Latest news with #KinleithMill
RNZ News
a day ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Kinleith pulp and paper mill falls silent
Kinleith pulp and paper mill was opened 71 years ago by Prime Minister Sidney Holland. Photo: Libby Kirkby-McLeod The Kinleith pulp and paper mill in South Waikato was opened by Prime Minister Sidney Holland in 1954. On Monday, 71 years later, the last functional paper-making machine falls silent , with the loss of about 150 jobs. A RNZ documentary about the mill shortly after it opened captured the mood of a booming town, a valuable export industry and cutting-edge technology. Seven decades later, and after many cuts and retrenchments, South Waikato Mayor Gary Petley described the mood in town. "A fair amount of uncertainty, a little bit of angst, because of what has happened, and I think more of a realisation there's not a lot they can do about it," he said. Petley once worked at the mill and he still had two sons employed there. He described the mill in its heyday as a local industry that enabled intergenerational wealth and opportunity. "If your grandfather worked there or your father worked there, there was every probability that the sons or daughters would follow." It led to a vibrant community in Tokoroa. "One of the biggest things for me is the richness of the culture side of things, with all the different races of people, who came here to build Tokoroa and make Tokoroa what it is." You heard this even in the RNZ documentary from the 1950s - there were interviews with mill staff from Canada and Poland. Not that Tokoroa ever wanted to be known just as a mill town. Erica Rowe worked at the South Waikato News in the 1950s and told Rex Sayers that, although locals knew the mill was responsible for most of its growth, they did not want to feel that, without the mill, the town would be non-existent. Tokoroa Mayor Gary Petley once worked in at the mill and still has two sons working there. Photo: Libby Kirkby-McLeod / RNZ That sentiment was echoed today by the owner of local station Cruise Radio, Johnny Dryden. "You need to be mindful now that the mill's not the only large employer in Tokoroa or in the nearby vicinity of Tokoroa," he said. For his part, Dryden felt positive about the town's future. "It's a great area to bring a family up, where you can go and pick your kids up from school, and go and do things in the community." There was no doubt that the end of paper manufacturing would hit some hard. E Tu mill union delegate Ian Farall said everyone was disappointed paper production was finishing. "The fact is this is the last bastion for making paper in New Zealand," he said. "There is no other producer of what we do in New Zealand, so it's not like I can go down the road and get a job." He said working at the mill had enabled him to live a good life and he worried for younger workers who had lost their jobs, knowing several who had given up on New Zealand and moved to Australia. "[It's] not good for those people who have young families and have got no job, and have a mortgage locally and everything like that - that will be a tough time for people." South Waikato Investment Fund Trust (SWIFT) chief executive Clive Somerville said the end of paper production at Kinleith marked the close of an era, one that shaped the South Waikato's identity for generations. Ian Farall: "It's not like I can go down the road and get a job." Photo: Libby Kirkby-McLeod "There's definitely a sense of loss and uncertainty around town, but also deep pride in who we are." However, he said the community was built on primary industry and hard work, and that heart was still strong. "Despite global and national headwinds, there's real momentum here - residential and commercial development is underway. "Project Phoenix is backing displaced workers, and agencies like MSD are stepping up alongside community groups and employers." OJI Fibre Solutions chief executive Jon Ryder said the mill continued with pulp-only production. "Our priority has always been to minimise job losses through redeployments, and to run a thorough and fair process," he said. "Through these efforts and a voluntary redundancy programme, we managed to redeploy more than 30 people within the business and keep the number of compulsory redundancies to less than half of the total." The mill was still in a transition phase for some operations staff and currently reviewing support role requirements, so the final number of job losses was not yet known. "However, we can confirm around 150 employees will depart OjiFS on 30 June." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
01-05-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Green Party announce $8b industrial strategy in Tokoroa
'I think the most important thing for people to know is that we can take control of our economy. We don't need to let these things happen to us. 'If we continue to leave our economy vulnerable to the whims of offshore capital and international corporations, then we'll continue to see places closed down.' Swarbrick said the Green Party believed the central North Island had 'incredible potential' to become a national hub for wood processing and sustainable fuels production. According to the strategy document, one short-term goal would be to create a Kinleith Biohub focused on producing cross-laminated timber, wood pellets and biofuels. 'But what's really clear is that in order to make that happen, we are going to need to see the government become an active participant in shaping the economy.' When asked if the Greens would support Crown ownership of Kinleith Mill as part of the party's strategy, Swarbrick said that was 'one of the options'. The Green Industrial Strategy's proposed key steps included establishing a Future Workforce Agency, funding a renewed Jobs for Nature programme and expanding Crown-owned infrastructure delivery entity Rau Paenga into a Ministry of Green Works. The strategy's roll-out would require a spend of about $8b over the first four years. When asked where the $8b would come from, Swarbrick said she 'didn't want to give too much away' before the party's budget was released. 'In two weeks, we will be releasing a budget of hope.' When asked how the Greens planned to get cross-party support for this strategy, Swarbrick said New Zealand didn't operate under a presidential system. 'I don't believe that the power rests with politicians. I believe that the power rests with the people,' Swarbrick told the Herald. 'What I'm interested in is how we have New Zealanders understand that things can be different.' E tū union negotiating specialist Joe Gallagher and other union representatives were present at the Tokoroa announcement. At the meeting, Gallagher spoke in favour of the strategy. Gallagher later told the Herald he had just come from a meeting about Kinleith Mill. 'We're going through a process where the people who wanted voluntary redundancy have been granted it. 'The rest of the people at the paper plant have been made compulsorily redundant. 'We're now working through a process of selecting the people who are going to stay.' Gallagher said the process was 'tough' for everyone involved. '[In] some of these families, there's three and four people who work at the mill. That's a lot of income to lose overnight.' Gallagher said the Green Party's proposed strategy would give some of the affected Kinleith Mill workers hope. 'For others, it will give them hope for their grandchildren.' Gallagher said for himself, building a resilient future for the workers of New Zealand was an issue that 'should have cross-party consensus'. 'This is actually a policy that can build a sustainable future for workers and I think they should think long and hard before they dismiss it out of hand.'
