PM Statement
- Panic buying seems to have stopped
- 1 person per household should be the only person shopping
- Act like you have COVID-19
- Thank you supermarket operators
- Approved $27m for social service providers.
- Part of this $27m will go towards Women’s Refuge to set up accommodation for women and children who need to leave their home during the lockdown.
- Salvation Army delivered 3500 food packages last week
- Parliament adjourned until late April
- New select committee formed, led by the Leader of Opposition
- Next meeting to be held next Tuesday.
- Ardern has appointed Rob Fyfe as a liaison between government and business during the Covid period.
- PM says Commerce Minister Kris Faafoi has spoken to supermarket chains about the accusations of price gouging. She says she will act to protect consumers but none of the current accusations has stacked up.
- PPE distribution chain being investigated to get PPE out to those who need them.
- No reason for food waste.
Finance Minister Update:
- Wage subsidy scheme. It has gone out to 244,887 workers with 72913 applications paid out. Another 111,000 applications have been approved and are about to be paid out.
- Some commercial property landlords are not being flexible with people who can’t immediately pay. Robertson urges these landlords to talk to their tenants.
- Grant Robertson makes clear that workers in essential places like supermarkets are still able to refuse to go into work if they are high risk (ie over-70 or with a respiratory condition) – and they are eligible for paid leave under the Covid sick leave scheme (separate to the wage subsidy scheme.)
- Unemployment will be worse than GFC at 6.7%. Will be higher than that.