Local government leaders are being warned they need to own up to the challenges facing rural New Zealand or risk being left with a series of so-called zombie towns, Radio New Zealand reports.
New Zealand Institute of Economic Research principal economist Shamubeel Eaqub delivered a battle cry for change to delegates at the Local Government New Zealand conference in Nelson on Monday.
He warned them a failure to act could leave some communities at death's door, pulling down other, more prosperous, parts of the region.
His research on rural New Zealand's decline has been well-publicised and he made his message to the 550 local body members clear, urging them to use his research as a catalyst for positive change.
“In a moment of time it feels terrible to say one region, one place, might not be there tomorrow, I know it sounds so harsh, but in many ways that's the to and fro of life. It happens. The big thing is how we ensure the people affected by it have an opportunity to make something of it.”
