It is indeed a difficult time for small businesses who are struggling to survive in this era of a global pandemic. The government’s announcement of an increase in the minimum wage while people are struggling to meet their two ends meet, along with increasing inflation, recovery from lockdowns and the prices of goods constantly going up and growing crimes against retailers, small local businesses are crying for help from the current Jacinda Ardern led Government.
Most of the people from the retail sector feel that there is a lot that needs to be done on an urgent basis by this Government before it is too late. They are demanding targeted financial support from the Government and more Police to deal with the increasing crimes. They expect the government to respond to all the calls for assistance being made by the business community.
Indian Weekender spoke to the people from retail segment including local Business Associations to know what immediate steps they think the government should be taking to help the crisis hit sector.
BusinessNZ Chief Executive Kirk Hope said given the current Covid environment, it was important that the Government took all steps to ensure that service sector businesses, including retail, are not harmed by Covid regulations.
"We would recommend that isolation periods be made a more workable length, and we would like to see rapid antigen testing able to be more widely used. Businesses are currently without any form of Government support, and we believe that some support measures for service sector businesses under Phase Two of the Omicron response should be expedited," he said.
Sharing the same sentiments, Viv Beck, Chief Executive, Heart of the City (Auckland's City Centre Business Association), says, “It is a challenging time for small businesses, and the same sectors have been hit over and over again throughout the pandemic with the loss of international tourists and students, people working from home and the loss of events which attract people to the city. We want to see immediate targeted financial support to help impacted businesses get through the next phase of Covid-19 and tools to support trading, such as rapid antigen testing. We must also see a coordinated and effective response to the growing issue of crime. A start in Auckland central would be to see more Police on the ground."
Sunny Kaushal, Chairman, Dairies and Business Owners Group NZ, feels there is a dairy and retail crime emergency. Talking about his suggestions to the Government to deal with the situation, he says, “There should be a $13.5 million Dairy and Service Station Security Fund to boost active security in up to two-thirds of such businesses (based on a $1.8 million government initiative from 2017).
“Also, the government should make sure that the extra 1,800 police personnel are deployed to chase down criminals. There is also a need to re-task all parking wardens into Police Community Support Officers tasked with anti-social crime rather than ticketing the shoppers, delivery drivers, and contractors we need. In Auckland alone, that would provide an extra resource of around 160 people," Mr Kaushal said.
Sharing his thoughts on how the sector can be helped, Mark Knoff-Thomas, CEO, Newmarket Business Association, says, “The retail and hospitality sectors are on a roller coaster ride at the moment. We would like to see some ongoing targeted financial support. We can’t allow entire chunks of the economy to simply seize up. Too many jobs and livelihoods are at stake.
“The government should help rebuild public confidence. If you're vaxed and boosted, follow all the safety guidelines, it’s safe to go out and about. Where is the marketing campaign?
“It’s great that we finally have a national Retail Crime Unit, but it needs some serious resource to have any major impact. Break-ins and acts of violence towards retail staff are on the increase. The minimum wage will have only one impact – prices for the consumer will rise, further fuelling inflation. The government is naive if it believes business can simply absorb these additional costs.”
Councillor of New Lynn Business Association (NLBA) Tracy Mulholland, who works alongside the association and supports the Business Associations position that government should offer a financial package for small business, too, feels that the government need to step up. She says, "This is an example of local businesspeople in real need of support from government. A further and important matter is accessibility to Rapid Antigen Tests (RATS) this needs to be made available so that businesses have access to and assurance of the status of Covid19 for staff and management, it's not just the local businesspeople affected but there is an impact on the wider community when local businesses are affected"
Adding to this Vish Bhati of NLBA, says, “I expect the government to respond to all the calls for assistance being made by the business community. Making contact with local businesspeople by MP's would be a good starting point to hear the real story on the impact and challenges we face.
Amanda Wellgreen, Town Manager, Onehunga Business Association, believes that the situation is dire for many businesses. “The earlier response from the government for support during lockdowns kept many heads above water, but now that is not available, and it is needed. Businesses are in their third year of managing on reduced spend, and most have run through their savings and are operating week-to-week. This is unsustainable, and priority needs to be provided especially for the small to medium-sized companies – they need urgent help," signs off Wellgreen.