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Northland businesses are shutting up shop and reducing their hours as New Zealand’s economy continues to struggle post-pandemic. 

Small local businesses – particularly those in the hospitality and entertainment sectors - are taking to social media to announce closures and “tighter and leaner” ways of operating. 

Cathay Cinemas owner Ross Churchouse posted on Facebook he’d made the “difficult decision” to reduce operating days and hours “due to the current economic downturn and its impact on our business’s admissions”. 

Churchouse told the Northern Advocate the Kerikeri cinema would be closed on Mondays, and other weekday operating times would be reduced by around 15-20% outside of school holiday times. 

“It’s trying to react to the reality of the economy,” he said. 

“It’s a sign of the times. 

“People are reducing their spend because they don’t have disposable income. 

“The New Zealand economy is taking much longer to turn around than people expected. 

“Because of that, people are reducing their spend on entertainment and hospitality ... we have to make things tighter and leaner.” 

Cathay Cinemas has been serving up films - from mainstream Hollywood blockbusters to specialty screenings and art house fare - to Northland communities since 1936. 

Cathay Cinemas owner Ross Churchouse said there had been a steady decline in numbers since April 2024. 

Churchouse, who has worked in cinema for 25 years and bought Cathay Cinema in 2022, said there had been a steady decline in numbers since April 2024. 

With the economy, this was due to “multiple issues”, he said. 

These include a hot, dry Northland summer, meaning people spent more time outdoors, and the impact of the 2023 Hollywood writers and actors strikes which delayed some movies being released. 

Costs to run the business “are going up incrementally 5 to 12%”, and freight costs had doubled, Churchouse said. 

“We’re all part of the community. 

“We’re having to prioritise what we spend our money on. 

“We’re all, as a community, struggling.” 

The Big River Cafe in Awanui closed last June, with owner Martin Hawkins citing the cost of living crisis, tough economic times, and SH1 closures. Photo / Mike Dinsdale 

Willows Lunch Bar and Takeaways posted on social media that the Paparoa business was closing for good from March 29. 

“It has been a very hard time for us as a family, since taking over this shop,” the post said. 

“Due to the cost of rent and food, we are unable to stay open.” 

In June, Awanui’s Big River Cafe also closed, citing the cost of living crisis, tough economic times, and constant SH1 closures that deterred people from heading north. 

New Zealand’s economy limped out of the worst [non-Covid] recession since 1991, with its gross domestic product (GDP) rising 0.7% in the December 2024 quarter. 

Consumer confidence is also struggling to get out of the doldrums. 

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence index fell by four points to 93.2 in March, ANZ said. 

The bank’s report titled “A bit of a slog”, said confidence was generally trending higher however, “we’re at the very early stage where it doesn’t feel like it”. 

“That’s because both unemployment and business failures, the human face of recessions, continue to lift”. 

Northland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Leah McKerrow said businesses were doing it tough but there was a sense of optimism. 

Northland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Leah McKerrow said businesses were “still feeling things are really tough”. 

“That discretionary spend ... going to movies, or a restaurant, or having that extra coffee will usually be at the tail end of what people do when things pick up. 

“People are just not overdoing it with the spending.” 

McKerrow said while there was a sense of “constraint” among consumers, “there is a sense the economy is starting to improve”. 

“I’m hearing things from businesses ... for example in the building sector, saying the phone is starting to ring. 

“If interest rates come down, usually that gives people more optimism.” 

Churchouse said he was hopeful audiences would return this winter. 

He reassured residents the popular Met Opera series would be retained, and French, Italian, British and Irish film festivals would return this year. 

He thanked their “incredible customers for their support as we get through these difficult times together”. 

Jenny Ling is a senior journalist at the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering human interest stories, along with roading, lifestyle, business, and animal welfare issues.