Labour promises continued support for Otago businesses

Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern face questions about last week's Budget at a lunch in Dunedin yesterday. Photo / Peter McIntosh

Finance Minister Grant Robertson has reassured the Otago business community that the Government will continue to support it.

Yesterday, Robertson and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern spoke at a post-Budget lunch hosted by the Otago Southland Employers Association in Dunedin.

Robertson said the Government thought it had got the balance between social welfare and business investment "about right".

"About 200,000 jobs are forecasted from this Budget and we are keeping a lid on debt ... but it was time to move on inequality in our society and I think it is good for all New Zealanders when we do that, he said.

Last week's Budget had a strong social welfare focus, with increases to major benefits.

For the business sector, it announced an ACC-like scheme for people who lose their jobs.
The Social Unemployment Insurance (SUI) scheme would support workers to retain about 80 per cent of their income for a period after they lose their employment.

It also announced it would invest $44million over the next two years into continuing the Digital Boost scheme that would help with business training courses for SMEs, and a new digital advisory service.

The pair were asked the direction of the Government's immigration policy after a speech last week setting out where it might head.

Ardern made it clear the Government "was not going to turn the tap off" to the migrant workforce and admitted it was important to New Zealand.

"Just like what we are doing with tourism, it is going through a reset, now is the opportunity to reflect on our immigration settings.

"By having an open and honest conversation as a nation as to whether we have those settings right," she said.

The Government wanted to ensure immigrants to New Zealand had fair and equal opportunities to contribute to the local economy, while decreasing the country's reliance on the temporary workforce, Ardern said.

In recent times businesses have faced a rise in costs partly caused by an increase in the minimum wage, Robertson was asked where the cost for the SUI would fall.

The SUI was in the design phase and it would not be happening if Business NZ did not put its hand up to design it, Robertson said.

"The payoff from this is the access to skilled staff and we are also looking at ways self-employed people can access it as well.

"I think we are at extraordinary time in New Zealand's history in terms of the partnership with government and business, we have been a lot more involved over the last year or so but it was the right thing to do.

"We now need to make sure we make the best of that," he said.

Robertson asked the business community to support the Covid-19 vaccine roll-out to the wider public from July.

"We really need businesses to really be supporting that, giving the time for your staff to be vaccinated or even being a vaccination site if you have a large enough site.

"It's so important to have that done by the end of the year and it will give us so many more options around the borders," Robertson said.