Wellington Mayor Andy Foster and leaders from the city’s business community have written to Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Small Business Minister Stuart Nash requesting urgent financial support in a period of unprecedented hardship.(See attached)

“The pandemic is having a really significant impact on Wellington businesses, some which are now on the brink of closure,” said Mayor Foster.

“This is a result of two years of Covid restrictions, lockdowns, the current red-light settings, working from home, and public nervousness. Foot traffic and spend in the central city is down 20-30%. These businesses are so important to the vitality and life of the city, and to peoples’ livelihoods. For its part the Council is initiating a business support package, but more is required.

“Today business and council are together calling on Government to help and support our businesses and their staff, so that jobs are not lost at what - we hope - is the final hurdle,” said Mayor Foster.

Wellington hospitality and retail businesses have been significantly impacted by the red light setting and anti-mandate protests and have requested assistance like the wage subsidy and resurgence support payment from Government.

The joint request is from Wellington Mayor Andy Foster and the Wellington City Council, the Chamber of Commerce’s CEO Simon Arcus, CEO of Retail NZ Greg Hartford, Branch President Hospitality NZ Paul Retimanu, Branch President Restaurant Association Mike Egan and the CEO of WellingtonNZ’s John Allen.

“We are doing what we can to support local businesses by way of introducing free outdoor dining permits, promotional activity and considering other measures such as rates deferrals and parking incentives. But this kind of support only goes so far,” says Mayor Foster.

“We are also keen to explore if there is scope for some form of helicopter payment or voucher scheme that could be implemented in Wellington – in the meantime we encourage everyone to support local wherever and whenever they can.”

WellingtonNZ is launching a range of promotional initiatives to help boost CBD retail and hospitality businesses experiencing incredibly tough trading conditions in the red traffic light setting.

“Our restaurants, bars, cafes and shops are a major part of what makes Wellington such a dynamic city, but many of them are on a financial knife edge. We are committed to doing everything we can to protect our incredible businesses as well as the city’s economy and reputation.”

Branch President Hospitality NZ Paul Retimanu says this type of support is urgently needed as businesses are suffering.

“We welcome the collaboration and coming together of Wellington City Council, alongside retail, hospitality and the Chamber of Commerce. Our sectors are under significant stress – financially, as well as our people.

“We are really concerned for our teams, with the lack of people in the city and the lack of government-targeted support. We are having to look at restructuring hours and staffing numbers – that’s a fact.”

Wellington Chamber of Commerce CEO Simon Arcus says many of the businesses in Wellington’s events, hospitality and retail sectors are already having to make tough calls.

“The damaging shift to red and the impact of Omicron have been compounded by the protests at Parliament – keeping people away from the city. We know targeted support is being considered, but it needs to happen quickly.”

https://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/2202/SupportLetter_to_Minister15Feb2022.doc

© Scoop Media