• Winstone Pulp International in the Ruapehu district has closed its two sites after 45 years of operation. 
• 230 workers lost their jobs 
• The mill is the main employer in the central North Island region, with most of its workers living in Raetihi, Ohakune and Waiōuru 

Amid the cheerful chatter of children playing at Raetihi’s community-based Nancy Winter Early Childhood Centre, there is a palpable tension in the air, with worry etched on the faces of the parents and carers. 

Manager Brenda Burnard said the tight-knit community was reeling from the shock of losing its largest employer. 

“It really does feel like a car crash happening in slow motion,” she said. 

Many of the childcare centre’s families were being forced to move away to find jobs or were being split up, with one parent having to live elsewhere to work. 

“We’re going to be the ones to pick up pieces and that’s sad. I’m not crying about it this week. I just feel sad now, it’s been done to us and it needn’t have happened,” Burnard said. 

Her husband lost his job at the mill, along with the partners of four of her staff members. 

“Our region is losing skilled workers, our enrolments will drop — at the end of the day that’s viability and sustainability for our centre,” she said. 

Nancy Winter Early Childhood Centre manager Brenda Burnard says the community is reeling from the shock of losing its largest employer. Photo / RNZ 

Burnard said it was hard to get the rest of New Zealand — and the Government — to fully appreciate their situation. 

“The No 1 thing that people from around the country don’t understand is it’s not 230 workers and it’s not even the flow-on effects from those workers — the impact would be less if we were based near a city and we could travel to work to another major employer,” she said. 

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‘It could get worse’ 

Many residents fear Raetihi will turn into a ghost town as the ripple effect from the mill closure creeps into households. 

The true impact is hard to quantify because several businesses connected to the mill are also losing workers or laying them off. RNZ understands a local logging truck company has had to let dozens of drivers go, and Napier Port and KiwiRail are also planning job cuts. 

In Raetihi, Darren Dempsey has owned his bus company for 35 years, providing daily transport for mill workers during that time. 

“We’ve lost probably a third of our business, we’ve had to lay off two staff and will have to sell some vehicles to recoup some of our costs,” he said. 

“It’s not easy and in the long term we don’t know how it’s going to go really, it’s still early on.” 

The town has had an increase in houses going on the market as workers leave for Australia or other regions, and Dempsey believed many more people would be forced to move, hurting local businesses even more. 

“There’s been a huge flow-on effect already and I’d say it’s going to get worse before it gets better,” he said. 

Darren Dempsey has owned his bus company for 35 years, providing daily transport for mill workers during that time. Photo / RNZ 

Down the road, Raetihi’s Coach Cafe and Takeaways, too, is taking a hit. Owner Angie Robson told RNZ it was down about $800 a day compared with a year ago, as people tightened their belts or moved away. 

“I’ve laid off my husband of all people, but it meant I could keep my part-time staff, so he’s gone back to his old job,” she said. 

“It could get worse, but we’re in for the long haul, hopefully.” 

Robson was most worried about staying open so her staff could have an income, and said even if she did want to move away, her house had already dropped in price. 

“No one is going to want to buy a business and a house in an area that even the banks are saying they don’t know if we’ll survive the next year. That came from my bank manager which I was quite horrified at,” she said. 

Coach Cafe and Takeaways owner Angie Robson says business is down about $800 a day compared with a year ago. Photo / RNZ 

The resilient community was being tested to its limits, and Burnard worried about how much people could take. 

“The social impact is going to be huge for mental health. Knowing we are losing more nurses because of this, and losing skilled workers, people that are the pillars of the community,” Burnard said. 

– Alexa Cook, RNZ