NZ | Population Statistics Thread

[whkfan]

The auckland -hamilton- tauranga axis will grow rapidly .I think this area of upper north island will grow fast than we think.at the rate at which it is growing it will beat projected growth of 2015 /2020/2050.Hamilton and tauranga have come from nowhere in the last what 15-25 years.I thing whangerei will at some stage also see rapid growh if the local authorities there make the right decisions .Aucklanders and others may want to move there for lifestyle reasons or retirement ,ects like they move to tauranga .I would like aucland in the next few years get to around 1,7m and hamilton around 160,000-200,000.i think hamilton will continue to grow because of amongst other things its proximity to auckland and immigration .hamilton will surely become the farming and technology engine room of the country.this growth will hopefully lead to more highrise develpoments in hamilton and tauranga.

[NZer]

Originally Posted by whkfan

hamilton will surely become the farming and technology engine room of the country.

I thought it was already, at least the farming part......

[Paulsy]

Originally Posted by NZer

I thought it was already, at least the farming part......

I would have thought Christchurch was already the farming and technology engine room. What makes Hamilton so likely to take over this role?

[metroman]

Hamilton supposedly has more Phds than anywhere else in New Zealand. I'm not trying to talk the area up either. Hamilton is probably more into agricultural biotechnology, bioinformatics and food processing. Its close proximatey to Auckland and better rail connections have it strategically well placed. Christchurch has an excellent airport and with work about to be completed in the next few years, is also well positioned for future growth. Christchurch has a lot of area in which to expand and it is reasonable to expect a metro population of around 600,000 in the coming decades, commuter rail would also help to facilitate a population of this size.

[Paulsy]

Originally Posted by metroman

Hamilton supposedly has more Phds than anywhere else in New Zealand. I'm not trying to talk the area up either. Hamilton is probably more into agricultural biotechnology, bioinformatics and food processing. Its close proximatey to Auckland and better rail connections have it strategically well placed. Christchurch has an excellent airport and with work about to be completed in the next few years, is also well positioned for future growth. Christchurch has a lot of area in which to expand and it is reasonable to expect a metro population of around 600,000 in the coming decades, commuter rail would also help to facilitate a population of this size.

Chch has an agricultural university (Lincoln) and an engineering one (Canterbury). It is also in the centre of the biggest piece of farmland in the country - hence my statement.

[metroman]

Being a Christchurch boy myself I am definetly on your side on this one. Canterbury is already the 2nd biggest contributor to the New Zealand economy. Many people have said that it could or should be the engine room for the country's economy already. It would be great to see this happen, but there certainly does need to be a shitload of investment for this to happen and amongst other things, rail would help things along considerably.

[Svartmetall]

Hamilton doesn't have better railway links at the moment - one train a day goes through there to Wellington and one to Auckland!

We're hoping for a good connection eventually though!

[NZer]

Yeah but in terms of freight rail it is probably the most important location in NZ.

[Svartmetall]

Originally Posted by NZer

Yeah but in terms of freight rail it is probably the most important location in NZ.

Comparatively little freight is transported by rail compared to lorries though isn't it?

[kegan]

Modal split for freight Tonne-kilometres in 2006/2007 was estimated as:
Road: 70.2%
Rail: 14.6%
Coastal shipping: 14.9%
Air: 0.3%

(Source: National Freight Demands Study [pdf])

In the Waikato region, I believe rail's share is about 20% (can't remember the source though).

[metroman]

Many people were sceptical about voting for Key because of what they thought he would do to Kiwirail. He hasn't really said a great deal. Public opinion is however very much in favour of getting back to rail.

[NZer]

Originally Posted by Svartmetall

Comparatively little freight is transported by rail compared to lorries though isn't it?

Yeah, I know. But Hamilton is the junction of several trunk lines. If more freight does go to rail (which would be great) then Hamilton will be where a lot of it passes through and/or gets transfered to different trains or trucks.

[Brisbaner21]

Hamilton is really growing. Thats good news, hopefully the skyline can change soon.

[Ironmanfood]

Originally Posted by Paulsy

I would have thought Christchurch was already the farming and technology engine room. What makes Hamilton so likely to take over this role?

I'd say your probably correct. Lincoln as well as Massey are the agricultural universities so you would think the farming technology engine room would be around those 2 universities?

The Ruakura Agricultural Research Centre (AgResearch) is in Hamilton though beside Waikato University, plus Fonterra ....

[Milan Luka]

At exactly 8:00pm the population clock shows there are currently 4,287,041 of us.

Does anyone have a preference to what our population should be? Also where these people should be concentrated?

I would like to see us at about 7-9 million. I think we could sustain that.

Auckland should have a population of 3 million. We could have a Wellington/Kapiti/Palmy conurbation of close to 2 million. And Christchurch at around the 1 million mark. Add to that a population of 250k for Hamilton, Tauranga, Napier/Hastings, Nelson and Dunedin and I think we would have a powerhouse of a country on our hands.

Now from where to find these extra people...

[jarbury]

I think it kind of depends on how the cities will take in those extra people. If Auckland has 3 million yet keeps its current urban limits then it'll be awesome. We would totally be able to afford a kick-ass urban train system with that sort of population. If Auckland spreads to twice its current size then it'll be a disaster. Same goes with the other cities.

Hard to say what an ideal population is for the country as a whole though, there are simply so many variables.

[Dazzle]

Originally Posted by Milan Luka

At exactly 8:00pm the population clock shows there are currently 4,287,041 of us.

I would like to see us at about 7-9 million. I think we could sustain that.

Auckland should have a population of 3 million.

Now from where to find these extra people...

Wow nearly 4.3 million!
Agree with your figure of 7-9 mill. I've always felt that for a country of our land size we are really underpopulated.
My thinking was always along the lines of 10 million - remember that our sq km size is bigger than the UK and they have around 60 million!
But I will take "7-9 million"!
Where from? = thats the problem. Preferably share it around...25% European, 25% American, 25% Asian and 25% licorice allsorts!

[jarbury]

Though Piha on a sunny Sunday with 3x as many people might be a bit shit. There are advantages of a smaller population too.

[metroman]

If New Zealand is serious about economic growth, then this is definetly what our governments should be planning for. In the past a figure of 5 million is basically all the governments of this country have planned for, and beyond that there has been no real stategy to accomodate a population which would facilitate any real degree of significant economic growth. One of the things I am hopeful about with John Key is that maybe he is thinking more along these lines and also addressing the need to bring back significant numbers of expats back to our shores.

[jarbury]

Growing an economy simply through growing a population doesn't necessarily lead to a better quality of life for those living in the country. I know many many New Zealanders enjoy the relatively low population density of the country.