New Zealand to roll out fourth wage subsidy package

New Zealand will be opening up applications for another round of COVID-19 resurgence support, announced Finance Minister Grant Robertson. 

The hospitality sector could also receive additional support, he said, noting that businesses like accommodation and restaurants lost about three quarters of their revenues overall due to tightened restrictions at level 3, and remains about 30% down at level 2, reports Stuff. 

The subsidies will be available to companies country-wide that experience or expect a 40% fall in revenue during the fortnight to October 11. 

An additional round of resurgence support payments would be triggered by a region remaining at level 2 beyond midnight on Tuesday, and are aimed to help small firms navigate the tighter restrictions and meet their fixed costs.

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“We’ve got a further resurgence support payment assuming we have a region at level two, which is pretty likely,” said Robertson. 

The minister added that predictions about how strong the economy would bounce back after restrictions ended were hard to make and would be influenced by the global economy.