Direct small business loan scheme is now working

Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, May 27th, 2020 - 26 comments
Categories: covid-19, Economy, Politics, todd muller, welfare - Tags: ,

It was interesting reading this morning that the updated small business owner loan scheme is now working (unlike the previous loan guarantee through the banks version).

The government’s small business loan scheme that bypasses banks in favour of the Inland Revenue Department processing applications is proving far more successful than the earlier business finance guarantee scheme.

Revenue and Small Business Minister Stuart Nash said the IRD had lent nearly $1 billion in loans under the small business cash flow loan scheme after just two weeks.

NZ Bankers’ Association figures show the $6.25 billion business finance guarantee scheme (BFGS) launched in early April, a month before the IRD-administered scheme, had lent just $60 million to 376 businesses as of Monday this week.

“Cashflow is crucial to kickstarting the economic recovery for our small businesses,” Nash said in a statement announcing the lending figures under the IRD scheme.

More than 55,000 businesses had applied for about $960 million of loans, with 95 percent already granted, and the government expected to pass the billion dollar mark within the next day or so, Nash said. The cash usually arrived in bank accounts within five days, he said.

About 90 percent of applications have been from firms with 10 or fewer staff and the average loan size has been about $17,300.

There is quite a lot of other detail in the article – but it may be paywalled.

Essentially the COVID-19 Small Business Cash Flow Loan (SBCS) are for businesses with fewer than 50 employees eligible for the wage subsidy. The amounts are $10k, with $1.8k per full-time equiv employee. Loans are for 5 years at a reasonable 3%, but no interest if paid within a year.

Nash said about 45 percent of applications were from firms with just a single employee, 33 percent have between two and five staff and 12 percent have between six and 10 staff.

That result on the targeting means that the money is getting to whom it was targeted at. To qualify

To be eligible for the wage subsidy businesses must declare that they:

  • have had a 30% revenue drop due to COVID-19
  • will retain named employees for at least the duration of the subsidy (12 weeks)
  • will pay named employees, at a minimum:
    • for any work they do at their normal rates
    • at least 80% of income where reasonably possible (for employees working reduced hours while self-isolating)
    • the full subsidy received for each named employee, except where a person’s income is normally less than the subsidy amount, in which case they can be paid their normal salary.

Basically the banks weren’t good at lending this stuff because of their required caution. Even with a government guarantee, this is a still a loan and the banks are always cautious with loans to small businesses. Small businesses belly up frequently and usually within 5 years of starting.

Consequently, businesses in this size range frequently have a fraught relationship with their cautious banks. Indeed they often don’t really have a relationship with a bank at all as a business because they are eftpos or cash businesses or intermix personal and sole trader banking together. Essentially they’re risky to lend to.

But as a group, small business owners are large employers in aggregate. The government has recognized that this is a group where a simple wage subsidy doesn’t help with paying the lease on premises or the power bill or all of the other sundry expenses. The only real pain was the delay in that the delivery mechanism through the banks was a waste of everyone’s time.

But now that the computer systems at the IRD have finally now been brought into the 21st century, the IRD does have the capability to make sure that the accounting for the loaned money is going to be carried out as efficiently and rapidly as possible. With the sources of financial information that they maintain and the computing capacity, they should be able to manage tracking these loans over the years until they are paid back, or rolled into a more usual banking system.

But the IRD can deliver this loan fast to the businesses that need it. After all they know exactly how many staff are paying PAYE at a business and what the business has been declaring in their GST and tax returns. They are the ultimate source of financial probity inside our governmental system and act with a considerable weight of legislated law behind them.

Of course, this does tend to put the tax grifters and piss-poor employers into a invidious position of not being able to rely on this support. But they can always use the ultimate recourse for looking at changes to this and other small business support schemes. National’s new Small Business shadow minister Todd Muller should be all over this between now and the election.

I’ll be looking forward to his musing on the changes in support that the government should be looking to achieve.

26 comments on “Direct small business loan scheme is now working ”

  1. ianmac 1

    Perhaps you have already answered Muller's question for today:

    "TODD MULLER to the Prime Minister: When she said yesterday that the Government was “using the tax system to get cashflow to small business”, what did she mean by that?"

    • Cinny 1.1

      Hehehe … todd seems unaware that the opposition does not, as a rule, ask the government patsy questions.

  2. Perhaps he thought they should go through the Bank of China?

  3. Brutus Iscariot 3

    Pretty telling that banks won't lend at all to these people, even with government taking 80% of the risk. Shows there isn't a hope in hell of seeing a penny back. A lot of the businesses will grab all the bonuses, owners extract what they can over the next few months while running the business to zero, then fold (extinguishing the debt). Can always recommence operations under another entity. Dumbarse taxpayer ends up saddled with the bill.

    • Descendant Of Smith 3.1

      That's the trouble with those who see everyone as dishonest – you'd make policy and decisions based on lack of trust. Let's face it – managerial style, performance measurement, bonus systems, health ad safety, propaganda in the guise of training, welfare systems are all based on the principle of lack of trust.

      After all if you are a dishonest shit who would rip someone off (profit to a large extent is dishonest much of the time) then you would see everyone else through the same eyes.

      The government clearly asked us to trust them, in return they are trusting us. It's a two way street.

    • lprent 3.2

      Pretty telling that banks won’t lend at all to these people, even with government taking 80% of the risk.

      Have you ever gone for a loan from the bank with a small business or as a sole trader? Basically anyone with a brain after trying it once will put into the way too hard basket. They spend an age asking for information to assess your viability and almost invariably turn you down.

      If you look at how any small business starts out, they usually mortgage assets, get credit cards, or borrow off friends and family to get started. Then they’re often running for years on the smell of an oily rag. It is only after they get viable (ie roughly when the owners are making minimum wage) that the banks are interested in them – and then usually it is only in the form of an overdraft.

      Dumbarse taxpayer ends up saddled with the bill.

      Which really just shows how much of a totally ignorant dumbarse you are. Small businesses are significiant taxpayers as well, both directly and indirectly.

      Ones in this range of employees directly account for something like 25-35% of all government collected tax revenues. They constitute the majority of company taxes, and a very high proportion of the value add taxes in GST. The variation depends pretty much on the state of the domestic economy, and how many are failing vs how many are starting.

      It gets higher when you look at individuals tax because they pay a large number of employees – who then get taxed.

      The problem for the government and taxpayers is that if too many SME business fail all at the same time in something like a global pandemic, then employment drops precipitously as well. The remaining taxpayers then wind up paying for ‘don’t starve’ support for citizens for years while the businesses re-establish themselves.

      The attitude you’re displaying is one that I characterize as being one of short-term punitive stupidity. That same kind as is evidenced in our social welfare systems (outside of superannuation) where the direct cost of trying to stop people ripping the system off with vindictive rules designed for simple minded nay-saying bigots like you is probably in the order of 3-4x the saved costs. The admin costs of superannuation are about 2-3% of the paid out benefits. The cost of admin things like employment benefits are about 20-30% of the paid out benefits.

      Small-minded dimwits like you who are too stupid to understand basic operational systems are the real cost to taxpayers…

      • Brutus Iscariot 3.2.1

        270m has gone to sole traders. Those are unlikely to be capital intensive businesses. Very easy to just dismantle and set up again once you've milked the system.

        Remember the leaky building fiasco? Noone could be pursued because the builders all just wound up their companies and started new ones.

        • KJT 3.2.1.1

          Dishonest people assume everyone else are dishonest.

          Who woulda thunk it!

          Explains the way National runs welfare.

          And, it was National’s privatised building inspectors, who left councils, and ratepayers, with the costs.

        • new view 3.2.1.2

          BI Wow what a judgmental fuck you seem to be . So we won’t offer the help because a few arsehole businesses abuse the system. Just like some arsehole would be beneficiaries will abuse the system. Grow up. There’s been a real problem here and the loan setup through IRD seems to be working. Great. Good tweek by this Government.

        • Cinny 3.2.1.3

          brutus, you are aware of the different structures of a company v's a sole trader and the resulting financial obligations should the business go bust?

          Because reading your comment it appears you have no idea. JS

        • RedBaronCV 3.2.1.4

          If they are sole traders they may not be trading under a company structure – even though they probably should be. So any walk away is not so easy even if they know how to do this.

          However, as Lprent says they are likely to have credit card and mortgage borrowings and it is highly likely if they are able to, that they will pay this higher rate interest debt down (credit cards are pretty high in the current market) which will help flatten their outgoings while their trading is down and keep them viable.

          • KJT 3.2.1.4.1

            A small business, or sole trader, has to sign personal guarantees, to get any sort of trade credit. It doesn't make any difference if they are a limited company, or not.

            Unless you have an excess of capital to start with. No credit, no supplies for your business.

            If you want to walk away the only option is personal bankruptcy.

            The option that used to be available to cowboys. Putting everything in the wife's name, and scarpering to Australia, is not a goer, at present.

            • RedBaronCV 3.2.1.4.1.1

              A company structure depending on the exact type – has a better chance of walking away from the IRD. Other creditors as you say are usually a lot harder to move on from.

        • Tricledrown 3.2.1.5

          they have to follow the rules of the loan making them personally liable.

        • lprent 3.2.1.6

          Bankrupting sole traders is what the IRD does… They seldom forget taxes owed.

          Remember the leaky building fiasco? Noone could be pursued because the builders all just wound up their companies and started new ones.

          Vividly – my apartment block was one. We extracted our money from the council as they inspected the build.

          Which is why the re-regulation made the council inspectors have to sign off. The role of company directors was made way more legally responsible as well, and the liquidator roles was markedly increased as well in their powers to grab assets to pay creditors.

          Basically, since we managed to get past the dickhead deregulations that National/Act put in to allow avoidance of responsibility, there are way more ways to hold irresponsible business people's feet to the fire. That is why they complain about it all of the time.

          The equivalent here is that the IRD can and do chase defaulters for decades. They make it their trademark for doing it. They have the powers to do it that banks can barely dream of getting. No-one in business ever wants to get the IRD chasing them. It builds a high trust relationship – you can trust the IRD to be fucking irritating if they think you're trying to rip them off.

      • Herodotus 3.2.2

        "They constitute the majority of company taxes, and a very high proportion of the value add taxes in GST."- Not sure I can agree with the GST comment – The GST registered company that is at the end of the supply chain in the sales process to the end user (not GST registered purchaser) is the collector on behalf of the government and passes on the net GST to the government. They don't constitute (as I read your comment) a high proportion of the GST.

        But using the IRD as the distributer is as I see it the most efficient means of doing something like this 🙂

        • lprent 3.2.2.1

          I'd agree with the general statement (they are the collector).

          However I was specifically looking at the value add part. The vast majority of the SMEs are at the very end of the distribution chain, and typically have one of the largest markups.

          GST is a value add tax, and the distributors prior to the 'retail' are typically larger organisations with typically smaller margins. And the margins at the end of the chain are typically percentages on top of all of the markups prior. Not only on the goods themselves but also effectively on all of their costs (power etc).

          The best example to look at this is to look at the classic SME – dairies or superettes. The price charged is somewhat larger than you'll find the same item at a large urban supermarket. Customers pay it for the convenience. If the diary wasn't there, then customers either wouldn't get it (say an ice-cream) or maybe start buying the same thing from a supermarket (lunch?) – with a resulting drop in retail price and therefore GST collected by the government.

          The same applies to the way that I buy computer gear. I can and sometimes do, buy direct from manufacturers. But I’ll buy from a pbtech store because they will have it in stock – and I pay a premium on it because it is already landed in NZ. But I’ve been known to buy from the little computer store up the road at a much larger markup and GST because I need the CPU heat transfer now (when the Standard’s CPU is without its water cooler).

          Value add often means just being present to extract extra money from the customer for timeliness and convenience – it is a significiant part of the tax take for exactly that reason.

    • Tricledrown 3.3

      Those who misappropriate money could find themselves in prison under the terms of the loans.The audit department are going to go through every loan to make sure the rules are being followed.

    • Tricledrown 3.4

      According to a senior lender in one of the big 4 banks they can't get loans out the door fast enough.The govt gave the Banks $60 billion they don't make money by not lending.

    • Dave 3.5

      Hello everyone

      I am thankful for this loan and will pay it back.

      It's provided help when needed.

      Dave

  4. Jackel 4

    I'd give the government a better mark than perhaps they with typical kiwi modesty give themselves. Day to day life is returning to normal, demand is returning to the economy, the virus is eliminated though still a threat and adequate support systems are in place. But we must remain vigilant particularly with measures of border control. Well done.

    • Graeme 4.1

      Looking around Queenstown you'd thing we were back to normal, normal traffic, including the commuter jams at 8 and 5.

      And tourism is slowly coming back to life, a few flights going into Milford and some of the hotels open. But generally the tourist side is dead. But it's normally the depths of the off season right now, we'll see what happens this weekend, and when the skifields open, but not much sign of that yet, mountains are still very green.

      I've seen it a lot quieter here at this time of year in 'normal' times.

  5. greywarshark 5

    Grameen Bank* – small bank loans to micro-business would be right to adopt now.

    The big boys and girls in government have to learn to think in mill/billions. The individual working 40 hours a week is on borrowed time, a full working week on a living wage can't last long in this disruptive financial world. And even working at 40 hours, they may receive less than one of the urbane high-culture professionals receives an hour when on some special contract.

    Small things amuse small minds it is said. So small loans will please small people and will make great effect in their lives and their enterprises which have taken the place of regular jobs at living wages. Small loans to hard workers would enable some social mobility which seems to be a forgotten plank in the political discourse these days. We've got it, you haven't, suck it up being the usually unspoken attitude.

    *Grameen Bank (Bengali: গ্রামীণ বাংক) is a microfinance organisation and community development bank founded in Bangladesh. It makes small loans (known as microcredit or "grameencredit") to the impoverished without requiring collateral. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grameen_Bank

  6. Frank the Tank 6

    You'll only know whether the loan is working by mid July when the cash flow hole for businesses will be peaking (I can explain this in need if you want). Till that point all you have is an uptake with the prognosis unknown. Kinda like using hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19.

    However based off what I know I think you'll find this will be an epic fail. There is a reason why bank's didn't want to take up these loans (including Kiwibank)…….

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    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
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    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    24 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
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    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
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    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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