Andersen GinnyHon GINNY ANDERSEN (Minister for Small Business): Thank you very much Madam Speaker. It's a privilege to stand and take a call on the Prime Minister's statement today and the following debate. First of all I wish to acknowledge the strain right now on small businesses in New Zealand. Not only do we have a small business community that has had to go through the turbulent times of COVID—with particular reference to those small businesses in Auckland—but since then we have had the Auckland floods and since then we have had Cyclone Gabrielle. There is not a time in my lifetime I can remember where the business community has had to grapple with such unprecedented challenges and with those I have met on the ground that is exactly the words I hear back from those small-business owners. Not only are they faced with the difficulties sometimes of navigating the local government processes of having a building or a property stickered and going through that process but in addition to that there's also the insurance process to get an assessor to also be able to try and get business continuity insurance in place and then begin the massive task ahead of repairing and rebuilding. But what struck me the most is that out of all those concerns out of all of that—paperwork and thinking that they've carried on their shoulders each night as they went home—the primary concern was for their workers; for their workers and their families because they wanted to continue to provide wages so that those people who relied upon them as the business owner could continue to take home a wage each week. That was what really struck me the most and I see that in the resilience the innovation and the amazing tenacity that our small-business community has. I know it is that tenacity that will stand in incredibly good strength as we continue to rebuild and do that in a way that we're more resilient to future weather events such as the ones that we've been through recently. The Government support package has been tailored to respond to the specific needs in each of those areas. In relation to Auckland it's been great to see that in the past few days we've already had the first payments going out to small businesses. To have that being transferred in such a short period of time is good to see because I know it is needed. In terms of Auckland not only have we got the business continuity support but in that package is specific provision for mental health support. That comes in the form of a programme that already existed called the First Steps programme which provided expert support and resources to business owners and leaders who were feeling overwhelmed and isolated and under pressure from the recent weather events. So my message today for anyone who knows someone who is under that strain is that help is there support is there. Whether that's an online resource or whether you need to take steps further and have some one-on-one time with someone who can provide you with a plan and a framework to move forward that's so important because the number one rule I always think of in terms of mental health is you've got to get yourself OK before you can help others and that is so critical at times like this when pressure is building up. So in terms of the Cyclone Gabrielle package—it came pretty quick off the heels in terms of the Auckland flood response—we've made $50 million available not only to small business but also to the wider primary sector. I'd like to stress how important it is that we do a ground-up approach because we still do not know the exact extent of the damage and we know that some businesses are impacted far more than others. So it's important that we work with local community groups business networks iwi local councils chambers of commerce—all of those on-the-ground networks will be essential for us to understand what is the best way to provide ongoing support and work alongside of the business community to build back resilience to build back stronger telecommunications to build back stronger road networks and to make sure that our communities are set up for the future as we go through more of these climate change - related events. I would like to finish up by saying how much I admire and respect those on the ground who have mucked in rolled up their sleeves dug up silt and helped out people. The one thing that's come through is it's kept people smiling to know their neighbours are looking out for them and it fills my heart to see that Kiwi spirit shine through. Thank you.