COVID-19: Stuart Nash defends record as Small Business Minister during pandemic

  • 19/03/2022

Stuart Nash has defended his record when it comes to helping small businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the Government has done a "hell of a lot" to help. 

Nash, appearing on Newshub Nation on Saturday ahead of Cabinet's review into COVID-19 settings on Monday, wouldn't be drawn into specifics into how that review might go. 

Nash, who is the Minister for Small Businesses, did acknowledge how tough it had been for most businesses but said he is positive about the future of the New Zealand economy as the post-COVID-19 rebuild gets underway. 

Many hospitality businesses are struggling under the red setting of the Traffic Light System, where they can only host 100 people. 

Dakota Bar owner Jose Ubiaga told Newshub his Wellington establishment is losing thousands of dollars a week. 

 Nash wouldn't be drawn when asked if those restrictions will be eased on Monday. 

"What I will say is that I have sat around the cabinet table for the last two years for every single decision Cabinet has made around COVID-19. 

"Behind every single decision, we make is the health and wellbeing of New Zealand communities and the public. 

"It will be the same test we cast over the decision we make on Monday, so I'm not going to preempt what the Cabinet decision is going to be. 

"We are well aware of the impact this has on small businesses. But as mentioned, everything we do is about keeping New Zealanders health healthy, safe and free of COVID as they can."

Nash cited the recent decisions to open the borders to tourists as an economic boon. From April 12 Australian tourists will be able to enter the country and not need to isolate providing they are COVID-19 free. From May 1 tourists from visa waiver countries such as the UK can follow suit.  

He said it was necessary to stagger the return of tourism so the sector can prepare. 

"This was always about ensuring we got this right. Australians first and pre-COVID 40 percent of the tourist market was Australians. 

"Then we go to the next stage, which is that visa waiver countries and then we go to the third stage, which are tourists who need visas to come in."

He said they were expecting anything between three and 13 thousand Aussies per week to head over, saying they were one of the nations who travelled the most to go skiing. 

Many countries have abandoned the pre-flight COVID-19 test, or having to isolate if you are positive. 

Nash denied getting tourists to prove they are COVID-19 free and making them self-isolate if they weren't would harm travel. 

"We're a different proposition to Britain. I think one of the reasons why people will want to come to New Zealand is because we're acknowledged as having one of the best responses and we are acknowledged as being a safe country." 

Nash pushed back on ANZ economist Sharon Zollner's economic forecast  as being pretty ugly, with business confidence is down and inflation rising. 

"GDP figures for last year show that we had growth of about 5.2 per cent. We have got record low unemployment. We've got businesses doing really well, but we have got stresses of that. There is no doubt global supply chains are still stressed. Inflation is increasing. There's a lot though we can't help, there's a war going on in Ukraine."

When pushed on whether he, as the Small Businesses Minister, had done enough to help them and be their champion he acknowledged they were doing it tough but defended his record. 

"I think we've done a hell of a lot. Look at the wage subsidy, look at COVID support payments. Look at the amount of money that's gone to the tourism sector. 

"We have as a Government spent billions and billions of dollars keeping people connected to their businesses, keeping businesses open, supporting them. 

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this hasn't been tough times for certain sectors of the economy it has. But looking forward in terms of the economic rebuild in a post-COVID world, I'm very positive for the country."