For generations, two centres of gravity in New Zealand\u2019s central Ruapehu region had enough pull to entice people to the area and keep them there: the mountains and the mills.<\/p>\n
Mount Ruapehu, the country\u2019s largest active volcano, lured people to its snowy slopes for work and play, while the local mills \u2013 run by the region\u2019s largest employer, Winstone Pulp International \u2013 kept generations of families in employment.<\/p>\n
Then, those behemoths lost their grip, and with it Ruapehu became emblematic of a pressing question facing New Zealand: how to prevent some rural regions \u2013 and the country at large \u2013 from losing people as residents pack up and seek new lives elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Janelle Finch and Austin Hobson at the Ohakune railway station. Photograph: Becki Moss\/The Guardian<\/p>\n
In Ruapehu, the decline came after global warming disrupted the mountain\u2019s snow<\/a>, leading to shorter seasons and worker layoffs. Further jobs were lost when the Chateau Tongariro hotel shut its doors in 2023<\/a>, after nearly 100 years in operation. The earthquake-prone building now sits in limbo in the shadow of the mountain.<\/p>\n The biggest blow, however, occurred in October 2024. After nearly 50 years in business, Winstone Pulp announced it was closing<\/a> its two mills near one of the region\u2019s towns, Ohakune, due to high energy prices. More than 230 workers were laid off and scores of other businesses who relied on the mills suffered. Most of those workers hailed from Ohakune, population 1,360, and Raetihi, population 1,140, a settlement 10 minutes drive west. <\/p>\n \u201cThe mill closure was a stab to the heart,\u201d says Janelle Finch, who owns a merino clothing company and cafe in Ohakune. \u201cA lot of our friends had to move out of town \u2026 it had this chain effect.\u201d<\/p>\n Map of New Zealand\u2019s North Island<\/a><\/p>\n When the Guardian visited the towns in late November, dozens of shops sat empty and Ohakune\u2019s residential streets were lined with \u201cfor sale\u201d signs.<\/p>\n The Chateau Tongariro Hotel that sits at the foot of Mount Ruapehu, New Zealand. Photograph: Becki Moss\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Ruapehu is not the only region being reshaped amid industry closures and economic headwinds. Since 2023, multiple towns and rural regions have suffered mill and factory closures, leading to more than 1,000 redundancies. The companies have cited high energy prices<\/a>, weaker demand <\/a>and rising costs<\/a>.<\/p>\n In Ruapehu, some families are fighting to survive in the place they love. But others are leaving, joining the exodus of New Zealanders<\/a> departing the country in record-high numbers, which experts have warned could lead to a \u201chollowing out\u201d of the work force<\/a>, or moving to different regions in search of work.<\/p>\n Brenda Burnard, a childcare centre manager in Raetihi, will soon move to Foxton, two hours away, to be with her husband who relocated there shortly after he lost his job at the mill and struggled to find work.<\/p>\n Brenda Burnard at her kitchen table in Ohakune, in her house that was recently put on the market for sale. Her husband, Andrew, lives and works in Foxton after losing his job at the Winstone Pulp Mill in 2024. Photograph: Becki Moss\/The GuardianEmpty stores in Ohakune in November. Photograph: Becki Moss\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Leaving the region after 25 years was bittersweet, Burnard tells the Guardian from her family home in Ohakune, which is now on the market.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a real physical connection to this area,\u201d Burnard says. \u201cI\u2019m not looking forward to that point when we go \u2018this is the end\u2019, but you do have to look forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Regional shifts<\/p>\n After years of decline, some of New Zealand\u2019s rural economies and populations have started to pick up, partly due to immigration and the growth of the dairy industry, says Shamubeel Eaqub, a principal economist at Simplicity. But \u201cthe story falls apart\u201d for regions that rely on one or two industries, which are vulnerable to global competition or global warming.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen that engine of economic activity gets turned off, it can be quite damaging for those places,\u201d Eaqub says.<\/p>\n The mill closures were about more than just job losses, says Helen Leahy, the chief executive of the local Ng\u0101ti Rangi tribe trust.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was about community disintegrating and that whole connection to place.\u201d<\/p>\n Nearly 50% of the local population is M\u0101ori and many Indigenous mill workers felt torn about leaving the region.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got a 1,000 year legacy that you want to be part of and want your kids to be part of \u2013 then suddenly you\u2019re forced to leave,\u201d she said, adding that 10-15% of the mill workers moved their families to Australia after the closures.<\/p>\n chart<\/a><\/p>\n The iwi has been up-skilling and job-training affected families, as part of a wider \u20181000-year vision\u2019 to help the region flourish.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t want to contribute to the exodus of young people leaving the country, we want to respond to the needs right in front of our face.\u201d<\/p>\n Seven of New Zealand\u2019s 16 regions had more people leave than arrive in the year to June 2025, according to Stats NZ<\/a>.<\/p>\n New Zealand\u2019s population is entering a \u201cnew era\u201d, with many regions stagnating or declining, due to lower immigration, poor services and jobs, and ageing populations, said Massey University\u2019s emeritus professor Paul Spoonley, a leading sociologist.<\/p>\n \u201cThe long-term impact is that New Zealand\u2019s population will focus on the top of the North Island, with 40% in Auckland \u2013 we will see that imbalance between our major metropolitan centres and rural and regional centres.\u201d<\/p>\n Graph<\/a><\/p>\n While New Zealand\u2019s population is slowly growing thanks to more people being born than dying and migrant arrivals, a struggling economy and soft labour market is driving tens of thousands of New Zealanders to leave the country.<\/p>\n In the year to October, 71,400<\/a> left New Zealand \u2013 up 6% on the year prior \u2013 contributing to a net migration loss of 45,100 citizens. Nearly 60% of those moved to Australia<\/a>, where average weekly incomes<\/a> are higher<\/a> and New Zealand citizens have work and residency rights.<\/p>\n \u201c[Australia] is richer, its got a deeper labour market, has more career opportunities \u2013why wouldn\u2019t you go?,\u201d Eaqub says, adding there is no easy fix to keeping people in New Zealand.<\/p>\n The minister for regional development, Shane Jones, declined an interview. However, the coalition government has said it will boost the economy by cutting new spending by $1bn<\/a> to reduce borrowing and debt, with finance minister Nicola Willis previously telling the Guardian<\/a> that growing the economy would address the issue of New Zealanders leaving.<\/p>\n But Ruapehu residents feel neglected and believe the government\u2019s failure to protect the mills from surging energy prices was \u201creckless\u201d, says Weston Kirton, the Ruapehu district mayor.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the same time the mills were closing, the government was the regular benefit of the profits of these power companies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n A recent injection of government money into local cycleways was positive but rural communities required more investment and better infrastructure to thrive and retain people, Kirton said.<\/p>\n \u201cOur people want to live in the region and not anywhere else. There is a lot of pride.\u201d<\/p>\n Austin Hobson, Finch\u2019s husband who runs a beer brewery in Ohakune, said the community feels they are \u201call in it together\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been really tough \u2013 but we\u2019ve all survived things together and we\u2019re still here because we support each other in whatever way we can.\u201d<\/p>\n The fight for survival<\/p>\n Pride is also evident in Raewyn Sinclair, who lives in Raetihi with her partner Corey Brown and their four children. In a garden shed, Sinclair\u2019s screen-printing machine is whirring away printing logos for a community sports event, at the same time she roasts beef for a catering gig.<\/p>\n Since Brown lost his job at the mill, the couple have been working multiple jobs to stay in the region. A calendar on the fridge details Brown\u2019s security shifts at the mill, where he once held a highly paid position. The pair frequently start their days at 5am and finish after midnight.<\/p>\n \u201cI won\u2019t lie, it\u2019s hard,\u201d Sinclair says. \u201cWe\u2019re working around the clock just to make do with what we had.\u201d<\/p>\n Raewyn Sinclair supervises her children as they play outside in their back yard in Raetihi. Photograph: Becki Moss\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Brown had been on good money, Sinclair says, but now the family is scrutinising every spend.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone\u2019s really struggling \u2013 not just us, we see the other mills shutting down and we feel for them because we know the uncertainty.\u201d<\/p>\n But despite a myriad of set backs and personal struggle there is a third centre of gravity keeping families like hers committed to the region: the community, where \u201ceveryone looks out for everyone\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is heaps of potential for this place to take off, we\u2019ve got a lot of spirit here,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s home, I wouldn\u2019t want to be anywhere else\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For generations, two centres of gravity in New Zealand\u2019s central Ruapehu region had enough pull to entice people…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":352971,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-352970","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=352970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352970\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/352971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=352970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=352970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=352970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}