Mike's Minute: The tourist levy doesn't improve our plight

There are a number of things that stand out to me post-Covid that are disappointing.

Obviously the recessionary state this place has been in and the carnage it has caused, and continues to cause, although they are all ultimately tied to the one major event.

But tourism stands out as the most clear example of something we had and something we have now lost.

Heather du Plessis-Allan: I don't think now's the time for a higher tourist levy

Today, the Government has done the thing that the tourism industry was hoping they wouldn't do and increased the visitor levy - the amount that tourists pay to come here - from $35 bucks to $100.

That is the high end of what they were considering. The Government could have gone with $50, or $70, or just left it at $35. But they went full noise to $100.

Now in principle, I'm on board with this. I've long thought tourists need to pay more for what they use here, because if they're not paying for it, we're subsidising them.