Media Release: Joint statement from The New Zealand Initiative and BusinessNZ
Wellington 23 March 2020 - BusinessNZ and The New Zealand Initiative are encouraging the Government to go further with its economic support package, saying the support package announced last week was the right first step and was greatly appreciated but needed to go further.
The New Zealand Initiative’s Executive Director Dr Oliver Hartwich and BusinessNZ’s CEO Kirk Hope noted the Australian Government’s move yesterday, launching a second amount of support and signaling that more was coming.
The Australian package, equivalent overall to 9 percent of Australian GDP, will provide further income support for employees, cash grants equivalent to withholding tax, and a loan guarantee scheme with a grace period for repayments.
BusinessNZ and The New Zealand Initiative said in the light of this, business in NZ would appreciate the NZ Government undertaking a similar approach and outlining the likely next steps for business and employee support, and the timeframes around that.
BusinessNZ and The New Zealand Initiative, alongside their member businesses, are continuing to develop recommendations for a further set of support measures for the economy.
Kirk Hope Dr Oliver Hartwich
Chief Executive Executive Director
BusinessNZ The New Zealand Initiative
ENDS
Kirk Hope (027 475 0442) and Oliver Hartwich (021 0815 4973) are available for comment.