Exodus confirmed: Aucklanders leaving the big smoke

Exodus confirmed: Aucklanders leaving the big smoke
A population in decline: Auckland's down on numbers for first time. (Image: BusinessDesk)
Brent Melville
Covid lockdowns and border closures have sparked an exodus out of Auckland. Statistics NZ has confirmed that the country’s biggest urban epicentre saw its first ever population decline, on the back of ongoing covid lockdowns which have seen residents fleeing the city for other regions. The city, at pandemic alert level lockdown level 3 or higher for 175 days since last March, saw a 0.1% population dip for the 12 months to June.That’s after averaging population growth of 1.8% a year over the past two decades, according to l...

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