Budget First Step In Long Road To Recovery

The Wellington Chamber of Commerce and Business Central has welcomed today’s budget announcement.

Wellington Chamber and Business Central Chief Executive, John Milford, said the size of the budget comes as no surprise considering the pandemic we are coming out of and the global economic crisis ahead.

"The Government’s taken the right approach with this budget to support the country to recover out of a difficult situation," John Milford says.

"We are fortunate our balance sheet is in a healthy position and it is testament to the past few governments for having the foresight. We are certainly in a ‘rainy-day situation’.

"The wage support subsidy gave the business community the support they needed and the targeted extension of this for a further eight weeks is sensible.

"Additional NZTE funding, Regional Business Partners support, and e-commerce offerings is good news for small to medium businesses.

"We are pleased to see the increased expenditure towards education and training, in particular for trades and apprenticeships.

"The additional $3 billion for infrastructure is a good start, but we expect this money will go towards boosting productivity and providing an immediate stimulus.

"While there are many ideas for projects around Wellington and Central New Zealand, core infrastructure like our transport links and three waters network must be prioritised.

"We welcome the funding for two new Cook Strait ferries, ensuring the reliability of the connection between Wellington and Picton for goods, services, and people.

"With a further $20 billion in the COVID-19 Response and Recovery fund yet to be allocated, there is still plenty of opportunities to support businesses doing it tough through the year."

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