1 Tonight on Sunday ` The streets are empty, and they're dying. a grim reality... If we do nothing, will become zombie towns. ...that comes with a stark warning. And for those places, what's the plan to shut them down? Do we save them... We are not going to let Whanganui die. It won't happen. We are not going to let Whanganui die. It won't happen. You are staunch about that. Absolutely. ...or sacrifice them? The tipping point has been achieved. If nothing else changes, then Whanganui must fail. Then ` a spectacular rise to fame... Jock and Clifton Promise at their best are a serious threat. ...with an equally spectacular fall. You feel like a criminal because social media is having a field day with it; they are ripping you apart. Can Jock Paget reinvent himself? Does the pressure ever leave you when you are in charge of a horse like this? Kia ora. I'm Miriama Kamo. Zombie towns, here in NZ? Are we talking walk of the living dead? Well, close to, some say. Last night, as expected, most provincial towns backed blue. But is John Key's government backing them? Many once vibrant hubs now boast high unemployment, ageing populations and stagnant economies. So is it time to shut up shop or can we, should we save them? Here's Rachel Smalley. DRAMATIC MUSIC If we do nothing, we become zombie towns. It's a grim warning. Streets are empty and they're dying. Without change, heartland NZ is in danger of shutting down. If we don't make changes, we run the real risk of becoming the Northland of the world. And that's not going down well in the provinces. Respectfully it's bullshit, OK. It's not happening like that at all. No, I don't think Whanganui is a zombie town, and I don't think it's ever gonna be. It was a warning that Whanganui wanted to hear in person. We're not going to let Whanganui die. It won't happen. You're pretty staunch about that. You're pretty staunch about that. Absolutely. LAID-BACK GUITAR MUSIC Hey, Anne. How are you? For Jamie O'Leary, the West Coast town of Whanganui is a gem. Probably the hidden jewel in the crown that not that many people know about, and once they discover it, they fall in love with it too. I think you have one of the best views in Whanganui, haven't you? Yeah, it's pretty out there, isn't it? Yeah, it's pretty out there, isn't it? Part of Kiwi dream, isn't it? Yeah, pretty much. It's all there on your back door, farmland there, river there, city there, five minutes' walk from town. hey. And a million-dollar view? And a million-dollar view? Doesn't get much better, does it? And a million-dollar view? Doesn't get much better, does it? No, it doesn't. It was this lifestyle that brought Jamie's family to Whanganui 45 years ago. He set up a small construction business, met his wife, Sue, and had three sons. I kinda figured out early on it was a pretty amazing place, and I chose to stay. The business took off. It was boom time in Whanganui and the Manawatu. It was the land of opportunity. You could go out there; you could put your head down, your bum up; you could work hard. It just evolved and morphed into something slightly bigger. His sons, Daniel and Anthony, joined the business. Gidday, mate. how are you going? Gidday, mate. how are you going? Good mate. How are you? I am bloody marvellous. What's happening? I thought I'd come back to my roots, and I decided that, yeah, Whanganui was the best place for me. Anthony bucked the trend ` a young person who left, but came back. When I was about 18 or 19, I went to Melbourne and lived there for three years. I saw a bit of Asia. I've been to Europe a few times, but I... I got to the stage in my life where I wanted to start a family. Walk to Dadda. Oh, good boy. Now at 32, he's settled here with a wife and family. When I left, I didn't have any intention of coming back, but I think deep down with my family, with my roots, with everything that's here, I was always coming back to visit. And you'll stay? I'm happy to stay. And so is Daniel, a site foreman in the family business. It's the personal aspect of it that makes it a draw card to come home. It's also cheap to live here. House prices have dropped 20% in seven years. A four-bedroom home can cost less than 200 grand. As far as bang for your buck goes in a place like Whanganui, you'll get a lot better quality house compared to even some of the similar sized towns around NZ. The Whanganui market is a Saturday ritual for Jamie and his grandson. What's happening now? Oh, pizza. Oh, pizza. Pizza. He's living the good life, but many here aren't. Scratch the surface, and you will find evidence of a town in trouble. People are leaving. There is little growth, few jobs and an ageing population. So should we, as one economist suggests, start shutting down some of our struggling small towns? Thank you for the invitation. You're welcome. So, you're going to talk to us? You're welcome. So, you're going to talk to us? Absolutely. Shamubeel Eaqub, one of the country's top economic brains. There is a problem that requires us to change. And that problem is the growing economic gulf between our cities and the provinces. The policies that we have now are leaving our regions behind. Whanganui took that claim personally. One of the words I've used is zombie. And in many ways it was to create a catalyst for people to hang and to get this image of what will happen to NZ if we don't change. They asked him to front up and explain. You can afford to buy a house. You can afford to buy a house. It's not just about Auckland envy. You can afford to buy a house. It's not just about Auckland envy. What is your definition of success? Are you targeting Whanganui? No, not at all. All I'm trying to say is, look, this is happening to a lesser or greater extent across many parts of provincial NZ. We see declining populations. A sign that a town is struggling. Population decline is one of the issues Whanganui is dealing with. Young people leaving, the economy's going backwards, high levels of unemployment and poverty. They've lost something like 9% or, I think, 8000 jobs in the last seven years. And the region's been through that pain. And that all leads to an ageing population. We have more older people in these places, but young people are leaving, and it creates this imbalance in the way that a society is made up. And if you don't have that variety of people, both in terms of workers, entrepreneurs, people who are having fun, it can be` it can be really difficult to have that vitality of a community. What if no one does anything? If we take no action today, I'm convinced that we will have this slow, uninterrupted decline of many of our NZ provinces. And it leads to those zombie towns which are just waiting, just waiting and eventually to become a ghost town. After the break ` will Whanganui become a ghost town? It will change. We'll turn it around. It'll happen. Is there a solution? You were mayor for two terms. Why didn't you turn it around? I don't think a place like Whanganui can save itself. If it could have, it would have. UPBEAT MUSIC 1960s small town NZ. The provinces are thriving. There's growth, there are jobs, and the living is good. Fast-forward 50 years, and the provinces are in trouble. Towns like Whanganui are struggling. The tipping point has been achieved. If nothing else changes, then Whanganui must fail. Michael laws, former Whanganui mayor. I'd wake up sometimes at 3 and 4 o'clock. I kept on thinking, 'What can I do to stop this?' How can I arrest this decline? I inevitably came to the conclusion, no matter if I was a miracle worker, I couldn't stop the decline. I just` Seriously, at times I just wanna cry. I feel very sorry for them. After a failed bid for the mayoralty, Laws himself became one of Whanganui's statistics. He too left town. People make decisions, 'Well, nothing's gonna grow here; I'm in a growth industry; 'I'll go and establish and set up somewhere else.; Show me. You show me that you can make it up the top. He moved with his three children to Timaru. The great reason that most people leave Whanganui, including myself, is employment opportunities. The second reason is quality of life for your children, so I'm certainly not gonna sacrifice my family trying to save a community where substantial groups don't want to be saved. Did you fail Whanganui? One person can't make any difference unless they have a whole series of people going in the same way and, in fact, I brought a team in to try and make a difference. But at the end of the day, there was significant factors within the community who just resisted change, or didn't see the need to change. Whanganui, like many small towns, has seen the rise of a growing underclass. But Jamie O'Leary feels there is still enough will to save his town. We have enough likeminded, passionate people here that can actually turn the whole thing around and get the light shining bright rather than having to turn it out. Jamie's a good example of exactly the kind of entrepreneur that you need, but you need a hundred Jamie O'Learys in a hundred different areas. Like Jamie, Shamubeel Eaqub thinks community is key to a town's survival. It's about taking the opportunities that are there. The iwi settlement that's coming, $110 million ` it can make a huge difference. You know, I think about what's happening with manuka honey globally, and Whanganui can really participate in that. I'm thinking about tourism, the river that they've got, the fishing, the sea, the access to the mountains. That can be a really big thing. But Whanganui's plight is mirrored across many of our provinces. They face the same struggle on the East Coast, here too in the Bay of Plenty. Wairoa, Kaweraus, and the Huntlys and the Waverleys and the Pateas. There are vast regions of NZ... Northland, where you've got the hugely desperate communities of Kaitaia and Kerikeri, you know, essentially are third world. He's adamant the problem is too big for locals to solve and it's up to central government to fix it. If government wants to get serious about saving provinces, they must start to decentralise their government departments into those areas. I'd say, 'Right, DOC'S going to be in Whanganui; 'Ministry of Education is going to be in the Hawke's Bay.' There's no reasons for these things to be in Wellington. It's a ludicrous idea that you've gotta have your head office in Wellington or Auckland. It doesn't make any difference where it is. So central government has to intervene? I think it should because provincial NZ plays a critical and important role. But at what price? Our economist says struggling provinces shouldn't hinder Auckland's growth. Auckland actually creates and enables growth for all of NZ. In many ways, I see Auckland as being the gateway to the world. And if we prop up small towns, we'll spend less money developing our major city. Auckland doesn't compete with Tauranga or Hamilton. It competes with Sydney and Singapore. Auckland is special in the sense that it has jobs, it has opportunities that exist nowhere else in NZ. And we have to protect that, because that is where the global economy is headed. The only option in some cases may be a radical one. We need to think about some places that people don't want to live in any more and for those places what's the plan to shut them down. Should you be investing other people's money into saving those places? If the choice is between funding, say, opportunities for child poverty versus saving a town that has been in terminal decline for 20 years, I know where I'd put my money. You can't flick the switch. I mean, it's not like you just say, 'Right, we're closing down Whanganui, 'you'll all have to move.' I mean, that's not gonna happen. What you end up with, though, are big Kaweraus, big Wairoas. Big beneficiary towns? Big beneficiary towns that are solely reliant upon superannuation, and upon the welfare system to be sustained, and I would argue that that is bad for NZ. We are off. We are out of here. FORLORN MUSIC Whatever the future for heartland NZ, Jamie says it comes down to the locals, and in Whanganui, they won't go down without a fight. It will change. We'll turn it around. It'll happen. You're pretty confident? You're pretty confident? Very confident. i will bust my arse to` to` to do whatever I can, to help whoever I can, to create whatever initiatives are there to make Whanganui a more prosperous place. What if that never happens? What if that never happens? That will be a sad day in paradise, won't it? So, save them or let them slide? Let us know your thoughts. After the break ` back in the saddle. Can Jock Paget and Clifton Promise come back after a major doping scandal? WHISTLING Does the pressure ever leave you when you are in charge of a horse like this? He's a souped up Ferrari, you know? He's worth more than a Ferrari, isn't he? To you at least. To me he's worth more than every Ferrari in the world. Aww. Welcome back. So, here's the scenario ` a major win, a doping scandal. He's then proven innocent, but can't reclaim his title. Equestrian superstar Jock Paget has a mountain to climb. Although he was cleared of deliberately doping his horse Clifton Promise after winning the Burghley Horse Trials last year, the banned substance neutralised his win. Now Jock Paget is fighting to get his reputation, his career, back on track. Here's Jessica Mutch. It's the grand Burghley estate, and once a year the grounds are opened to the powerhouses of the equestrian world. I love going to that competition. To win here is to be ranked amongst the world's best. I do wanna go back and win it. And for NZer Jock Paget, it's about more than winning. It's a stride out, isn't it, Tom, from last year? This is narrow enough, but it's kind enough as well in that... Two days before the competition, Jock's walking the course. You have to be careful. You see Piggy's horse last year drop one foot in it and pop her off? It's so easy to have happen. He's here to claim the title he had to give up earlier this year. I really enjoyed the event itself. My horse tried really hard and got a good result, but unfortunately tested positive for a banned substance so, you know, that kind of killed the mood a little bit. Banned from competition, his rapid rise was replaced by a rapid fall. The worst thing was waking up every day, and I kept thinking, 'Oh, thank God, what a nightmare.' And then realising that it wasn't a nightmare, it was true, and then it was a long day. (CHUCKLES) Home for now is the English village of Burbage with his partner, Teagan. Have a look. This is the famous barbecue. Jock used his time away from competing for some outdoor DIY. Looking at this now with your expert bricklayer eyes, did you have to make sure it was precision and everything was perfect? I'm pretty happy with it. Was he painful, Teagan? He was particular. The former bricklayer didn't start riding until he was 18. It doesn't taste good if you clean it too well. It doesn't taste good if you clean it too well. Oh, OK. The neighbour at the time, he used to event, and he said to me, 'If you come and ride these horses for me in the afternoon, I'll give you free lessons.' So I said, 'OK, well`' I'd go there when I'd finished laying bricks a couple of nights a week and ride the horses for him. And then he showed me some videos of Badminton, Burghley. I found, you know, dressage really boring, and, you know, the showing stuff. I just couldn't figure out why people do it. But the eventing looked really exciting, and so then when I'd finished my apprenticeship, the` I thought I'd take a year off and do something different. Another apprenticeship, this time with horses. Jock progressed through the ranks quickly. Unless I'm overseas, every` every day is with him, so... But it's his special bond with this horse, Clifton Promise,... You do get to know someone very well when you spend that much time with them, and I know not to argue. Who's the boss? Who's the boss? Yeah. ...that created the dream team. So pride of place here, you've got Clifton Promise. Tell me what you got this for. Well, this is very special, this, cos Francis Stead, the owner of Clifton Promise, said to me before the Olympics, 'Whatever medal you win, I'll make you Promise's head out of it.' Just two years competing at the top level and Jock was an Olympic medallist ranked number four in the world. When you were working as a bricklayer, did you ever think you'd be part of this elite equestrian world? No. I said I refuse to wear jodhpurs in the beginning. What did you do? I used to wear jeans over my Jodhpurs, and I'd drop the jodhpurs, get on the horse. Have my lesson, put the jeans on and go back, and I used to wear jeans and chaps everywhere. Jock Paget has ushered in a new generation of Kiwi champions with his breakthrough win at Badminton. CHEERING Winning Badminton and then Burghley in the same year earned Jock a place in the history books. CHEERING A win in Kentucky would give him the lucrative grand slam. But then his coach paid him a visit. 'I've got some bad news for you. You better sit down.' Jock's horse Clifton Promise had tested positive for a banned drug. You feel like a criminal, because all of a sudden social media's having a field day with it, and they're ripping you apart, and just walking into the local store where I used to go to all the time in the village and on the front of the Horse & Hound there's a picture of me saying, 'Doping Shock'. And, you know, you can feel people watching you and people that used to wave to me, that I used to pass in the street don't wave any more, and... Did it just feel unfair? I didn't do anything wrong, and I wasn't trying to cheat. And, you know, it's, and my horse deserved` deserved to be there. We'd done the training, and we put a lot of effort in, and, you know, I do feel a bit ripped off with it. Is there anything you can tell us, Mr Paget or not? Is there anything you can tell us, Mr Paget or not? No, sorry. An investigation found Jock hadn't drugged his horse on purpose, so it restored his reputation, but not the Burghley title. Hopefully I'll be back to competing pretty soon. Jock's keen to prove that he and Clifton Promise are a genuine winning combination. That's good. The centre line? I felt that the biggest pressure I had was to go and do a good dressage test on Promise, because everyone said that that's why I was using, to show that there's no cheating here; this is not a fluke; it's just` it's just the horse is very good. He faces that pressure at Burghley. Jock and Clifton Promise at their best are a serious threat. First place after the dressage,... Jock Paget has a quick look at his watch. ...fourth after the cross country And there's another anxious look as well. Nerves are on edge. But a flawless showjumping round in front of Teagan and Jock's dad, CHEERING, APPLAUSE ...secures second place. He's had a rough 10 months. How proud are you of him? Oh, the way he handled himself and came through it, it's` yeah, it does get emotional. (LAUGHS) Um, yeah, no, just absolutely` just proud as punch. (WHISTLES) Does the pressure ever leave you when you're in charge of a horse like this? He's a souped up Ferrari, you know? Cos he's worth more than a Ferrari, isn't he? Cos he's worth more than a Ferrari, isn't he? Probably is, yeah. Yeah. To you at least. To you at least. To me, he's worth more than every Ferrari in the world. Aw. Have you been vindicated? Can you tick off Burghley, say, 'Right, second place. I've done that. I'm OK now'? There's plenty of people out there I think that it makes them happy that` that I've failed a drugs test and looks like I cheated to win Burghley. And I'm never gonna be able to convince them of anything different, so I'm just gonna do my job and try and get back up there and start winning again, and let it be. (WHINNIES) That's our show for tonight. Do join us on Facebook and Twitter ` Sunday TVNZ.