Tangiwai

[[First Union New Zealand|First Union]] and [[E tū]] issued a joint statement describing the mills' closure as "devastating." First Union general secretary Dennis Maga thanked the local mayors and [[Minister of Energy (New Zealand)|Associate Energy Minister]] [[Shane Jones]] for fighting to keep the mills open but criticised the Government for not intervening to address the impact of its previous energy reforms.<ref name="RNZ 10 Sep 2024" /> Ruapehu Mayor Kirton described the mills' closures as a "massive blow to Ruapehu and our communities." He confirmed that the [[Ruapehu District Council]] would work with [[Ministry of Social Development (New Zealand)|WINZ]] and its iwi partners to support affected workers.<ref name="NZH 10 Sep 2024" /> [[Minister of Energy (New Zealand)|Energy Minister]] [[Simeon Brown]] defended the New Zealand Government's decision not to intervene, describing it as a "commercial decision." In response, [[New Zealand Labour Party|Labour]]'s small business and manufacturing spokesperson [[Helen White (politician)|Helen White]] criticised the Government for not doing more to keep the mills open.<ref name="RNZ 10 Sep 2024" />

[[First Union New Zealand|First Union]] and [[E tū]] issued a joint statement describing the mills' closure as "devastating." First Union general secretary Dennis Maga thanked the local mayors and [[Minister of Energy (New Zealand)|Associate Energy Minister]] [[Shane Jones]] for fighting to keep the mills open but criticised the Government for not intervening to address the impact of its previous energy reforms.<ref name="RNZ 10 Sep 2024" /> Ruapehu Mayor Kirton described the mills' closures as a "massive blow to Ruapehu and our communities." He confirmed that the [[Ruapehu District Council]] would work with [[Ministry of Social Development (New Zealand)|WINZ]] and its iwi partners to support affected workers.<ref name="NZH 10 Sep 2024" /> [[Minister of Energy (New Zealand)|Energy Minister]] [[Simeon Brown]] defended the New Zealand Government's decision not to intervene, describing it as a "commercial decision." In response, [[New Zealand Labour Party|Labour]]'s small business and manufacturing spokesperson [[Helen White (politician)|Helen White]] criticised the Government for not doing more to keep the mills open.<ref name="RNZ 10 Sep 2024" />

In early June 2025, [[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] reported that the close of the Winestone pulp and timber mills had adversely affected the nearby township of [[Raetihi]], leading to emigration and economic decline.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Johnson |first1=Erin |title='Domino effect’ of mill closures leaves town in fight for survival |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360743989/domino-effect-mill-closures-leaves-town-fight-survival |access-date=8 July 2025 |work=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |date=6 July 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250708091642/https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360743989/domino-effect-mill-closures-leaves-town-fight-survival |archive-date=8 July 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Climate==

==Climate==