When Winstone’s Karioi Pulp Mill closed down this month, it shut the door on generations of family history for those who have spent their lives working on the site.
The mill has been operating for 45 years in the Ruapehu District, at Tangiwai near Ohakune.
For many of those years, it has employed members of the local McCann family.
Aaron McCann’s father Tom worked there for 33 years as a cleaner.
“He was a general hand … it used to be called a cleaner back in the day, he shovelled chip.”
For 21 years the two men worked at the same mill, and Aaron smiles as he recalls their time together – saying it was a good thing they were in different roles on site.
“We didn’t bump heads too much.”
His father died eight years ago, and for the past year Aaron’s son James had been working alongside him.
“I can’t get away from him, he’s helped me out a lot,” James joked.
“It’s good seeing him every day,” Aaron said.
Both men were devastated by the mill’s closure, saying the workplace offered so much more than just employment.
“It’s everything for us – it’s our life. It’s very sad and a lot of young ones are just realising the impact now,” Aaron said.
The McCanns, like many mill families, were facing the possibility of being split up as James was looking over the ditch at opportunities there.
“I’d like to stay here, but it’s not looking very hopeful for myself, so Australia is looking quite inviting … I don’t want to leave but if I have to, I will,” he said.
“There’s a lot of people moving out of the area, a lot of families getting split up now.”
Meanwhile, Aaron was hoping to stay put and start his own firewood business.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said.
The government decided not to intervene in the mill’s closure, saying there were a number of factors involved and it was not in a position to step in and save businesses.
However, the Labour Party said it would have backed the government putting a share of electricity profits into a short-term solution to help the mill workers.
Aaron said the whole situation had left everyone feeling frustrated and let down.
“I’m quite disappointed with the government. They campaigned for us to vote for them, and when we wanted their help they just turned a blind eye.
“National said we are going to double exports and go hard, but we’re losing exports – freezing works are closing, we are closing.. I don’t know what the country is going to be, that’s what I want to tell New Zealand – we’re going backwards,” he says.
By Alexa Cook of rnz.co.nz
