Labour's plan to expand a scheme which subsidises wages for employers who take on people at risk of long-term unemployment has been welcomed by business leaders.
The Flexi-wage scheme was introduced in 2012 by then-Social Development Minister Paula Bennett. Labour leader Jacinda Ardern on Saturday, at the party's campaign launch, said it had been a success - promising to pump another $311 million into it, as unemployment starts to rise thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2019, 6000 employers accessed the Flexi-wage scheme, getting an average of $3500 each - costing around $21 million. Labour wants to expand it to help out 40,000 people.
"Under our proposal, we will double the value of the wage subsidy to an average of $7500 and ensure that far more Work and Income clients, including those who may be on the COVID income support payment, are eligible for this scheme," said Ardern.
Unemployment unexpectedly fell in the June quarter, but that's widely believed to be a statistical quirk of how it's measured - many people simply couldn't look for work during lockdown, so weren't counted as being unemployed. The numbers are tipped to worsen in the next round of figures.
Business NZ CEO Kirk Hope says if the promise to put 40,000 into jobs is kept, it could be a game-changer.
"It might look small, but $300 million is no drop in the bucket. It's a big amount of money that could help businesses and some New Zealanders retain their jobs."
Hope says it is vital all political parties put business at their heart of their 2020 campaigns.
"It's going to be businesses that deliver the jobs and deliver the growth that we need as we come out of COVID."
NZ Entrepreneur magazine founder Richard Liew says the policy could not be better timed.
"We're entering a time when more and more Kiwis are going to be looking at how they can start a business. Even if it's one Kiwi starting a business that employs one person - themselves - that's one more job taken care of."
He says the $30 million that's been ringfenced for those hoping to go self-employed will be "very useful".
"We know Kiwis are resilient and innovative. Inside every New Zealander is a business idea waiting to get out, and sometimes we just need a little bit of a push."
Unions have also backed the move, the Council of Trade Unions (CTU) praising Labour's "clear commitment to support getting people into work and supporting those whose jobs might have been on the edge due to COVID".
"One of the best things about this policy is that it could be actioned quickly through the scaling up of the existing model," CTU President Richard Wagstaff said.
Hope wants to hear more though, with the election just six weeks away.
"Whilst this is a really useful initiative to keep New Zealanders employed and to underpin business, we do need to see the full scope of what political parties propose to deliver."
He might not have to wait long - with Parliament now done for the term, the parties are in full campaign mode.
