Pacific families among Tokoroa community hit hard by mill closure

More than 100 workers in Tokoroa, many of whom are from Pacific communities, are now facing uncertainty after Carter Holt Harvey announced plans to close its local plywood plant.

The move looks to garner supply from Australia instead, as imports are cheaper, but has resulted in the loss of up to 119 full-time jobs. Staff were notified this week and given time to discuss the situation with their families.

Speaking with William Terite on Pacific Mornings, South Waikato Mayor Gary Petley says the closure is a “huge disappointment” for the community. According to 2023 Census data, 23.8 per cent of Tokoroa’s population identifies as Pacific.

Petley says the closure is another setback for many Pacific families who have relied on the timber industry for employment since the 1940s. Petley says if a person could not get a position at the paper mill, the plywood mill would be a backup option.

“So that's another intergenerational processing plant that's been closed for different reasons than the paper mill. The paper mill with Oji was about operational costs around power. This one, they've just moved to [importing] the product cheaper than they can produce it,” Petley says.

The planned closure will lead to redundancies taking effect in November, adding to a series of recent job losses in Tokoroa’s timber industry. Earlier this year, Oji Fibre Solutions cut 130 jobs after shutting down the country’s last paper-making machine at the nearby Kinleith site.

Listen to Gary Petley’s full interview below.

Carter Holt Harvey is also set to close its Eves Valley site near Nelson next month, resulting in another 140 job losses.

Petley says there is the potential loss of the Toi Ohomai training facility, saying, “It's [hasn’t been] a good time for us here over the last 10 months. I don't believe we'll turn into a ghost town. There are other initiatives there that myself and my council can work on to ensure that we can uplift the community in a lot of spaces.”

Petley says Social Development Minister Louise Upston has been a “huge support” for South Waikato, helping workers transition into new roles. But he says they need more support from the Government, so the community “won’t fall over”.

Tokoroa faces another set of economic challenges this year. Photo/South Waikato District Council.

“I had [discussions] last year in Wellington with Minister Shane Jones about the impact that Ruapehu were going through and the trickle-down effect on the central plateau: Taupō, South Waikato and Whangārei. Everything we talked about is starting to hit home really hard. So hopefully we can get the support that we need.”

The Government is preparing support for workers affected by the Tokoroa plywood plant closure, with Upston confirming her team will engage with unions and that the local Ministry of Social Development office is readying help for displaced staff.

She told the NZ Herald that the Government will also work with the South Waikato District Council on Project Phoenix to redeploy workers, while a new task force explores how local training can better match employer needs.

To counter the impending economic hit, the district is also promoting opportunities, including the expansion of Better Eggs, a prefabricated homes investment plan with the South Waikato Investment Fund Trust, and efforts to market the area’s low-cost land, transport links and workforce to new industries.

Social Development Minister Louise Upston. Photo/National Party

Despite the challenges, Petley remains optimistic about future development projects, such as the Maraetai Road Industrial Park, where infrastructure work is expected to be completed by early next year.

“Then the new businesses that are earmarked to move into those spots can start building their facilities. That'll create jobs. On the southern boundary of the Putāruru township, the Van der Heyden family are developing their land for industrial park purposes as well. While the other processing plants are closing down, there is some light at the end of the tunnel for us.”