this post was submitted on 09 May 2025
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‘Hollowing out’: New Zealand grapples with an uncertain future as record numbers leave | New Zealand | The Guardian (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 1 week ago by hanrahan@slrpnk.net to c/newzealand@lemmy.nz
15 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I don’t know why we’re not talking about this more. We have a steep decline in fertility, a rapidly ageing population, and, out of Covid, we are seeing the rise and rise of departures,” says Massey University’s emeritus professor Paul Spoonley, a leading sociologist.

“Parts of New Zealand are beginning to empty out, they will suffer stagnation or are in decline. The question for me is – will the number of New Zealanders leaving the country begin to come back?” Spoonley say

I ended up buying on the Gold Coast becase NZ housing was too unaffordable, back just before Covid.

Covid saw NZ housing prices then go from ridiculous to statospheric, so now I am in Tassie. Not been looking since but interested in the exoerinxes of others.

I'm an Aussie's that spent some time in NZ and was looking to move there full time, so a different take I guess and keen to here from locals.

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[–] absGeekNZ@lemmy.nz 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I see a lot of negativity here. Maybe a little refocus, onto positivity.

So what political party (if any) represents your views.

What would you want to see?

Obviously the current government is not what the Lemmy.nz crew want, but is there anything that they have done that you support?

For me:
TOP is the party that is closest to representing my views.

I'm particularly interested in innovation; I'd like to see government investment into innovation increase, to at least the OECD average (which we are around half of currently).

As for anything positive that the current government has done. I was pleasantly surprised that Winston gave greyhound racing the boot.

[–] liv@lemmy.nz 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

I don't feel like anyone really represents my views anymore.

I would like us to turn towards doing things that are international best practice and demonstrably work, and I'd also like to see an end to neoliberal economic orthodoxy (and while he's at it Santa could bring me a pony - by which I mean I know that's just a dream).

For question 3, sorry to do this but it makes me uncomfortable to come up with an equivalent to the Circus had beautiful architecture or the trains run on time.

I'd rather contribute something I see as positive and also meaningful, so in terms of NZ politics that's things like the small grassroots groups that are still fighting to save the environment, the degree of unity and political revitalization in te ao Maori resistance around treaty issues, the way the care workers I know are keeping their dignity and still fighting for decent working conditions... I guess just that ordinary people are not just sitting there defeated.

[–] Etterra@discuss.online 4 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Are they accepting United States refugees from the MAGApocalypse?

[–] Wigglet@beehaw.org 4 points 5 days ago

We have a list of green light jobs for immigration but please be mindful our country is in need of collective minded people, not a flood of individualistic Americans with a warped political view and black-and-white thinking. I know several Americans immigrants who are incredible assets to Aotearoa. We know it's not all of you!

[–] BalpeenHammer@lemmy.nz 34 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Housing is expensive, opportunities are disappearing, healthcare and education are being hollowed out.

This country is doomed but we have nobody to blame but ourselves. We voted for these bozos.

At least the trans people will not be allowed to poop in the bathroom they are presenting as so I guess that's something. We are going to show those trans people who is who and where they belong.

[–] nosebleed@lemmy.dbzer0.com 16 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

Who do you mean by we? I don't know any boomer who isn't right wing. I know very very few right wingers outside of that generation. Anacdotal yes, but I can't help think this is the last gift from their generation before they cark it.

It also doesn't help that the right seems to shift the landscape further right, while the left sits on their hands and nothing barely changes. Its hard to label labour left anymore honestly. Just a constant ratcheting towards this brainless neoliberal experiment gone rogue.

What was the last policy implemented by any party that had a tangibly positive affect on your living conditions? For me, none at the time I left. Made leaving slightly easier. But now I'm overseas I feel like all countries are sinking ships for workers. NZ feels a lot further along and faster than most.

[–] liv@lemmy.nz 8 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

I agree with Dave.

Although the elderly do skew right that's far from the whole picture.

I am middle aged so my parents' generation are all late Silent Gen or Boomers. None of our parents and their friends are right-wing at all - some of them are still out there trying to save the forests and the oceans.

The people I know irl who voted for National or ACT are all younger - working age.

Edited to add: Anecdotes aside, pretty sure statistically we are seeing a resurgence of ACT that is driven by affluent young men, while there is also a contingent of disenfranchised working-class people who vote for Winston.

[–] TagMeInSkipIGotThis@lemmy.nz 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Yes, and! From me on that.* There are a lot of perhaps temporary voters who swung away from Labour as part of the hangover from the Covid times. But there's also a large voting block made up predominantly of white, male, historically middle-class folks who have also swung right.

When i've engaged with them they tend to be rabidly anti-green; quite chauvinist and have a simmering racist resentment as they experience their once privileged position being eroded away. They work fairly hard, but due to high house prices and cost of goods in general are finding that they can't get ahead in life like their parents did.

They have legitimate complaints but as is often the case are easily led to blaming the folks suffering even worse than they for their problems rather than the dominant agenda's since the 80s that are the real problem.

*For the most part anyway, a lot of my parents generation are old fashioned Nats mostly because I come from a farming background.

[–] liv@lemmy.nz 1 points 4 days ago

They have legitimate complaints but as is often the case are easily led to blaming the folks suffering even worse than they for their problems rather than the dominant agenda’s since the 80s that are the real problem.

This is it in a nutshell.

[–] Dave@lemmy.nz 10 points 6 days ago

Who do you mean by we? I don’t know any boomer who isn’t right wing. I know very very few right wingers outside of that generation.

I have boomer family who have voted right wing their whole lives and got more leftist as they got older.

I also know people in their 30s that are out there campaigning for Act, full leopards ate my face stuff.

Generally the people I am close with are not right wing, but that's more a lack of commonalities to base a friendship on. I think you'd be surprised to find how much support National, Act, (and even NZF) get in the younger populations.

[–] BalpeenHammer@lemmy.nz 5 points 6 days ago

By "we" I mean the country as a whole.

so "we" voted for the batshit crazy right and the do nothing middle. We could have voted differently, we didn't.

[–] rimu@piefed.social 22 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I'm sure another round of tax cuts will fix it.

/s

[–] deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz 5 points 5 days ago

You forgot about "cracking down on beneficiaries".

Oh, and killing children to get to the next set of traffic lights wicket.

[–] Xcf456@lemmy.nz 14 points 1 week ago

This place is fucked, and now we know Australia won't shoot themselves in the head for another three years at least people will continue to leave in droves.

When the bloodbath government budget here hits in two weeks time it will turn into a torrent.

[–] BlueEther@no.lastname.nz 11 points 1 week ago

Don't worry too much about those of us that are left here, we will have our 100% pure NZ clean rivers and intact eco-systems

spoiler/s