6. Question No. 6—FinanceHon TODD McCLAY (National—Rotorua) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 6—Finance6. Hon TODD McCLAY (National—Rotorua) to the Minister of Finance: Will he provide additional targeted support to businesses in Auckland that could be facing further weeks of lockdown as well as to those businesses particularly in the hospitality sector in other parts of the country who continue to lose money as a result of the Government's new level 2 restrictions?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): In the past two weeks the Government has put more than $2.1 billion into the economy to support businesses and workers. We are continuing to consider what further support could be offered the longer that the outbreak goes on. It is important to make the point that over the past 18 months New Zealand has enjoyed the benefits that come with keeping COVID out of the community and we've been living relatively normal lives compared to the rest of the world. Our intention is to contain this current outbreak and see the economy open up as quickly as possible as it did after the first outbreak. In answer to the specific point in the member's question about targeted regional schemes as I said to the member earlier this week regional schemes which we have investigated in the past can be slow to deliver and require a significant amount of administration both by the person applying and at the other end and that is why we have preferred more universal forms of support. Hon Todd McClay: When will he provide assistance to struggling businesses to help pay their rents given he said one week ago he would consider a proposal for COVID-related rent relief with rents now due again this week and again next week?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Firstly the resurgence support payment is indeed the payment that the Government has put forward to support people with fixed costs. On the matter of commercial rent relief that is a matter that the Minister of Justice is actively considering.Hon Todd McClay: Thank you. Will Auckland businesses be able to apply for the wage subsidy under the new level 2 restrictions as businesses outside of Auckland are currently able to under level 2?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: It's very important to note that the reason that some businesses who are currently in alert level 2 can apply for the wage subsidy is because they will have been able to show that the revenue drop that they have experienced is directly related to—or alert level 3 in Auckland. So for example a tourism operator in the South Island may well be able to show that the lack of tourists coming from Auckland is the reason for their revenue drop and that is why they have been able to apply. So the wage subsidy scheme always relates to an alert level 3 or an alert level 4 setting.Hon Todd McClay: Is he aware that a large number of businesses are not sustainable under the Government's new level 2 rules with some Auckland hospitality businesses threatening to boycott GST and saying they need urgent additional Government help now or they face closure?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I absolutely recognise that for some hospitality businesses they are finding this a particularly tough period and that is why the Government is providing support. But what I also know that those businesses know is that the way that the Government has dealt with COVID-19 over the last 18 months means that they have been able to trade in a normal environment in a way that the hospitality sectors in countries around the world simply have not been able to do and indeed still can't do today.Hon Todd McClay: Is he aware that the Government's decision reducing the number of customers in hospitality venues to just 50 without providing additional assistance means thousands of businesses face avoidable closure—like Prefab in Wellington who have today announced they will be closing their doors for good?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I'm interested that the member raises the example of Prefab in Wellington. And I should note that Jeff Kennedy the owner who's made a tremendous contribution to the hospitality scene in Wellington over a long period of time actually isn't opening because he doesn't think the rules are strict enough. That's actually what he said. I can read it out for the member. He says A café is a space where people eat drink talk have meetings cook serve clean wash prepare food. It is a perfect storm for spreading aerosols causing infection." It's entirely up to Mr Kennedy if he doesn't want to operate under alert level 2 but the reasons he is giving are not the ones the member is giving."