Immigration can revitalise struggling rural communitiesBRITTANY PICKETT/STUFF Massey University's Paul Spoonley speaks at the national conference for Rural Women New Zealand in Invercargill. The rural-urban divide is going to get worse before it gets better, Professor Paul Spoonley says. Rural communities were not growing and this, coupled with the growing population in urban centres, explained why 43 of the 67 territorial authorities were experiencing population stagnation, he said. While Spoonley had some worrying messages for rural communities, there were some solutions he could see to the ever-growing decline. "The gap between rural and urban communities is producing different value sets and different perceptions over this country."

Source: Stuff November 21, 2017 03:00 UTC