Covid 19 coronavirus: Tauranga nail salon owner tells the Government its support isn't enough

A Tauranga nail salon is asking the Government for financial help for small businesses. Photo / Getty Images

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Small businesses will cripple unless the Government gives them more support, a Tauranga nail salon owner has told a Government committee.

Emma Fraser from Allure Nail Studio in Tauranga was one of seven small business owners who were given the opportunity today to address the Government's Epidemic Response Committee chaired by National leader Simon Bridges.

The committee, which held its meeting live on Facebook, acts as a way for the Opposition to hold the Government to account during its response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Fraser said her business would fold if it had to endure another month of no income.

She said she was using her own wage subsidy to help pay her business' rent because the Government hadn't given small businesses any money to pay their ongoing costs, aside from wages.

She said while the wage subsidy was good and ensured her staff were still paid, there were endless costs, including rent and insurances, that weren't going away.

Emma Fraser. Photo / File

"These costs are very real and need to be paid with zero income."

She said although they could have taken advantage of the banks' offers of overdrafts, they were reluctant to use them because they had to be paid back by the third week of June and no one knew if they would be able to do that by then.

She said many small businesses would be using family money or putting their own homes at risk just to keep their doors open.

She said the Government needed to commit to targeted financial assistance for small businesses as well as more wage subsidies.

"We will be busy when we open but it will peter out."

She said given everyone else's financial uncertainty, there was no guarantee all her clients could afford to return.

When asked by Bridges what lockdown had cost her business, she said it was $5000 to $7000 a month.

"That will be crippling for us. There's no way we can come out of this with a profit. We have used all our reserves."

She said she was personally lucky to have parents who were in business with her. She said many businesss would be using personal finances and putting their homes at risk just to stay open.

Rotorua publican Reg Hennessy from Hennessy's Irish Bar also addressed the committee, saying: "Unless the Government steps in to help commercial tenants and landlords through this we are heading for one huge **** fight."

He was also concerned about the Government's messaging around "staying home".

While he said anyone with "half a brain" would have supported the Government's move to level 4, he said he was worried there didn't appear to be enough planning about what happens once alert levels lifted.

"Every time I pick up the paper, turn on the TV, read online all we seem to hear in planning for the future is the stay home message.

"Work from home, shop from home, order your takeaway from home, purchase online and order your next restaurant experience from home."

He said the "new hospitality industry" appeared to be who could offer the best online meal deals on four wheels.

He said it wasn't healthy for the community's mental health to lose pubs, bars and restaurants and retail outlets where people loved to connect.

"As small business owners we have had no income since lockdown. We have administered to our staff the wage subsidy but soon many will be in a place where they are forced to let staff go.

"It now appears we are not going to receive any support from Government and instead left in a queue at the banks."

The Epidemic Response Committee will continue sitting while New Zealand is at level 3.

This week, Bridges said the focus for the committee will be small businesses and front line workers.

"Small-to-medium businesses have felt the brunt of the economic fallout from going into lockdown and still face the daunting prospect of at least another fortnight of harsh restrictions," Bridges said.

Those appearing before the committee included:

• Michael Barnett of Auckland Chamber of Commerce (10am–10.15am)
• Reg Hennessy of Hennessy's Irish Bar (10.15am–10.30am)
• Emma Fraser of Allure Nail Station (10.30am–10.45am)
• Dallas Pendergast of Ladstone Glenfield Ltd (10.45am–11am)
• Alley Kelleher of Jones and Co Services Ltd (11am–11.15am)
• Andy Grey of Hanging Ditch (11.15am–11.30am)
• Louise Blair, a chiropractor (11.30am–11.45am)

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website