Kerre Woodham: The matter of New Zealand's shrinking working population

About this episode

Kerre Woodham discusses the implications of New Zealand's shrinking working population and the challenges posed by an ageing demographic and declining birth rates.

The headline in the Herald read “New Zealand population bombshell” – but is the news really that much of a bombshell? We know we have an ageing population. We know that we're not replacing ourselves with babies. And we know that there's going to be a real crunch when it comes to finding sufficient workers in the next 20 odd years.   According to a report that the Herald quotes from Sir Peter Gluckman and Emeritus Professor Paul Spoonley, their new report People, Place and Prosperity says the colliding trends of a slowing population growth and a reliance on immigration to drive workforce and population growth, an ageing population requiring more public services, and growing ethnic diversity presents both opportunities and challenges. The opportunities include making the most of the skills, innovation, and creativity that such diversity can offer, but this can be undermined by political populism appealing to xenophobic tendencies – looking at you New Zealand First.   We've known for some time now that we're not having enough babies to replace ourselves. In the late 19th century, women settlers had on average seven children, but this rate halved by the early 20th century…

People in this episode

Host: Kerre Woodham

Topics covered

• population growth
• workforce challenges
• immigration
• ageing population
• ethnic diversity

Keywords

• New Zealand
• population
• workforce
• immigration
• ageing
• birth rates
• diversity

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: New Zealand First, Herald

Places: New Zealand

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