Boycie Te Rire is a retired veteran of the Kawerau Norske Skog Tasman Paper Mill who knows its closure in seven days is going to be hard for his family and others in the Kawerau township.
"There have been people only 10 years into it," he says. "How will they pay for their mortgages, cars, and others? I really feel for these young ones."
The mill is closing due to the decline in the mill's sole product, newsprint, and that has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 epidemic lockdowns. The mill has seen a structural decline in the market in both its export and domestic markets.
"We are a significant exporter of newsprint so it is no longer a sustainable business," mill general manager Steve Brine says.