9. Question No. 9—Small BusinessHon TODD McCLAY (National—Rotorua) to the Minister for Small BusinessQuestion No. 9—Small Business9. Hon TODD McCLAY (National—Rotorua) to the Minister for Small Business: What official estimates has he received if any of small-business failure as a result of the level 3 and 4 restrictions?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance) on behalf of the Minister for Small Business: On behalf of the Minister I refer the honourable member to my answer to the primary question yesterday the same question. This answer has been reconfirmed with the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment today.Hon Todd McClay: Does he stand by the statement of the Minister of Finance to the Epidemic Response Committee on 1 April that Wages are the biggest expense that most businesses have but second only to that is rent … We're working with the small-business sector on the shape of a package to deal with that" and if so why are small businesses and landlords still waiting for Government support more than four weeks later?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I always agree with the Minister of Finance; I find that to be a particularly important part of my role! Following on from that statement there was an announcement of a package of initiatives including the $3.1 billion loss carry-back scheme. As to the second part of that statement yes indeed we do continue to work with small businesses on what other support we can provide.Hon Todd McClay: Thank you. Does he agree with the Rotorua small-business owner Reg Hennessy who said yesterday in the committee "We are all in this together. It doesn't matter whether as landlords or us as business operators. We need something to work for both the landlord and the tenant together." and if so when will the Government do something to fix the growing commercial rent problem faced by small businesses and landlords?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: As the Prime Minister said earlier today and Mr Little said in the House yesterday that work is actively under way.Hon Todd McClay: Does he accept that many more small businesses will fall over if the Government fails to announce a substantial commercial rent and cash-flow relief package soon?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: We're working every single day with small businesses and their representatives to ensure that as many of them as possible are able to continue to operate. I absolutely recognise that for those small and medium enterprises who haven't been able to open back up under level 3 there is a significant amount of stress and concern. That's why we put in place the initiatives we have in particular the 12-week wage subsidy scheme that was paid upfront to allow businesses to be able to take some time to plan. And as I've said in all of my answers on the question today and yesterday we continue to work with small businesses on what other support we can provide.Hon Todd McClay: Why has the Government given $50 million in addition to the wage subsidy in relief for the media but not delivered any specific direct financial assistance for small businesses or landlords?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The support package announced by Minister Faafoi for the media was an important element in making sure we continue to have a range of voices within our media. I think the member would recognise that that's important for our democracy to have those voices available. It's not mutually exclusive. In the meantime there have been significant packages announced that benefit small businesses."