5. Earthquake Recovery—Support for Wellington and Kaikōura BusinessesCHRIS BISHOP (National) to the Minister for Economic DevelopmentEarthquake Recovery—Support for Wellington and Kaikōura Businesses5. CHRIS BISHOP (National) to the Minister for Economic Development: What recent announcements has the Government made regarding support for earthquake-affected businesses?Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister for Economic Development): Following the 14 November earthquake the Government announced an initial support package for businesses in and around Kaikōura. Since that time Ministers have been working closely with other affected communities and industries on the type of further support that may be needed. Yesterday social development Minister Anne Tolley and I announced the extension of the Government's business support package to severely affected Wellington businesses. The package will support businesses not covered by their insurance that are unable to operate due to cordons in place in the Wellington CBD and Lower Hutt and are unable to move and operate elsewhere. The Government will continue to monitor the situation in other parts of the country affected by the earthquakes and would encourage anybody who is struggling as a result of them to contact the Government helpline.Chris Bishop: How does the situation in Wellington differ from Kaikōura and surrounding areas?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Wellington overall is functioning very well. A local state of emergency has not been declared so the main impact has been felt by a relatively small number of businesses stuck behind cordons that have been put up in the days since the earthquake. So although the level of funding will be the same per business—that is $500 a week per full-time permanent employee and $300 a week per part-time permanent employee—we have limited it to businesses behind those cordons that are unable to operate or move elsewhere recognising that largely Wellington is open for business. The situation in and around Kaikōura of course is quite different as it was clear from the first day that it would take a lot of time to restore road access to the town and surrounding towns. So in that case most businesses are able to open in fact but do not have the customers able to return to Kaikōura. Paul Foster-Bell: What other support is the Government providing to those affected by the earthquake?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Following consultation with the Kaikōura community we extended the initial support package to cover larger businesses there as well. Although set for an initial 8-week period that will be reviewed before Christmas to assess what sort of extension is required. Revenue Minister Michael Woodhouse has announced a range of measures to help those affected by the earthquake including waiving the use-of-money interest when a person is unable to pay tax on time and the cancellation of late filing and late payment penalties. Primary industries Minister Nathan Guy has announced a primary sector relief package worth at least $5 million to lessen impacts on farmers fishers and growers with a further $2 million for scientific research on the impact of the earthquake on fisheries around Kaikōura. Minister Guy and I are working closely with the wine industry in Marlborough to ensure that roadblocks to its recovery are removed particularly in relation to storage capacity for the 2017 vintage.James Shaw: If it transpires that there are businesses in Wellington that are at risk of going to the wall but do not meet the existing criteria for example being behind a cordon how flexible is he willing to be with the criteria in order to ensure that businesses that need that support get it? Hon STEVEN JOYCE: As we have said since the beginning of this period post the earthquakes we are happy to adapt the package as required from time to time. I would encourage anybody in that situation to call the Government helpline—for the member's benefit it is 0800 779 997—or talk to their local chamber of commerce the Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce or the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce. Obviously we cannot attempt to protect everybody from the turnover impacts of this particular event. What we can do though is provide support for them to be able to retain their full-time employees if they are unable to operate for a period of time which is completely out of their control.