3. Question No. 3—FinanceGREG O'CONNOR (Labour—Ōhāriu) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 3—Finance3. GREG O'CONNOR (Labour—Ōhāriu) to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): This morning ASB released its latest Economic Note titled Be prepared—It doesn't hurt" providing useful advice for businesses on how to prepare for the impact of coronavirus. The ASB suggests business consider the three broad ways in which they may be impacted: export earnings supply chain disruption and social distancing. These will all impact individual businesses to varying degrees and in different ways. It's important that all businesses understand their level of risk and keep a close eye on trends in areas like revenue cash flow and supply chain. ASB advises businesses to ensure that they have established a clear idea of how to respond including by making contingency plans for business continuity and asking for help. Both the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) have guidance about this on their websites. Greg O'Connor: What recent discussions has he had with the business community about the impacts of coronavirus?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: This morning I attended a meeting of the Prime Minister's Business Advisory Council. The message from the business representatives there highlighted the very different impacts of COVID-19 on different sectors. For example the dairy industry as highlighted by numbers released earlier this week has seen a relatively small impact on volume and prices but is reporting that supply chains are starting to return to normal whereas within the tourism and forestry sectors we have heard of and have seen more direct impacts to which the Government is responding. Later today I will meet again with representatives of the tourism industry with Xero to discuss the data they have on small business impacts and with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Reserve Bank Governor to discuss the macroeconomic situation. We continue to have daily discussions with businesses and economists including from our banks and I will meet with the executive of the New Zealand Bankers' Association on Monday. The message I have given all of those businesses and the worker representatives that we have met is that the Government is committed to supporting them through the situation and we will continue to do so. Greg O'Connor: How is the Government helping the economy weather the impact of the coronavirus? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: While the economy has underlying strength there are clearly specific industries and regions that are taking a hit. That's why we are working closely with the business community on measures including support to the tourism sector regional business advice services and the ongoing work of Government agencies including the Ministry of Social Development the Inland Revenue Department and MBIE. Ministers have agreed in principle to remove the stand-down period for benefits while looking at other ways to create jobs and support businesses who are affected by coronavirus. The best response to an evolving situation such as this is to provide the immediate support that is required which we are doing while planning for the scenarios of the future."