Business grants less than hoped

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Demand for support well exceeding available funding

Cyclone-hit businesses here have received less than half the amount of damages they wanted because a government compensation scheme was “oversubscribed”.

Approved applications for the Government’s business support grants, managed through Trust Tairāwhiti, received 43.83 percent of the financial support sought, plus GST, a trust spokeswoman said.

“Demand for business support grants well exceeded the available funding.

“All applicants received less than they requested to enable the funds to go further and support as many local businesses in need as possible.

“To date, Trust Tairāwhiti has distributed $6.7 million and processed 810 applications.”

Following a recent Government top-up to the fund, $75 million has now been made available nationally.

“The priority has been to get businesses back up and running as quickly as possible from the impact of the cyclone, working through the local agencies on the ground who know their area best,” Cyclone Recovery Minister Grant Robertson said.

“Demand for grants has been strong, with applications to the local providers managing the funding exceeding the $50 million allocated.

“Based on the most recent assessment, an additional $22 million is required to meet the additional demand, with around 5800 applications received.

“The extra funding allow more firms to be supported up to the $40,000 per-business.

“As with the previous funding, it will be managed at a local level by agreed providers.

“The split of this additional funding between regions will be based on the latest available data.

“Ministers are committed to ensuring that it is focused on those regions where the need is greatest.

“Ministers have agreed that all applications for funding under this process will close no later than the end of April.”