Maori Party Tai Tonga candidate alarmed at job losses

“The South is suffering” said Te Tai Tonga candidate Rahui Katene today after yet more job losses were announced in Dunedin and Hokitika.

”Cadbury Schweppes announced today they were cutting 145 jobs at its Dunedin factory, a huge slice out of their workforce of 700”.

“This comes hot in the heels of the announcement from Fisher and Paykel in April that 430 jobs would be slashed from its Mosgiel plant".

“It’s tough to be a worker in Dunedin at the moment” said Katene.

“In the last two years, 80 workers lost their jobs right on Christmas ’06 when Sealord Dunedin closed its processing site; three months ago 138 jobs were axed from the PPCS meatworks at Burnside; and then there were 50 more jobs lost when the knitwear firm Tamahine announced its closure”.

“And the whisper from the workers at Silverstream PPCS is that they’re next”.

“It's been a bad day - over on the Coast, WE Whiley and Co told workers they’re closing their sawmill north of Hokitika, laying off ten workers immediately, and plans in place to wind up the plant”.

“The job losses are seen as a result of Timberlands reducing the timber supply – but are a bitter blow to the people of the Coast”.

“Coasters have already suffered from the closure of Coastpine in Reefton at the start of the year, and just this month, another 21 jobs were cut from Inangahua Junction”.

Rahui Katene is in Dunedin tomorrow, and will be travelling around Te Wai Pounamu over this next week.

“The Maori Party has always made a commitment to listen to the people – and we are hoping to hear from them in the next few days, as we travel around Te Tai Tonga” said Rahui Katene.

“The only way we can stop this slide is to ensure that policies take into account the real life consequences for people” ended Rahui Katene.