SpeechAGNES LOHENI (National): Thank you Madam Speaker. It's a pleasure to stand and make a contribution to the COVID-19 Response (Further Management Measures) Bill (No 2). National are happy to support this bill because ultimately we want to do all we can to support businesses who have faced severe hardship due to the impacts of COVID-19. There was no way that businesses could have prepared themselves better for the impacts and the aftermath of what's happened. Many businesses were scrambling and I know that many members in this House were dealing with a number of queries and supporting not only workers but business people who were just trying to understand what kind of support they got. And of course businesses business owners were very grateful also that they had access to the wage subsidy but at the end of the day the wage subsidy wasn't going to be able to support them in terms of some of the operational and fixed costs that they had that were still coming in even under lockdown a time when they were having zero sales and zero revenue. I can speak personally on that. I have a small business and it is a tough time but I definitely appreciate that there was a wage subsidy to help mitigate that.It is unfortunate that it's taken so long because of course businesses were calling out for help a lot earlier and actually what would have been very very handy was for many of our small businesses to get that cash injection in and it's unfortunate that the Government didn't take on a scheme that we suggested which is the GST refund scheme which would have been based on the GST for the previous six months up to 1 January. That would have been a fantastic way to support businesses—it was tied to the size of the business—to get some cash into their hands and help them through this time. But ultimately we do support the changes that will come under this omnibus bill and we do welcome the extension of these statutory deadlines for the financial and auditing reporting by the Government agencies. It will relieve some pressure. It's not you know support in terms of cash but it relieves some of the pressure on businesses at this time. We also welcome the amendments to the ACC regulations so that existing base levy rates will continue to apply next year and provide a bit more certainty to users. Businesses do want as much certainty as possible as they navigate in the coming weeks and months. Also particularly they want some certainty because they also understand that they will have to navigate the state of their businesses once the wage subsidy ends on 1 September. And I know that many businesses are mindful of what will happen and whether they can sustain their businesses through that period. In terms of some of the changes the National Party did suggest that the minimum wage increase be delayed for some period just to help relieve some of the pressure on small businesses but unfortunately that did not happen. But we do welcome the amendments to the tax legislation which supports the R & D loan scheme and some changes around Inland Revenue around dates and deadlines to support businesses. And I do know that some business people I have met in recent times—actually just in the last couple of weeks—have commented very positively on the Inland Revenue Department and how they have been very open and receptive and supporting of small businesses through this period. I support this bill to the House.