Kate Hawkesby: Another public holiday is a bridge too far for some small businesses

What a relief and not before time that we’re waving goodbye to the traffic light system. Big raps to the Government for getting their heads around that.

We’ve moved on, and so should they. It was apparent yesterday when Grant Robertson said to Mike Hosking that they’ll ‘still take Covid seriously’ that they were laying the ground work for the naysayers, the panickers, those who’d freak out, that they were ‘still taking it seriously’, even though they were heaving the system out. 

I don’t know if that reassured mask lovers or not. I do think it’s a crock they’ve kept the mask rule for pharmacies, that seems a waste of time, I was talking to a pharmacist yesterday whose sick to death of wearing a mask all day, seems unfair they’ve been captured by that rule.

The greatest irony of the whole spiel from the PM though had to be when she said, “we take back control.” Ironic when this entire exercise has been about them having control.

Then there’s the public holiday announcement. I really feel for small business here. Yesterday I got a message from a busy hairdressing salon.. hairdressers of course knocked for six during lockdowns and some barely just clawing their way back. This business owner wrote to me saying they’re finally back on their feet and booked 4 to 5 weeks ahead for hair appointments. She said they would lose at least $2,500 in revenue on a closed day. 

She said Inland Revenue had put her on a payment plan this year to pay off her small business loan that she received during lockdown, and that she was under pressure to pay it all back.  

She pointed out they had no choice during the lockdown and had to take the loan if they were going to keep the business going. This year , she says, they’ve dealt with not only paying back that small business loan, but have had an extra five days sick leave added, another public holiday added, minimum wage increased, staff off with ten and then seven days isolating and pay topped up. 

It’s been a mission and punishing for small business owners, in fact for all business owners. She said when she heard the announcement of another day off , she burst into tears. She was ringing the IRD to ask them to stop the direct debits for her loan as this extra day off would kill her business she said.

So I really feel for people like her. Business NZ’s Kirk Hope said a day off should be voluntary but another public holiday shouldn’t be imposed on people.

Treasury estimate the cost of the extra public holiday will be $450 million, which some argue is unfair in a cost of living crisis.

But surely the biggest win, especially for those who protested against it, is the removal of mandates. All government mandates end in two weeks’ time, and not before time in my view. That’s been a brutal, and in many cases cruel, part of this process, and not something we should forget lightly. It destroyed people’s livelihoods and created immense division.

So I won’t miss the mandates, the masks, the drawn out orange light, the daily reporting of Covid cases, the lot.

I’m pleased to see it all go. Good riddance.

Kate Hawkesby is a political broadcaster on Newstalk ZB - her articles can be seen HERE.