“ACT finished 2023 delivering good news for small businesses. That’s just the beginning of a new business-friendly environment ACT will create,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Laura Trask.

“ACT Deputy Leader Brooke van Velden, in her capacity as Workplace Relations Minister, has already widened the availability of 90-day trials to all businesses and repealed ‘Fair Pay’ Agreements. That’s real change in only her first few weeks as a Minister. ACT’s coalition agreement also commits to reforming health and safety law and regulations.

“As a small business owner myself, I know the death by a thousand cuts that occurs when a Government piles on regulation after regulation – each one costing more productivity and money.

“Reinstating 90-day trials gives employers certainty and employees opportunities. Young or low-skilled workers, or people who have been out of work have the most to gain from being employed on a trial basis.

“Since Labour has been in Government it has become tougher to hire employees, more expensive to keep them, and materials have exploded in price.

“Small businesses are the backbone of New Zealand’s economy. If New Zealand is to have a thriving and productive economy, we need to make it a better place for small business to operate in. ACT is committed to doing that.”

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