Far greater transparency is needed from the Government on the economic consequences of the Covid-19 lockdown, National’s Finance spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says.

Rushing to deal with new vaping legislation during an unprecedented economic lockdown is not just folly, it is anti-democratic, according to a public submission by the New Zealand Initiative.

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is slamming today’s announcement of $25 million - $10 million for local iwi groups and $15 million for Whānau Ora providers - and says that funding based on skin colour at a time when the nation needs to come together is disgraceful.

Work is underway looking at measures to speed up consents for development and infrastructure projects during the recovery from COVID 19, to provide jobs and stimulate our economy.

The National Iwi Chairs Forum recently activated a Pandemic Response Group (PRG) which is calling for much stronger enforcement of Alert Level 4 lockdown.

The Government has tasked a group of industry leaders to seek out infrastructure projects that are ready to start as soon as the construction industry returns to normal to reduce the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford and Infrastructure Minister S

Advance payments will be made to transport construction industry contractors to retain the workforce and ensure it is ready to quickly gear up to build projects which will be vital to New Zealand’s COVID-19 economic recovery, Transport Minister Phil Twyford announced today.

The Green Party are welcoming the scrapping of Section 70a of the Social Security Act which saw single parents lose income support when the other parent isn’t named.

The repealing of this sanction that comes into effect today was announced in the 2019 Wellbeing Budget.

Work to scale up the health system in preparation for COVID-19 was today outlined by Health Minister David Clark, as he reported back to the new Epidemic Response Committee.

The New Zealand Initiative welcomes the Government’s plans to ramp up testing for Covid-19 beyond 3500 per day to get the country closer to reopening its economy.