The Government has made a U-turn on offering support for small Christchurch businesses affected by the March shootings.
Several shops in close proximity to the Linwood Mosque where seven people were killed say they've been struggling in the wake of the attacks.
- No consideration given to businesses near Linwood Mosque - owners
- Businesses around Linwood Mosque face closure after Government refuses support
Business owner Trish Bailey has been forced to shut up shop 14 years after opening her business Natural Lines.
"It was very sad," she told Newshub.
The beautician was left with no choice but to close the doors permanently last Saturday after months of financial hardship following the March 15 attacks.
"The circumstances made it happen," she says.
Two weeks ago Newshub revealed that small businesses, located just metres from Linwood Mosque, have been struggling financially ever since the shootings.
They were trapped inside a police cordon for ten days following the attack, and customers have decreased as business continues to dwindle over the last four months.
Donna O'Malley will be out of work following Lo TV Rentals' impending closure.
"I've been here 18 years and it's part of what I do, so I'm really upset," O'Malley told Newshub.
The Government is now offering support following Newshub's story.
Minister of Economic Development, Transport, and Urban Development Phil Twyford has extended the same offer made to Christchurch businesses who lost staff members in the attacks.
"It's basically business support and advisory services, it does not include cash payouts," Twyford says.
However, no cash and no payout is an offer that falls short for O'Malley.
"I'm really upset the Government didn't step forward when they should have, four months ago we wouldn't be having this conversation," she says.
Next door, Shane Lilley is borrowing $25,000 in a last-ditch effort to keep the doors of his pawnshop open.
"It could be the death knell for us after all these years," he says.
The Government's offer is too little, too late - not enough to help save these Linwood businesses from closure, as others teeter on the brink.
Newshub.
