M.I.A.
OPINION: The previous government spent too much during the Covid-19 pandemic, despite warnings from officials, according to a briefing released by the Treasury.
Applications for the initial Wage Subsidy scheme in the current Covid outbreak close on Thursday, with applications for the next fortnightly payment will beginning on Friday morning.
“Unlike the scheme that operated in March last year, this Wage Subsidy scheme requires businesses to reapply for each fortnightly payment,” Finance Minister Grant Robertson said.
“The core settings of the Wage Subsidy Scheme remain the same. It is available to eligible businesses wherever they are in New Zealand on the same payment rates, two-week lump sum payments, and the need to show a 40 percent decline in revenue,” Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni said.
“The revenue test period will move forward two weeks from the period used for the first Wage Subsidy August 2021 payment, but the comparator period will remain the same. The revenue test period for a second payment will be the 14 consecutive days from 31 August to 13 September 2021.”
“We are encouraging employers and those self-employed once again to ensure the accuracy of the information they provide, as that will delay processing if it isn’t correct,” Sepuloni said.
Businesses can also apply for the Leave Support Scheme and Short-Term Absence Payment as appropriate, as well as the Resurgence Support Payment, which is a one-off payment administered by Inland Revenue to help meet fixed costs.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
DairyNZ says its plantain programme continues to deliver promising results, with new data confirming that modest levels of plantain in pastures reduce nitrogen leaching, offering farmers a practical, science-backed tool to meet environmental goals.
'Common sense' cuts to government red tape will make it easier for New Zealand to deliver safe food to more markets.
Balclutha farmer Renae Martin remembers the moment she fell in love with cows.
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OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.