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Industry round-up, April 1

The NZTA actions on national work, the lockdown is extended, NZX structure reviewed and Reserve Bank makes another unorthodox policy move.
Posted on 01 April, 2020
Industry round-up, April 1

The NZTA will make advance payments to contractors so industry will be ready to hit the ground running and get New Zealand moving after the Covid-19 lockdown.

Brett Gliddon, general manager of transport services, says support is being offered for non-essential services in the form of advance entitlement payments for contractors with projects in construction as part of the National Land Transport Programme (NLTP).

He adds state-highway projects being delivered across New Zealand through the NLTP will be needed more than ever when the country gets back to work after the shutdown period.

Gliddon, pictured, says the road construction industry has responded quickly to the NZTA’s call to shut down capital projects and stop other non-essential work during alert level four. While critical maintenance work continues to ensure the safe movement of essential goods, all non-essential work on capital projects has halted.

Keep up to date with: Traffic updates – journeys.nzta.govt.nz/traffic I Facebook – facebook.com/TransportAgency I Twitter – twitter.com/nzta_news I Journey planner – journeys.nzta.govt.nz I Phone – 0800-444-449.

Period of lockdown extended

The state of national emergency to help stop the spread of coronavirus has been extended for a further seven days until about April 7.

Peeni Henare, Minister of Civil Defence, says: “The initial declaration on March 25 lasted seven days and can be extended as many times as necessary. Since we went into isolation, most New Zealanders have done the right thing and stayed at home to break the chain of transmission, which saves lives. “Extending the state of national emergency ensures we have resources, support and powers to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our communities.

Business, finance and economics wrap

The NZX, on which several companies in the automotive industry are listed, will separate its regulatory and commercial arms. It plans to adopt a new regulatory operating and governance model, such as those used by international exchanges such as the Singapore Stock Exchange.

The recommendations come from last year’s review of NZX’s regulatory operating model, which was prompted by the increasing complexity of governance. A wholly owned subsidiary of the exchange will perform all frontline regulatory functions, but will be structurally separate from the NZX’s commercial and operational activities and governed by a separate board.

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Reserve Bank has made another unorthodox policy move to inject cash into the banking system. It will be holding a weekly open-market operation buying up to $500 million of corporate and asset-backed securities for terms of up to three months. Governor Adrian Orr says the facility will provide another channel for banks to continue funding corporates.

The Treasury has released financial statements for the eight months to the end of February – the period before government announced its $12.1 billion economic recovery package and subsequent spending increases.

By the end of February, the books were not as in as good a shape as forecast in the December half-year economic and fiscal update. “These results have reflected some of the Covid-19-related impacts, mainly in relation to the significant losses impacting the operating balance, total borrowings and assets and liabilities values,” says the Treasury.

And unemployment will be worse than that caused by the global financial crisis, the Finance Minister Grant Robertson has told the Epidemic Response Committee.

Radio NZ – Wage subsidy and workers’ rights Q+A, click here.

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