Tiny New Zealand town with 'too many jobs' launches drive to recruit outsiders

Kaitangata, in South Island, offers attractively priced house and land packages in hope of tempting city-dwellers to relocate

A tiny New Zealand town has a unique problem – too many jobs, too many affordable houses and not enough people to fill them.

So the 800 residents of picturesque Kaitangata, in the South Island, have launched a recruitment drive to lure new residents to the town.

The scheme involves offering house and land packages in the rural community for an attractive NZ$230,000 (£122,000) in the hope that Kiwis struggling with life in big cities will be tempted to relocate.

Bryan Cadogan, there mayor of the Clutha district, which includes Kaitangata, estimates there are upwards of 1,000 jobs vacant in his district and local residents are unable to meet demand.

He said: “When I was unemployed and had a family to feed, the Clutha gave me a chance, and now we want to offer that opportunity to other Kiwi families who might be struggling.

“We have got youth unemployment down to two. Not 2% – just two unemployed young people.”

The major employers in the Clutha district are linked to primary industries – including a dairy processing plant and freezing works – and for many years they have been forced to bus in workers from the provincial hub of Dunedin, which is over an hour away.

“I despair over the way many Kiwi families are forced to live these days,” said Cadogan, who is a born and bred local.

Click here to read the original article: The Guardian