Ohakune suffers as young leave and farms switch to forestry

OHAKUNE has lost one-tenth of its population – and the carrot for those leaving is a job across the ditch.

Census figures show the Ruapehu district, in the central North Island, has lost 12.7 per cent of its residents since 2006, the highest rate of decline in the country.

And the decline is gathering pace, nearly doubling in the past seven years.

In Ohakune, the district’s biggest town, the population dropped 10 per cent, with just 987 residents left.

Locals have blamed outsourcing, an exodus of young people to the cities and Australia, and growth in forestry at the expense of farming.

Byron Zohs spent his teens and 20s in Ohakune, working as a labourer and later completing an apprenticeship as a heavy fabricator.

But as he grew older, his pay stagnated and work dried up. In 2008, he moved to Perth and has no intention of returning.

‘‘I earned $21.50 an hour – here I earn twice as much for half the work,’’ he said.

Many of his friends had joined him and few stayed in the district past their early 20s, he said. ‘‘The young ones get signed out and then they leave ... There are a lot of guys in their 60s, and that’s it.’’

Mr Zohs’ old boss at Ohakune Engineering, Bruce Cranston, said it was extremely difficult to attract skilled workers and even harder to keep them. ‘‘I used to have three apprentices, now I’ve got one.’’

He blamed a lot of work being contracted out of the district and a growing exodus to Australia.

‘‘This is a big flow from this town, all trained people,’’ he said. ‘‘We just can’t compete with that money.’’

District Mayor Don Cameron said that, without economic growth, the district would not be able to keep its peo- ple. As well as the young, an increasing number of farmers were also selling out to forestry.

‘‘There were six farms that were bought up in one go – that’s six families that are not in district.’’

However, he remained optimistic the trend could be reversed, citing plans among iwi to develop more industry that would lead to more jobs. ‘‘Our aim for the next three years is more economic development to bring those people home.’’