Hospitality businesses in Rangitīkei region welcome revision of support package

Cafe operators in the Rangitīkei region have welcomed new criteria for Covid-19 government support payments. Photo / Bevan Conley

Hospitality business owners in the Whanganui region have welcomed additional certainty from the Government on targeted relief during the Omicron outbreak.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson previously announced that, to be eligible, businesses would have to show a 40 per cent drop in revenue over seven consecutive days during the six weeks to February 15 when the country moved to phase 2 of the Covid-19 Omicron response.

The package offers businesses fortnightly Covid support payments (CSP) of $4000 plus $400 per fulltime employee for six weeks, but local businesses said they were already experiencing a downturn in January and did not believe they would qualify.

Whanganui MP Steph Lewis said local business owners had not sufficiently recovered from the red traffic light phase in December.

"Business owners had told me they were very slow in January even though the traffic light system had moved to orange," she said.

"I know that local businesses will be pleased about the minister's decision to change the eligibility measure."

Robertson said he had listened to businesses who had missed out on their usual summer trade and added an alternative option to the package.

"We are aware that there are a number of businesses which had a very quiet January and early February this year and believe that they will not be eligible under the criteria of the CSP, particularly those in the hospitality sector," he said.

"We have been working with business to understand this situation and, as we have at other times during the pandemic, we have responded by making changes to ensure we support viable but vulnerable businesses to get through this difficult situation."

There will now be two time periods against which businesses can compare their current revenue to be eligible for the payment.

The original period was announced last week ( January 5, 2022, to February 15, 2022), and an alternative option of January 5, 2021, to February 15, 2021. The alternative option covers a period when all of New Zealand was at alert level 1.

"Businesses have told us that this additional option will provide greater certainty and cash flow," Robertson said.

Two cafes in the Rangitīkei region were yet to calculate how the alternative option would affect them.

Emma Shannon, owner of Moomaa Cafe and Design store in Marton, said she hadn't had the chance to crunch the numbers yet but welcomed the revision.

"It is welcome news but fortunately we have not done as badly as some others. Being on a state highway helps and we are also a design store that gives us an extra string to our bow," she said.

"I haven't taken on any debt because I want to have that option open if I should need it later. I'm concerned about what's ahead - how the economy will recover from Covid and how I'll manage the increase to the minimum wage. There's a lot to think about."

Mint Cafe Bulls owner Chris Donaldson said every bit of support from the Government was welcome.

"January was quiet for us - we were up and down," he said.

"There definitely wasn't much of a margin of interest in revenue for the month. We do have a good local customer base but we very much depend on visitors as well."

The Government's support package also includes a Small Business Cashflow Loans Scheme that has a repayment period of five years, with the first two years being interest free and
it gives Inland Revenue the ability to allow businesses to be flexible in their tax payment dates and terms.