Mayor slams ‘bread and circus’ govt as 100 more jobs go in Tokoroa

Wednesday, 17 September 2025

More than 100 workers at Carter Holt Harvey’s plywood production plant in Tokoroa have been told they could be out of a job by November.

South Waikato mayor Gary Petley has come out swinging at a government he says “doesn’t give a toss” about regional New Zealand, and the impending closure of Carter Holt Harvey’s Tokoroa plywood plant.

Faced with the second major plant closure in a year in his patch, a visibly angry Petley pointed to it coming the same week as a major event fund to attract big offshore acts.

He likened the situation to “Roman times” when a ruling party would distract an unhappy populace with “bread and circuses”.

“They made the announcement they’re going to make $70 million available to promote concerts, sporting events and social events … but have consistently told us for a year and a half to get rid of the ‘nice to haves’ and concentrate on core business - and yet here we are, another major closure in Tokoroa.”

Much of what Petley said is unfit to print, but to say he was angered by the news would be an understatement.

To say South Waikato mayor Gary Petley was unhappy with government inaction in the regions would be an understatement. Much of what he said about the impending closure was unfit for print.

“They just filled up an arena to watch … gladiators try and kill each other … it was all a distraction.”

Carter Holt Harvey shares the Kinleith Mill site with OJI Fibre Solutions. E Tū Union representatives say they will import plywood from overseas.

The comments come as E Tū Union spokesman, Red Middlemiss confirmed that staff and union members were told on Monday that their jobs were on the line, saying the news was a “bolt from the blue”.

Middlemiss said the New Zealand-owned company, that shares the Kinleith Mill site in Tokoroa with OJI Fibre Solutions, has been importing plywood from Australia and a number of other countries already, “and has found out that they can import it cheaper than they can make it here”.

Middlemiss said it was another nail in the coffin for the South Waikato, and regional New Zealand, after CHH halved its plywood plant workforce just before Christmas, and announced the shut down of its Eves Valley sawmill in Nelson with the loss of more than 130 jobs in late November 2024.

Carter Holt Harvey is owned by Kiwi rich-lister Graeme Hart (file photo).

OJI Fibre Solutions cut 130 jobs and closed the country’s last paper making machine at Kinleith in June this year.

Plans are also in the pipeline to close Tokoroa’s Toi Ohomai polytech campus in a government-mandated restructure.

“Staff have been told all production is ceasing … they now have to go through consultation and will know by the start of November who will be staying and who will be going.”

Middlemiss said CHH planned to keep a skeleton staff on site for quality control purposes when it completes the switch to imported plywood.

E Tū site delegate Andrew Dobbs, who has worked for CHH in Tokoroa for 24 years, said staff were devastated.

“It’s just really sad. We knew things were tough, but I didn’t expect them to stop manufacturing altogether.

“You’d say people are feeling sad and depressed – it’s not quite a closure, but there will be so few people left there, making nothing, just reprocessing imports to send to market.

E Tū Union representative Red Middlemiss said it was likely more than 119 jobs would be lost at the site when outside contractors were taken into account (file photo).

“Personally, I don’t want to move out of town, but that might be the only choice we’ve got.”

Carter Holt Harvey is a New Zealand-based company owned by Rank Group Investments Ltd, the investment arm of New Zealand businessman and rich-lister Graeme Hart, and has been approached for comment.

Mayor Petley said MPs in Wellington did a lot of talking, and accused them of abandoning regional communities at a time they needed them most.

“They don’t give a toss,” he said.

Taupō MP Louise Upston said she was saddened by the news of the proposed closure, putting the decision down to ‘years of high inflation and low growth’.

Petley said it was more than frustrating watching businesses the South Waikato had relied on for years closing down with hardly a whimper.

“We can say clearly now that timber isn’t a major driver in the South Waikato economy any more because everything is going - all the logs, they’re getting exported, Oji are importing paper, and now they’re importing plywood, there’s no processing here.

“What the f**k is going on?,” he said.

He said he had previously raised concerns directly with ministers, including Shane Jones, about the “trickle-down effect” of industrial closures and their impact on local families and workers.

“All that government shit they spin - it’s all a smokescreen.”

Regional Development Minister Shane Jones, who recently told the Waikato Times he wanted to build a new energy plant at Kinleith Mill, declined to comment.

Taupō MP Louise Upston said she was saddened by news of the proposed closure, which was “incredibly challenging for all those who may be affected”.

She said support would be offered to affected workers through the local Ministry of Social Development office, and she would be working closely with the council’s Project Phoenix group.

“We will continue to focus on the future. Businesses have been struggling with years of high inflation and low growth, coupled with changing demand.

Privately owned businesses such as Carter Holt Harvey are also confronted with tough decisions to manage high costs.

Our Government is working hard to create the conditions for businesses to grow.“