Jacinda Ardern says New Zealand has 'tough winter ahead' with unemployment set to rise

May 13, 2020

The Prime Minister has fronted media ahead of Budget day tomorrow.

Jacinda Ardern says New Zealand has a tough winter ahead with the unemployment rate looking to increase.

The Prime Minister fronted media today ahead of the Government’s Budget announcement tomorrow afternoon.

While she didn't go into much detail about the Budget, Ms Ardern says the coming months and years will be challenging and the Government's main focus for the budget will be on jobs.

“Around the world, unemployment will rise, significantly, businesses will fail and close, Government revenue will decline. And we will feel the pain here too. New Zealand is about to enter a very tough winter.

"But the next stage in our journey of rebuilding together is recovery. Our focus now is the jobs and incomes of businesses and New Zealanders.”

She says jobs are the number one priority.

"That means this will be a jobs Budget. That means doing all we can to support people staying in their current job or move to a new job if needed.

“Our unemployment rate will increase, but has not spiked so far. And Treasury scenarios suggest that because we stayed at Level 4 and 3 for a shorter period of time our unemployment rate could end up being at the lower end of their projected ranges.”

Ms Ardern also mentioned other economic opportunities for the country, including a travel deal with Australia.

“A possible trans-Tasman bubble when safe could see New Zealand and Australia opening up greater tourism and trade opportunities while our borders have to stay closed to the rest of the world, offering some additional reprieve for our tourism and hospitality industries,” said Ms Ardern.

“Let me be clear, the coming months and years will be some of the most challenging our country has faced in a very, very long time."

National's Simon Bridges last week said he had concerns around the Budget being announced tomorrow. He said he fears the Government could apply "short-term fixes to the financial impact of Covid-19" in its Budget and that "could hurt New Zealand financially for decades".

New Zealand largely moves to Alert Level 2 at midnight tonight which sees many businesses that have been unable to operate throughout the pandemic reopen, including cafes and retail stores.

Schools will also open from next Monday and bars can open from Thursday May 21.

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