New Zealand’s population growth has spiked in recent years with an annual population growth rate of 2.8%, seven times higher than average annual population growth rate of the OECD. More than 80% of this has come from net immigration, but also the population growth is very uneven in terms of where it has – and will – take place in terms of regions and towns. A future New Zealand will be much more diverse with a much higher concentration in the top half of the North island while many parts will experience population stagnation – or depopulation. What do thee demographic trends mean for how land is used?
Distinguished Professor Emeritus Paul Spoonley MA MSc PhD FRSNZ
Paul Spoonley is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus from Massey University. He retired from Massey University where he was a Pro Vice-Chancellor. He was a lead investigator on the Capturing Diversity Dividend project which looked at New Zealand’s growing diversity and what that meant for the country. He is the editor or author of 29 books, including The “New” New Zealand : Facing Demographic Disruption (2021). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and of the Auckland Museum where he is also a Board Member. He has been a Senior Fulbright Scholar at the University of California Berkeley, a Research Fellow of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity and an Associate of Koi Tū : The Centre for Informed Futures. He was Co-Director of He Whenua Taurikura (National Centre for Countering Violent Extremism) during 2022-23 and is the Co-Chair of Metropolis International, the largest network of immigration and diversity specialists.