{"id":279006,"date":"2026-02-11T17:03:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T17:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/279006\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T17:03:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T17:03:09","slug":"project-phoenix-south-waikato-positive-about-future-after-tough-months","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/279006\/","title":{"rendered":"Project Phoenix: South Waikato positive about future after tough months"},"content":{"rendered":"

In response to the closure and to combat that uncertainty<\/a>, the South Waikato District Council, together with local MP Louise Upston, South Waikato Investment Trust Fund (Swift), the Ministry of Social Development and local organisations set up Project Phoenix.<\/p>\n

Petley said Project Phoenix was a series of initiatives, including workforce research and career expos, to help impacted workers and the district\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about getting some wraparound support for the workers, connecting them with the right agencies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Upston said the Ministry of Social Development had done \u201csignificant work\u201d<\/a> on strategies to help people find and apply for jobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cProject Phoenix has meant faster connections with employers across the Waikato Region with support from the Waikato Chamber of Commerce,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTokoroa is a strong and tight-knit community. It is amazing what can be achieved with collaboration, and Tokoroa is well known for doing this in good times and in challenging times.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TaupoTaupo MP Louise Upston. Photo \/ Mark Mitchell<\/p>\n

Upston said part of the challenges, identified through research undertaken by Swift as part of Project Phoenix<\/a>, was that what students were training for and the skill sets local employers needed were \u201cnot well matched\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis research will … [help] form a plan to target training opportunities to local workforce needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Project Phoenix is ongoing, Petley deemed it a success.<\/p>\n

He said a lot of impacted workers had taken up the support offered.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf 60 people who received support through Project Phoenix, less than five are on the benefit,\u201d Petley said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something we are really proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SouthSouth Waikato Mayor Gary Petley. Photo \/ South Waikato District Council<\/p>\n

He said only a few people had moved out of the district.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of those moving away were young families … but [those] numbers haven\u2019t been that noticeable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are long, long away from being a ghost town. We\u2019ve got enough growth [still happening], enough things on the go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Petley said with the paper plant closure, several workers had left Kinleith Mill, meaning others were able to be re-employed by the mill in a different division.<\/p>\n

He said a few people pursued overseas opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome were offered jobs in the paper industry in Australia … they were headhunted for similar positions [to ones they had at Kinleith].\u201d<\/p>\n

\" Kinleith Mill closure: The team at Paper Machine 6 on their final shift. Photo \/ Brian Loveday<\/p>\n

Other people had opted for a career change.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of them now works in a school environment with at-risk children.\u201d<\/p>\n

Petley said this year would mark a shift in Project Phoenix, going from \u201ccrisis management towards opportunities\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole thing is now to build a fence at the top of the cliff rather than parking an ambulance at the bottom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Petley said the South Waikato District had a lot going for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in an ideal spot, on SH1, close to Hamilton, Tauranga, Auckland. We\u2019ve got the railway line.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can get land at a better price point than Auckland, Tauranga, and Hamilton.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am hugely confident [in the district].\u201d<\/p>\n

He said there were \u201cmajor positive things\u201d happening in the next 12 months, including the opening of the Maraetai Road Intermodal Business Park<\/a>, which had allocated all available spots.<\/p>\n

He said the Maraetai Road Intermodal Business Park would provide employment opportunities and boost the economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew businesses are coming, we have housing developments happening and the Van der Heyden Industrial Park [announced last year] – all these things add up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe signal is we are working with a solid strategy. It\u2019s not just doom and gloom any more.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, life deals some cards to you that are going to rock your boat, but it\u2019s up to you to pick yourself up. We\u2019ve done that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Danielle Zollickhofer is the Waikato news director and a multimedia journalist at the Waikato Herald. She joined NZME in 2021 and is based in Hamilton.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In response to the closure and to combat that uncertainty, the South Waikato District Council, together with local…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":279007,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1443,74,62260,7557,3273,35369,296,7242,13457,10934,7243,3234,111,43,139,69,156613,45644,70952,57694,2989,8417,3263,3048,202,1240,13983,1524],"class_list":["post-279006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-about","tag-after","tag-ceased","tag-district","tag-future","tag-gary","tag-into","tag-kinleith","tag-look","tag-mayor","tag-mill","tag-months","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-optimistically","tag-paper","tag-petley","tag-phoenix","tag-positive","tag-production","tag-project","tag-said","tag-seven","tag-south","tag-tough","tag-waikato"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279006\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}