Job shortages a challenge for rangatahi on Matakana Island
• April 22, 2026
Residents outside Matakana Island’s only shop, Tubby’s Store. Photo: Jamie McCready
Residents of rural Matakana Island, off the coast of Tauranga, are worried about declining job opportunities in their community, with many leaving to find work in bigger cities.
A large pine plantation and forestry on the east side of the island once offered jobs for residents at its sawmill.
The mill closed in the early 1990s, limiting work opportunities and decreasing the population of 600 to roughly 250 today.
Matakana Island has a 97 per cent Māori population, a large majority of whom are tāngata whenua.
One in four Māori live in rural communities now, with many resorting to moving to cities for work.
The chairperson of Te Runanga o Ngaiterangi Iwi Trust, Maru Samuels (Te Rarawa, Ngai Takoto, Ngapuhi, Te Aupōuri, Ngaiterangi), moved back home to Tauranga from Tāmaki Makaurau during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“My move back was largely to do with what was happening back home . . . I was interested in how we protect our unique way of life.”
There was now concern for the future of rangatahi who stay on the island, he said.
“It seems like most of the young ones stay, but I almost wish they would go . . . opportunities on the island are rare. There's high unemployment.
“We really need a combination of some big-picture businesses that will employ our people with good mahi,” Samuels said.
Tauwhao Te Ngare Trust, from the neighboring island of Rangiwaea, has been working towards rebuilding its marae after it closed 50 years ago.
Samuels says he recognises the rebuild must be supported, and the result must work for its community.
“There’s no point in rebuilding unless you’ve got a papakaingato . . . support a marae, you need a papakainga to go with it, you need mahi.
“If you can’t provide those opportunities, then people end up moving to town to work.”
Local kaumatua and owner of the only shop on the island, Parehuia Greaves (Ngaiterangi, Ngāti Ranginui), says older residents are left with no support when younger residents move to the mainland for work.
“There are many, many [kaumatua] who need help. You know, some have their families, but some don’t. I can't speak for all . . . but my moko all live in Auckland,” she explained.
Local Kaumatua and shop owner, Parehuia Greaves, inherited the only shop on Matakana Island, Tubby’s Store, from her parents. Photo: Jamie McCready
The Ministry of Health released a Rural Health Strategy in 2023, which expressed significant concern around rural communities' access to maternity care, mental health services, and emergency and urgent care.
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