2. Question No. 2—Prime MinisterHon SIMON BRIDGES (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime MinisterQuestion No. 2—Prime Minister2. Hon SIMON BRIDGES (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government's statements and actions? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister): Yes. Hon Simon Bridges: What does she say to the Hospitality New Zealand Central Otago president who was gutted" by the package announced yesterday and said it would not provide immediate relief to the industry? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I'd actually refer to some of the responses I saw even just for those in hospitality here in Wellington. One operator in quite an emotional response said what a difference it would make for keeping on the staff that they had. We wanted to provide immediate relief—we've done that. We wanted to provide certainty—we've done that. I believe it's getting a response that's being broadly welcomed. Hon Simon Bridges: Speaking of Wellington what does she say to the manager of a thousand staff in hospitality based in Wellington who told me just half an hour ago that if the Government doesn't come to the party by the end of next week he will have to shut down with potentially all of his staff losing their jobs? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: We worked quickly and the Ministry of Social Development—I want to acknowledge the incredible work they've done. They had the application available online yesterday in line with the timing that we made the announcement. At that time we were advised it would take between five and six days to turn around the applications and that is still the time line that we are working to. Hon Simon Bridges: What does she say to the large Auckland retailer who employs a hundred staff who will have to lay off a third of them this week and reduce hours across all staff noting that the $150000 cap on job support from yesterday's package doesn't remotely cover all of their staff? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: As we said yesterday the vast majority of businesses in New Zealand are small to medium sized enterprises so this will cover 97 percent of businesses in New Zealand for the entirety of their staff. But for large organisations they are eligible too—up to of course $150000 if they have more than 20 staff. For more larger and much more complex companies we are taking a case by case approach and we've got some active examples under way. But we have already said that this is going to be a very difficult time for New Zealand and businesses. Not absolutely every single business will be covered for the full quantum particularly if they are large but we are doing our best to support as many as possible. Hon Simon Bridges: What does she say to the boss of 1200 people in a tourism-related business all over New Zealand who contacted me last night because if there isn't "a relief package indexed to an organisation's number of employees" he expects to see widespread job loss across his business and the sector? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I'd say the same thing I said in my last answer. But I would also reflect on the comments that have come out of the Tourism Industry Association that has said it's an immediate relief to tourism operators facing a devastating downturn and that it will certainly be welcome they have acknowledged for smaller operators. We have moved quickly we have moved decisively and we've moved with a much larger package than for instance what Australia has in order to keep as many people as possible in work. Hon Simon Bridges: What does she say to the employer of 600 people who contacted Paul Goldsmith this morning and who said it is difficult to see how the Government's package "provides any support" to his "simple cash-in cash-out" predicament requiring short-term funding otherwise workers will lose their jobs? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I'd say three things. The first thing is of course we've always said the first port of call should be banks. One of the things we're hearing from banks is that they are not hearing from businesses as often as they should be. IRD is also a very important port of call for businesses. We also of course have the subsidy we've put in place. The fourth mechanism of course that we've been focused on is regional specific redeployment plans. We're talking about a plan today for Tai Rāwhiti to try and use workforce where they've ever had their hours reduced or the long-term prospect for work is not good to redeploy into other areas. For tourism we are going to move into a phase where we have to plan for an uncertain future. We've given 12 weeks of certainty but we need to plan beyond that. Hon Simon Bridges: Does she accept that in the space of 24 hours my colleagues and I have been contacted by businesses who will see a good 3000 or more jobs go in the next week or so and in fact the number will be much closer to tens and tens of thousands of workers because her package doesn't sufficiently cover them? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: It is of course with great sadness that this whole House needs to acknowledge the cause of this is COVID-19 and we are responding as swiftly as any nation and with more generosity than any nation to that response. But what we're dealing with is a devastating impact to our economy and that is of course something that the entire globe is facing but New Zealand is facing with more confidence than most."