I recently moved and, as most of us have experienced, I needed to call in the professionals to sort out a few things – the plumber, the builder and a general handyman to tend to the items that I’m either not qualified to do or don’t have time for.  

Once, I’d have rolled up my sleeves and gotten into a fair bit of it myself – a time when I had more time on my hands and less money to hire someone. But among the things I’ve come to realise over the years is that sometimes it’s as satisfying knowing a job has been done to a high standard as it would be if I’d done it myself, and that the tradespeople of the world need to earn a buck and feed their families just like the rest of us.  

The older I get, the more I agree with the truth of just how important the trades are, and especially in recent years, how secure they seem as professions compared with many others these days. One of the tradies working on my place even told me that he hasn’t been able to keep up this year, is booked three months out, and is taking on more staff. Sure, it’s anecdotal, but that was refreshing to hear after the past couple of years.   

I thought about this yesterday morning as I read a news report of Carter Holt Harvey shutting down its plywood manufacturing plant at Kinleith Mill, following the decision to move from manufacturing to importing. The news is a second blow to both the mill and the region, after Oji Fibre Solution’s shutdown of the final paper mill at Kinleith in June. (If you haven’t read Anna Rankin’s in-depth feature on the topic, Grist for the mill: the slow death of New Zealand’s industry towns, I can highly recommend it.) 

These are just the latest in a recent swathe of mill shutdowns in New Zealand. While reading indicates that the roots of the current situation go back decades, it’s perplexing that some of the reasons given include the fact that it’s now cheaper to import wood-based products than to produce them locally. I suppose that’s just economic forces at work. But, while paper, packaging and ply aren’t as critical to the country’s operation as fuel, the sector is similarly at the increasing mercy of international supply.    

Of course, those economic impacts are sure to affect price, but the real impact of these closures is sadly far more local. Where the mills once provided clear pathways to employment for generations of families, these options no longer exist. The same applies to their associated industries, including transport. Much like the plumber, builder or handyman, the workers at the mill would have once found security in the fact that ‘everybody needs paper and plywood’.  

While it’s no consolation, this has been the way of the world for epochs; take the Industrial Revolution, for example. Although the time and scale may differ, the impact and results are not dissimilar.  

At a time in history when AI is advancing at lightning speed, local industry doesn’t have a hope of competing with international might, and regional towns are grappling with the means for their existence, supporting local is more important now than it’s ever been – whether it’s the plumber, the handyman, the butcher or the baker.  

Take care out there,  

Gavin Myers
Editor