Tokoroa's Kinleith pulp and paper mill has announced it is halting production next year, with up to two hundred and thirty jobs on the line -- the town's biggest employer.
Just three months ago another two hundred and thirty jobs were put on the chopping block at a neighbouring mill Winstone Pulp International in Tangiwai and Karioi.
Add to that list the closure of a meat processing plant in Timaru last month, and it appears to be a very tough time indeed for New Zealand's provincial towns, with bedrock primary industries drying up.
What next for these families - and what next for the towns? Economist Shamubeel Eaqub joins Emile Donovan.
Photo: RNZ / Alexa Cook
