Waitangi Treaty Grounds was going to shut its doors to the public had it not secured Government help in what was the historic site’s first injection of public money into operational funding since it was established in 1932.

The Waitangi National Trust received $4m from the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Heritage in Budget 2020 to help it survive the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic which chief executive Greg McManus said “was the difference between shutting down and staying open, definitely”.

“We don’t receive any funding from the government for operating at all. A lot of New Zealanders assume we are government funded but we are not, which is partly the reason we have been helped this time,” McManus said.

Greg McManus

“We have a very close relationship with the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Heritage because of the role that we play looking after the most important historic site in the country. We basically said to them that without some assistance we will have to close to the public.

“We have no other access to funding, we can’t borrow money because of our legislation so we’re pretty limited with our options. So, we’re really grateful that the Government came through for us.”

About 70% of the trust’s revenue is from tourism, with other income generated from leases to tenants across the estate, but it is “expected to do quite a lot” with its revenue, McManus said.

“We have a major eduction programme, we care for the buildings and the estate and the museums and we do a lot that does not make money – we have to pay for that ourselves. This money will tide us over for the next financial year, which starts in July. Our annual budget is about $6m all up.”

The trust has 56 staff on its books and during summer seasonal staff see this rise to 110.

“We kept all of our permanent staff on full pay until the end of the wage subsidy. At that stage, we had no idea we were going to be helped out by the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Heritage. We wanted to look after our staff who had done a great job for us over the last couple of years,” McManus said.

“We certainly won’t be taking anymore wage subsidy during the period that the funding covers, which kicks in on 1 July, and I’m not sure whether we will [take the subsidy extention] for the rest of June – probably not.”

The Treaty Grounds, which include the Treaty House, Te Kongahu Museum of Waitangi, and the $14.6m Māori Battalion Museum, which opened on Waitangi weekend this year, re-opened on Saturday 16 May with a full visitor experience on offer.

“We had a trickle of visitors. It wasn’t many but we were delighted to have them. Hopefully, it will just increase as we get through this,” McManus said, adding that all efforts will be made to bring tourists back to the attraction, which traditionally receives around 125,000 visitors, from New Zealand and overseas, annually with a further 30,000-40,000 visiting on Waitangi Day every year.

According to McManus, international visitors make up around 55%, with domestic sitting at around 45%, “but that has been changing over the years and going more towards the domestic. I would expect it to be 50-50 in a few more years”.

He added: “We are definitely going to be working hard bringing domestic tourists back and hopefully the trans-Tasman bubble – we are very keen for that to happen as Australia makes up a very large percentage of our international market. So, we are still going to have to work really hard to make ends meet but this will make a huge difference.”

“We are very active with the Bay of Islands marketing group, which focuses firmly on the Auckland so we are going  to pivot towards that and spend quite a lot more on the Auckland domestic market, which is pretty key for us.”

“I would say to New Zealanders who have never been or who have not been for the past five or six years that Waitangi has undergone a complete transformation and I would just encourage them to come and reconnect with their history.”

Waitangi National Trust chair, Pita Tipene, said: “Our mission is to demonstrate the ongoing promise of Waitangi to the World and this funding will enable the Trust to continue to deliver on that mission. I encourage all New Zealanders, Māori, Pakeha and New-New Zealanders alike, to visit Waitangi during this time when the usual crowds of international visitors are absent. It is a perfect time to reconnect with Waitangi and with our shared heritage as citizens of Aotearoa.”

Northland Inc’s general manager of destination, Tania Burt, said she was grateful for the funding.

“This is fantastic news for Northland,” she said.

“The Waitangi Treaty Grounds is one of Northland’s and New Zealand’s great icons, and we need Waitangi to be there for the recovery of tourism in Northland”.

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The announcement comes after the tourist attraction closed its doors in March, resulting in more than 100 job losses due to the fallout of the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.

Minister for Māori development Nanaia Mahuta said the institute’s continuity was vital, culturally and economically, and the Government’s investment would bring relief in response to travel restrictions after Covid-19.

“Incorporating the Te Puia Tourism Centre and the Māori arts and crafts training centre, the institute has been part of the country’s Māori arts and tourism landscape for nearly 100 years, and is expected to continue to play a vital role as Aotearoa recovers and rebuilds,” she said.

“The support will safeguard the future of toi Māori and ensure that our future carvers, weavers, waka exponents, and arts and crafts champions have a place to hone and perfect Māori arts for generations to come.”

As a major local attraction, Mahuta said numerous other businesses and individuals were likely to benefit from Te Puia over the medium term, including accommodation and retail services.

Prior to Covid-19, around two out of every ten visitors to Rotorua visited Te Puia.

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Repairs are expected to be completed on the Routeburn and Milford tracks in time for summer, according to the minister of conservation Eugenie Sage.

Tracks, bridges and huts were damaged by a big flood in Fiordland earlier this year, and they are being rebuilt with the help of $13.7m allocated from Budget 2020, she said.

The package is made up of $9.52m of capital expenditure, which comprises material and labour costs of replacing tracks, bridges, and huts, and $4.21m of associated operating costs for the assets repaired and replaced.

“This investment will mean iconic Great Walks such as the Routeburn track and the full length of the Milford Track should be ready to re-open in time for the summer season,” Sage said.

“The three-day storm from 4 to 6 February sparked a major rescue operation as torrential rain and slips severely damaged huts and wiped out sections of track. More than 820 mm of rain fell in Fiordland during the storm, one-tenth of the region’s average annual rainfall.

“Soon after the storm, I visited the area and saw how the extreme weather had significantly damaged more than 440 kms of walking tracks, with the Milford Track and Routeburn Tracks sustaining the most damage. Lake Howden Hut and 32 bridges were damaged, along with other huts, campsites, and facilities.”

More than one million people visit Pipopiotahi/Milford Sound a year and the Milford Track is one of New Zealand’s premier walking tracks, attracting more than 14,000 users a year.

Department of Conservation staff also used the tracks to carry out conservation work and they would restore predator trapping networks, which were also destroyed by flooding and slips.

The $13.7m funding, over four years, is contingent on an action plan being approved by the ministers of finance and conservation.

The work would involve engineering and geotech assessments, along with design work and assessing long-term options for climate change resilience and relocating assets where appropriate.

DOC aimed to have the Milford Track open this summer, as well as the Routeburn Track from end-to-end, provided its geotechnical assessment allowed for visitor safety across the storm damaged section at the Key Summit end. The geotechnical work is underway.

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Tourism Export Council New Zealand chief executive, Lynda Keene, called yesterday a “sad day” for all businesses involved in the international tourism sector including the association’s inbound tour operator membership.

Lynda Keene

“Tourism touches every part of the national economy. The Government has failed the international tourism sector and appears to have given up on an industry that has produced so much for the NZ economy and society. How hard can it be to understand?” she said.

She questioned how the government could not provide specific support for the inbound tour sector which “has brought millions of international visitors into New Zealand and helped drive the economic prosperity of New Zealand for over 30 years, delivering $1.8bn of GST last year, and $17.8bn of GDP and international receipt contributions last year.”

“How can Government let this pipeline of future business through inbound tour operators wither away? Every third international visitor arriving in New Zealand is booked through an inbound tour operator.”

Keene criticised a lack of detail in the $400m tourism recovery fund which includes a tourism transition program and strategic assets protection program saying there is “no tourism plan attached to it with timeframes on when markets will rebound and the cost it might take to attract visitors back.”

It also failed tourism businesses that needed a cashflow injection to help with commercial rents and leases operating costs, Keene said.

On the wage subsidy extension, Keene said it was a welcome measure but eight weeks would not be long enough for ITOs to get through winter into spring when booking activity traditionally started again in earnest.

Tourism Industry Aotearoa had a more positive reading of Budget 2020, which it said sent “good signals that the Government has recognised the industry’s needs and will be an active partner in its recovery,” but made clear further support measures would be required in addition to the wage subsidy extension and $400m recovery fund.

“The Government has recognised the critical importance of the tourism industry to New Zealand’s future. Tourism was the first industry to be hit by the impacts of Covid-19 and will be the last to recover,” TIA chief executive Chris Roberts said.

“The Budget package will not be enough to prevent significant job losses across the industry. In terms of immediate survival, the measures announced today are welcome but further initiatives will be required in the months and years ahead.”

Roberts said an extension to the wage subsidy had been top of the request list for many tourism businesses, and almost all be able to meet the new qualification of showing at least a 50% drop in revenue, but acknowledge “some will be disappointed it is only for an additional eight weeks”.

This was a sentiment shared by chief executive of Hamilton & Waikato Tourism, Jason Dawson, who said the region’s tourism businesses had been “bleeding cash” trying to reduce overhead costs and using up their cash reserves or personal savings to stay afloat, could easily show a 50% reduction in revenue to meet the revised criteria.

He added: “The eight-week extension to the wage subsidy will help ease the pain and hopefully keep more people in the sector in the short-term. However, further initiatives will be required in the months ahead to prevent significant job losses.”

“Our people are our number one asset and retention is our key priority. They are experienced, talented, qualified and passionate for our industry. Without people, tourism and events is not a viable business model,” he added.

The Budget also mooted the formation of a Tourism Recovery Ministers Group and a public-private New Zealand Futures Tourism Taskforce as part of the $400m recovery package.

These, TIA said, were “important signals that the Government takes the survival of our tourism industry seriously”, and the taskforce to advise ministers “will have a crucial role to play in advising Government on the long-term recovery and reimagining of tourism.”

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The TRF would focus on supporting tourism operators transition to the domestic and Australian markets, protecting industry assets, and funding the domestic campaign, said tourism minister Kelvin Davis.

“Initial, wide-ranging consultation identified a strong desire for a deep look at the future of tourism, but also significant short-term pressures because of Covid-19,” Davis said.

Kelvin Davis

“There were strong calls for further support for staff costs, the extension to the wage subsidy scheme announced today will also help businesses cover staffing costs and protect jobs, while we ramp up a domestic tourism campaign.”

Davis said the establishment of the $400m TRF enabled the Government to deliver various support mechanisms to the industry under one umbrella.

“Tourism New Zealand has this week begun work to showcase New Zealand on social media promoting safe travel to New Zealanders. Further domestic activity will roll out soon, including a nationwide campaign,” he said.

“This package is designed to help the tourism sector at this point of our journey together. As we move through our recovery we will look at what further support we may need to provide in the days to come.”

The response package included:

Tourism Transitions Programme
The programme would deliver advice and support for either pivoting a business towards the domestic and Australian market, hibernating a firm, or other options. Tourism New Zealand would provide customer insight and views of overseas market conditions to help businesses make good decisions about their futures.

NZ Māori Tourism would also be supported through this fund to deliver the Transitions Programme directly to its stakeholders.

Strategic Tourism Assets Protection Programme
“Some of our key tourism assets, in the form of attractions and amenities, play a vital part in our domestic tourism offering and our international brand as a tourist destination,” said Davis.

“Some of these are at risk due to the effects of Covid-19 and if lost, could slow down either the national or regional recoveries, and have a major impact on some communities. This fund will identify those strategic assets and provide them with the protection and assistance they need so they will not be lost.”

Tourism Recovery Ministers Group
Davis said this would be established to oversee the Tourism Recovery Package and the industry’s recovery.

Members were expected to include ministers of tourism, finance, Māori development, conservation, and the Under Secretary of Regional Economic Development.

New Zealand Futures Tourism Taskforce
This public-private taskforce would lead the thinking on the future of tourism in New Zealand.

It would consist of cross-government and tourism sector representatives and would prioritise the current and future issues that would shape and impact tourism, and lead recommendations on further policy and regulatory reform in the sector.

Tourism New Zealand had its budget preserved at $112m with the agency’s chief executive, Stephen England-Hall, saying it would have an “important role to play to support New Zealand’s economic recovery”.

He said the agency would work to keep the New Zealand brand alive internationally and prepare international market response plans in advance of the country’s borders reopening.

Budget 2020 also contained:

• $50bn Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund to deliver Covid-19 response and economic recovery plan
• $4bn business support package, including a targeted $3.2bn wage subsidy extension
• $3bn infrastructure investment and 8,000 public house building programme
• $1.4bn for trades and apprenticeships training package
• $1bn environmental jobs package
• $3.3bn new funding to strengthen core services including health and education

Grant Robertson

Finance minister Grant Robertson said the $50bn Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund would target investment at protecting existing jobs, creating new ones and providing support for workers to retrain and for businesses to survive, as well as targeting support to those sectors most affected by the virus.

The extension of the wage subsidy would be open for applications for a 12-week period and would be paid as an eight-week lump sum to employers at the same weekly rates as the current scheme.

From 10 June, businesses that have suffered, or expected to suffer, revenue loss of at least 50% for the 30-day period prior to the application date versus the nearest comparable period last year would be eligible for the extension of the scheme.

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The Department of Conservation would receive $200m for its Jobs for Nature Fund, aimed to create jobs, boost predator control efforts, restore wetlands, and regenerate planting. The fund also helped improve tracks, huts and other recreational and visitor assets on public conservation land.

Eugenie Sage

Conservation minister Eugenie Sage said DOC would work with councils, iwi and local businesses such as tourism operators to provide nature-based jobs.

“As well as getting people back to work, this initiative will support household incomes, and promote mental health and wellbeing for the people involved,” Sage said.

“The funding will enable iwi, businesses, and councils working with government agencies like DOC to employ thousands of people across New Zealand to better look after our natural landscapes, native bush, birds, waterways and coast.”

The Budget would also see $433m injected into regional environmental projects that would create 4000 jobs over five years.

Environment minister David Parker said the programme would deliver huge benefits to local businesses, accelerate regional economic recovery and advance national and regional environmental priorities.

“This initiative has been designed specifically in response to the impact of Covid-19,” Parker said.

“This package allows businesses considering redundancies and downscaling to redeploy their staff on environmentally focused activities in their home region. When those businesses are able to rehire again, workers can return to their previous roles.”

Biosecurity would receive $315m, including $148m for DOC to ramp up pest control and eradication, while $154m had been prioritised for new jobs designed to enhance biodiversity on public and private land.

“This investment in nature will not only support thousands of people with jobs but pay dividends for generations to come by giving nature a helping hand,” Sage said.

The Government was also investing $41.4m across three years into initiatives in the construction, digital and agritech sectors.

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Finance minister Grant Robertson’s Budget 2020 today included $230m to encourage entrepreneurship and risk-taking to help kickstart growth, as well as support for small and medium-sized enterprises.

About $16m had been prioritised to strengthen New Zealand’s brand in priority markets by maintaining, promoting and broadening its national appeal, particularly while the tourism sector was recovering.

“This investment will re-emphasise our reputation for safety, trust, resilience, ingenuity, innovation, sustainability and high-value goods and services through the highly successful New Zealand Story strategy,” Robertson said.

Economic development minister Phil Twyford said a $10m fund was being set up to provide incentives and grants to encourage e-commerce, train more digital advisors and provide information and support for SMEs wanting to incorporate e-commerce into their business models.

The fund was supported by a $2.3m investment to enable business.govt.nz to work with 200 partners to deliver tailored recovery guidance and advice to 600,000 small businesses.

Twyford said resources would focus on how to forecast and manage cash flow and adapt their businesses, obtain finance to meet needs now and for future growth, and market their businesses in New Zealand – especially tourism – and globally.

Trade and export growth minister David Parker said New Zealand had an opportunity to “leverage off the success we’ve had fighting Covid – the rest of the world is looking at us”.

“By supporting Kiwi businesses to take full advantage of New Zealand’s world-leading brand and reputation, we’re making sure that every opportunity is available for our businesses, which will, in turn, create jobs and lift wages.”

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The money will come from the Government’s $400m Tourism Recovery Fund, which is focused on helping the sector recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pania Tyson-Nathan

“Tourism operators will be relieved at the extended wage subsidy, a new contingency fund and a strategic assets programme announced in Budget 2020, which recognises the long road ahead for many thousands of businesses and people who work in the sector,” NZ Māori Tourism chief executive Pania Tyson-Nathan said.

“As New Zealand’s largest export sector, we’ve been particularly hard hit by the closure of international borders and domestic lockdown measures to control the spread of Covid-19.

“Today marks the beginning of the recovery as businesses like Rotorua’s Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland reopen their doors for local visitors.”

Tyson-Nathan wanted the planned Tourism Recovery Ministers Group and the Tourism Futures Taskforce to address the burden of cumulative compliance costs on tourism businesses, which were already under pressure.

“Even a short-term reprieve on these costs would go a long way to help operators to keep their doors open in the tough times ahead, while also enabling them to improve productivity,” she said.

Māori tourism operators employed about 14,000 people across the country.

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Speaking at Wednesday’s 1pm Covid-19 update, Ardern said the Government’s number one priority under the Budget would be jobs.

“That means doing all we can to support people staying in their current job, or moving to a new one if needed,” she said.

Jacinda Ardern

“A relentless focus on jobs, economy and businesses is what is required now for the wellbeing of New Zealanders.”

Budget 2020 would be delivered by finance minister Grant Robertson at 2pm today.

“Our plan is to invest. By investing we will create jobs to get the economy moving again,” Ardern said.

“I know the last seven weeks have been a huge challenge to business, which has been why our first phase in our response has been entirely focused on assisting businesses to stay afloat and supporting New Zealanders to stay connected to their jobs.

“Sitting alongside the wage subsidy has been the largest suite of tax changes modern history, aimed at freeing up cashflow when businesses could not trade. While these measures have worked so far, our employment rate will sadly increase.”

The prime minister said the global economy was predicted to contract by 3% in 2020, much worse than during the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-2008.

“Around the world unemployment will rise significantly, businesses will fail and close. Government revenue will decline and we will feel the pain here too. If we make the right choice, we can get New Zealanders back to work and our economy moving quickly again.”

Ardern added the Government’s quick response to the virus had allowed for other economic opportunities.

“A possible trans-Tasman bubble, when safe, could see New Zealand and Australia opening great 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,” she said.

“It is not business as usual. There is no playbook for the recovery we are about to embark on.

“The next stage of our rebuilding journey together is recovery. Our focus now is the jobs and incomes of businesses and New Zealanders. Budget 2020 is the first step in this phase.”

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