The overall trend in South Waikato’s population was down between 2001 and 2006, with the 2006 Census data showing a District wide decline from 23,472 to 22,641.
The balance of births and arrivals in the District over deaths and permanent emigration however, appears to show a net gain between 2006 and June 2008 of around 100. It is still too early to determine whether this seeming reversal of the previous decline will continue. The District has more residents under 15 than the New Zealand average (27% as opposed to 22%). There has also been a slow but steady increase in economic activity based on rural and natural resources, which is likely to be maintained in the medium to long term, based on an expected demand in sustainable forestry, food products and associated rural manufacturing and engineering expertise.
Council sought expert advice from its consultants and considered previous reports on demographic trends obtained from the University of Waikato. This enabled Council to take a cautious approach of predicting relative stability around the present population levels for the next ten years at least and it adopted this level of demand for assessing future infrastructure and community needs.
The separate ward populations measured in the 2006 Census were as follows:
Putaruru 6,201 (27.4%)
Tirau 2,196 (9,7%)
Tokoroa 14,244 (62.9%)
The percentage changes between wards were minor with the Tokoroa ward population declining proportionately and Putaruru and Tirau proportions increasing slightly.
The urban/rural split is currently around 75% to 25%. There has been roughly a 3% increase in the proportion of rural dwellers from 2001 and a similar decline in urban dwellers. This is due to a small decline in the number of urban residents in Tokoroa and Putaruru, combined with conversions of forestry land into farming enterprises in the South of the District and a slight increase in rural subdivision on the margins of Putaruru and Tirau.
Ethnic affiliation has become a more complex demographic indicator to measure as a significant number of the District’s residents identified more than one ethnic origin in their Census responses. This led to a total figure of more than 100% of responses for this question. However, the responses probably reflect the increasing diversity in New Zealand’s population and a greater comfort in acknowledging our separate ancestral strands. The District’s responses differed from the national pattern in showing proportionately more Pacific peoples in the District than the national average. Those acknowledging Maori ancestry were also proportionately greater than the national average. There were however, fewer people acknowledging Asian or middle Eastern descent. The national trend of people identifying themselves as ‘Other’, including as ‘New Zealanders’ also appeared locally with around 10.1% of us putting ourselves in the ‘Other’ category.
European 63% (nationally 67.6%)
Maori 31.5% (14.6%)
Pacific Island Peoples 12% (6.9%)
Asian 1.8% (9.2%)
Middle Eastern 0.2% (0.9%)
Others 10.1% (11.1%)
Another important feature was that the demographic pattern identified in the 2006 Census indicated a higher than average proportion of those under 15 (and over 65) than the national average.
Under 15 27% (nationally 22%)
15-65 60.4% (65.7%)
Over 65 12.6% (12.3%)
Having fewer than average people in the ‘adult’ category partly relates to young people leaving school and the District to acquire education in other centres. Recent investment by local tertiary providers may, it is hoped, in part reverse this trend. Investments in improved communication networks (broadband based on regional initiatives) could also assist in providing the necessary infrastructure to support knowledge based industries and local skill development and retention.
The level of house ownership was similar (65.4%), but slightly less than the national average of 66.9%.
The number of rateable properties increased slightly to 9,762 by June 2008 reflecting a number of new subdivisions arising from a modest improvement in economic activity in both rural and residential areas. New houses were also built on farms, triggering a second dwelling charge.
The Gross capital value of all rateable properties as at June 2008 was $4,235,415,810, with $2,357,189,550 being the land value component. The increases there reflect a general increase in property values consistent with the national trend, especially for farmland. There were also increased values arising from new subdivisions (both for residential and dairy conversion purposes) and capital building works (residential and industrial/commercial).
As of June 2007 2,364 enterprises were operating in the District, many of them being smaller enterprises, but a few such as CHH, Fonterra and Genesis Energy being large employers. The District’s economy as is natural in a rural area is dominated by natural resource industries and many local jobs are based around farming/forestry/fishing directly (17.3%), or manufacturing (24.5%); each percentage being significantly higher than the national averages of 8.3% and 13% respectively.
Much of the District’s manufacturing workforce is engaged in activities that either service rural industries or use a natural resource like milk, wood, water or meat as their feedstock. As would also be expected in a rural district with smaller service towns, employment related to the service sectors such as retail, warehousing, financial and tourism is proportionately less than for larger centres or established tourist destinations such as Rotorua or Taupo. Any growth in these industries within the District is likely to be smaller in scale and based on the development of niche markets and destinations.
Proportionately more than the national average (7.3%) are engaged in educational activities (10.8% locally) with fewer in the health and community support sectors (4.9% as opposed to 8.1%).
Overall, the District has experienced a modest growth as evidenced by a number of positive indicators such as income and income spread and on the whole its infrastructure is able to cope with significantly larger demand than occurs at present; for example, the Tokoroa Airfield, the town water supplies, the sewage systems and the roads. Other positive, but less obvious factors are the District’s central position and relative closeness to markets and ports; readily available energy sourced from the Waikato’s renewable hydro resources; and the availability of pure water in both underground aquifers and surface streams. This latter resource underpins a thriving local bottled water industry based in Putaruru, which produces around 70% of the national production, as well as resourcing other food industries.
More detail on the social, cultural, economic and physical environment of the District can be found in the State of the District or its executive summary, also found on this website.
Back to top
|
