Speaker 1: was your reaction to the proposed closure of the meatworks
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  Speaker 1: and Timorrow and the mill closures in the North.
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  Speaker 2: Island feel bad for the people people affected, certainly, and
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  Speaker 2: those communities. It's likely to have a greater impact on
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  Speaker 2: those towns in the North Island because they are smaller.
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  Speaker 2: Timuru is a more diversified economy, but that's not the
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  Speaker 2: case elsewhere.
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  Speaker 1: Is diversity the caving.
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  Speaker 2: I think we really need to be having a conversation
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  Speaker 2: about do we value small towns in our rural communities
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  Speaker 2: or are they too important to be just left to
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  Speaker 2: market forces. Right now, we've got policy and planning that
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  Speaker 2: is almost entirely geared towards this assumption that everywhere will grow,
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  Speaker 2: and we don't have the necessary policies to deal with decline.
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  Speaker 2: How do we ensure that public services, infrastructure can all
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  Speaker 2: be maintained so that people still living in these rural
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  Speaker 2: communities can still maintain a high quality of life, can
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  Speaker 2: still provide for their well being. That's not something that
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  Speaker 2: can be left just to rates. I don't believe.
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  Speaker 1: You. May remember a few years ago, economist Shamawil Jakib
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  Speaker 1: said that many small towns in the country resembled places
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  Speaker 1: in the Third World, with a loss of small town
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  Speaker 1: functions and populations, creating zombie towns that need to close.
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  Speaker 1: Is that a fear description in your view?
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  Speaker 2: No, I don't think it is. I think zombie town
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  Speaker 2: discussion was really useful in terms of drawing attention to
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  Speaker 2: Altero's rural towns. It did shine a spotlight on the
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  Speaker 2: fact that they are often ignored and take it for granted.
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  Speaker 2: But the reality is those small towns in absolute decline
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  Speaker 2: are really not the norm. We often see periods of
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  Speaker 2: decline then and stabilization, and so I guess I would
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  Speaker 2: like to see the conversation moving towards how can we
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  Speaker 2: best support stabilization in a new context. If industry is
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  Speaker 2: going to close in these towns, how do we support
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  Speaker 2: those that remain behind, that want to remain behind, how
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  Speaker 2: do we ensure that maintain their quality of life they
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  Speaker 2: still have access to the same level of services and
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  Speaker 2: that's not something I think that can be left entirely
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  Speaker 2: to the volunteer capacity of those communities themselves.
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  Speaker 1: And could that support come from central government? Could they
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  Speaker 1: play a role here in saving some of these towns,
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  Speaker 1: and if so, how can they do that?
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  Speaker 2: I think in part it's thinking about the resources that
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  Speaker 2: central government has and how they're allocated to communities. We
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  Speaker 2: know all across the country that rates are rising as
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  Speaker 2: communities both small and large, struggle to deal with crumbling
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  Speaker 2: infrastructure and infrastructure deficits and upgrading pipes and roads and
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  Speaker 2: all that kind of thing, and that can't be just
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  Speaker 2: based on rates. Sort of the tax system needs some
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  Speaker 2: looking at as well.
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  Speaker 6: Reefon is possibly the last true town left in New
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  Speaker 6: Zealand and how to describe a count was as it
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  Speaker 6: was when we were young, and where there is a.
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  Speaker 2: Kinship, where there.
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  Speaker 7: Is a care for each other, but you've got all
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  Speaker 7: the basic services that you need to be able to
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  Speaker 7: live life. What I love about it is that during
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  Speaker 7: the day she has flat out region is the gateway
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  Speaker 7: to the westerns. All the shops are doing well, the
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  Speaker 7: key rooms, all the food outlets, and then at about
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  Speaker 7: five o'clock you would stand in the middle of the road,
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  Speaker 7: the middle of the state highway and have a natter.
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  Speaker 1: There are some success stories, though, aren't there. Reefed And
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  Speaker 1: being an example of a town that was facing a
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  Speaker 1: decline in their population and they've managed to turn around
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  Speaker 1: their fortunes. What was their secret?
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  Speaker 2: So Reefedon is an example where they faced a process
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  Speaker 2: of declining population through loss of government services, changes in
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  Speaker 2: the mining industry, and closure of some minds the feast
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  Speaker 2: population decline, and they were able to restab and reorient
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  Speaker 2: sort of the purpose of the identity of that town
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  Speaker 2: through process of local leadership, lots of effort and local volunteers,
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  Speaker 2: people working together to position Reefton as a nice heritage
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  Speaker 2: town and sort of building on the physical attributes of
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  Speaker 2: that place. It helps that it's not too far from
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  Speaker 2: christ Church, so it can capitalize sort of the weekend
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  Speaker 2: domestic tourism. But it has been successful in people that
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  Speaker 2: grew up in Reefton back to town and it's largely
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  Speaker 2: focused on a livability kind of focus. It's a nice
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  Speaker 2: place to live. The quality of life is good, it's
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  Speaker 2: perhaps more affordable than some of the urban centers. A
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  Speaker 2: nice combination of the physical amenities and the location of
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  Speaker 2: that town, but also a lot of hard work and
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  Speaker 2: effort and local leadership in Reeftoon over many years.
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  Speaker 1: Do some small towns need to develop something they are
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  Speaker 1: well known for, like how Almadu has its steampunk festival
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  Speaker 1: every year.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, there's all kinds of examples of places trying to
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  Speaker 2: differentiate themselves. I remember a number of years ago Westport
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  Speaker 2: put up billboards in christ Church talking about how cheap
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  Speaker 2: the housing was in Westport to try and attract people
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  Speaker 2: to move. The Kitangata in the South Island a number
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  Speaker 2: of years ago was offering housing and land package. That
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  Speaker 2: got a lot of attention and has attracted a few
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  Speaker 2: new families to that community. So yeah, there's there's things
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  Speaker 2: that can be done. I guess I would just question
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  Speaker 2: how can those communities be supported rather than be just
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  Speaker 2: left to their own devices.
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  Speaker 5: I mean, in Amaru since two thousand and seven, senagy
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  Speaker 5: was lifting then and then the steampunk came along, and
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  Speaker 5: the ups the ocean came along, and it's just really booming.
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  Speaker 5: Now drove down to the Bigrodi one from Dunadin. There's
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  Speaker 5: a lot of steampunkers in. We call it the stame
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  Speaker 5: Park Capital of the world. I like to refer to
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  Speaker 5: as just the place of pilgrimage because it's so blink
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  Speaker 5: and difficult.
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  Speaker 3: To get to.
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  Speaker 1: Do you think we care enough as a country about
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  Speaker 1: these small towns?
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  Speaker 2: Probably not enough. I think we hear these stories about
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  Speaker 2: industry closure, and we care about the impacts on the
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  Speaker 2: individuals that are affected and the families that are affected.
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  Speaker 2: But there's no sustained attention on those communities.
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  Speaker 1: And if we don't have these tough conversations, could we
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  Speaker 1: see a country littered with ghost towns.
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  Speaker 2: Well, yeah, and we already see that our major centers
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  Speaker 2: are struggling to deal with growth, and many of our
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  Speaker 2: small towns are really struggling to deal with growth. You've
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  Speaker 2: got places like Cromwell, for example, where there's really acute
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  Speaker 2: housing shortage, dealing with the growth pressures of Queenstown and
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  Speaker 2: elsewhere in central Attagraph. So I guess the question is
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  Speaker 2: do we want to abandon our small communities where already
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  Speaker 2: is infrastructure, there's schools and facilities and all that kind
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  Speaker 2: of thing and just concentrate population in intellct centers or
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  Speaker 2: have that population distributed and supporting a lot of the
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  Speaker 2: primary industries and the rural economic activities that are happening
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  Speaker 2: in the rural places that are a significant component of
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  Speaker 2: our economy.
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  Speaker 1: Just finally, Sean, is there a silver bullet solution here
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  Speaker 1: or is it a case of accepting perhaps a population
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  Speaker 1: decline and helping these towns adapt to what may be
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  Speaker 1: a new normal. Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: I think there's a lot of discussion about right sizing
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  Speaker 2: rural communities all around the world. We can't have this
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  Speaker 2: assumption that absolutely everywhere will will continue to grow. It's
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  Speaker 2: just not going to happen. So the key thing is
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  Speaker 2: what can we do to make sure that people's quality
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  Speaker 2: of life, no matter where they're living in New Zealand,
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  Speaker 2: can be maintained. How can they be supported?
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  Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us Sean for this episode of the
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  Speaker 1: Front Page. You can read more about today's stories and
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  Speaker 1: extensive news coverage at inzhrald dot co dot nz. The
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  Speaker 1: Front Page is produced by Ethan Sells Van Goodwin as
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  Speaker 1: a sounder engineer. I'm Susie Nordquist. Subscribe to the Front
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  Speaker 1: tune in tomorrow for another look behind the headlines.