The tale of Ian Swney: The spray-can-wielding wage subsidy avenger

Summer reissue: The story of how a leisurely bike ride around Hawke’s Bay turned into a one-man rampage against perceived corporate privilege. First published October 24 2020 In the early hours of October 10, in a motel in Napier South, Ian Swney, 62, was struggling to sleep. A semi-retired kindergarten teacher, he’d travelled to Napier … Read more

The tale of Ian Swney: The spray-can-wielding wage subsidy avenger

The story of how a leisurely bike ride around Hawke’s Bay turned into a one-man rampage against perceived corporate privilege. In the early hours of October 10, in a motel in Napier South, Ian Swney, 62, was struggling to sleep. A semi-retired kindergarten teacher, he’d travelled to Napier from his home in Morrinsville to join … Read more

Housing is hot – so why aren’t realtors repaying the wage subsidy?

Real estate firms are hanging on to millions in wage subsidies despite a red-hot housing market recovery since June, reports Brent Melville of BusinessDesk. Three of the country’s leading realtors — Harcourts, Bayleys, and Barfoot & Thompson — claimed a combined $8 million in wage support for more than 1,000 employees when pandemic-induced lockdowns were … Read more

What you’re entitled to under the Covid-19 wage subsidy scheme

Already over $2.7bn has been paid out to New Zealand businesses and their employees under the government’s wage subsidy scheme. We take a look at how it works and how to know if you’re eligible. This article has been updated to reflect changes to the wage subsidy scheme announced on March 27 and March 28. … Read more

Freelancers and sole traders: How to apply for the Covid-19 wage subsidy

You don’t have to be a business with employees to apply for the government’s wage subsidy. That’s good news for more than 380,000 of us.  Updated: an expansion to the Wage Subsidy Scheme was announced on March 23 along with the announcement that New Zealand would go into lock down for four weeks. The details … Read more

Huge $12bn package to fight Covid-19 downturn: what you need to know

The government is spending $12.1 billion to counter the Covid-19 crisis. Where is the money being targeted? Here are the essentials.  What’s all this then? With recession bearing down on the country, and a large numbers of jobs at risk of being lost, the government has ploughed billions of dollars into the economy. The main … Read more