The Daily Blog Open Mic – Tuesday 28th February 2017
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100% Martyn,
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/325489/regions-must-face-challenge-of-population-decline-report
New Zealand / 5:56 am today
Regions must face challenge of population decline – report
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Adriana Weber, Emergency Services Reporter
@Adriana_Weber_ adriana.weber@radionz.co.nz
A report predicts populations in many regions will drop or stagnate within three decades.
The Maxim Institute’s report said populations in about 44 of the country’s 67 authorities would stagnate or decline within 30 years, compared to 11 areas now. That could place them under severe financial strain as they try to pay for infrastructure.
While centres such as Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Nelson, Canterbury and Queenstown are set for growth, the report painted a bleak picture for most other regions.
These included Rotorua, Taupō, Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, Kaipara, Southland and the West Coast.
Maxim Institute chief executive Alex Penk said the government’s regional development programmes focused solely on economic growth – but the population trends posed a big challenge on that front.
“In fact they mean that for some regions growth is not going to be the reality.”
Some towns, including Kawerau and Matamata, were already working to manage decline in their areas.
“They created a wrap-around programme that relocated workers from one region to where the jobs were in the other region.
“That’s the kind of response that we could actually have on the table, if we start talking about the reality that’s facing us and I think that’s actually a really positive opportunity for us. It isn’t something we should be afraid of.”
Massey University demographer Paul Spoonley, editor of the book Rebooting the Regions: Why low or zero growth needn’t mean the end of prosperity, agreed decline was something that needed to be accepted, especially by politicians.
“There aren’t many politicians around the country who are going to want to talk about decline.
“When you begin to talk about the demographic challenges and the economic challenges that are coming, there’s some mayors who are really in denial, and that’s going to be an issue.”