The SME Stream Weekly Wrap - 10th September

0:00Kia ora and welcome to the SME Stream Weekly Wrap. My name is Willa Mena Ok, and I'm here to wrap up all of the latest business news you need to know. Now as a small business owner myself, I know what it's like to do it all. It's hard enough trying to keep up with your own day to day, let alone what's happening with the economy and how it affects you. But don't worry, because that's where I come in. Pulling together everything you need to know, all may have missed into a short digestible audio snack, so that you can stay informed all while focusing on the tasks that matter most to your business. This week, Nationals bid tax alternative, the lag and our unemployment rate and the surge in Kiwi Saper hardship withdrawals. Plus, we unpack what the latest election promises mean for your finances. After scrapping its long, promised bid tax, Nationals now offering a new option for funding

1:01local tourism. If elected leader Christopher Luxon says the party would divert some of the international visitor levy from conservation and tourism over to councils. It says that would give councils $86 million in the first year, climbing above 100 million annually after three years. Luxon says it's the best option as a bid tax would disproportionately impact domestic tourists. Our approach gives regions the tools that they need to manage tourism pressures funded by international visitors, not by a new tax on Kiwi. Our National Stadium has welcomed the bid tax alternative. Edem Park Chief Executive Nick Sortner says it'd give promoters confidence to come here. It's a very competitive market with the East Coast of Australia and also West of Australia. So this gives us an opportunity to secure the biggest artists in the world. And there's confidence all regions will benefit from the international visitor levy revenue, with councils splitting the $86 million based on their number of international visitor nights. Hospitality NZ board member Garth Solli says that means even smaller regions

2:03are likely to see results. The reality is anything coming into work and has a flow and effect. They have to start here and they're going to be spending a lot around the rest of the country. Queenstown's mayor says the alternative is better than nothing. The town would get $17.1 million in the first year with John Glover saying it's a good start. It's not as good as only local accommodation levy, but it's better than what we've got at the moment, which is very, very little. Overseas visitors have been encouraged to get out of the main centres, so our tourist hotspots stay fully booked all year round. The government's putting $5 million into six initiatives designed to entice travellers to visit the regions ahead of the peak season. Rotorua NZ will lead a $995,000 food campaign focused on Chinese visitors, as well as co-leading another aimed at Australian and US tourists. Mayor Tynia Tapsal says the overseas focus is important. Big part about this announcement is making sure that in those quiet to one-for-season, our businesses, our workers aren't doing it tough because we don't have enough to

3:06master travel. Finding a job isn't going to get a whole lot easier any time soon. The latest Reserve Bank projection suggests unemployment probably won't increase, but is likely to ease very gradually. Unemployment rates still remain much higher in Northland and Auckland and among under 25s. Reserve Bank Governor Anna Bremen says she's very aware of the situation facing many people, particularly young people and the long-term unemployed. This is still a really tough labour market for many households, not a strong labour market yet. Auckland Business Chamber Chief Executive Simon Bridges says while the tech sector's hiring more people, Auckland's experiencing a slow, gradual, variable, shambling recovery. The sky's settling off a couple of hundred. We could so go spark in others. Well over a thousand jobs actually just in the CBD that have gone. A surge in Kiwi Sava hardship withdrawals is showing no signs of letting up. The latest in-land revenue data shows financial hardship withdrawals have been outpacing those

4:09for first homes since 2022. Just over 5,000 hardship withdrawals were made in July this year compared to about 4,600 for first homes. Generate investment specialist Gred Smith says these withdrawals are acting as a financial safety net. We would probably expect as we draw towards the end of the year that hardship withdrawals are gained pick up as they often do from the season or to speak to the end of November and December. More in the pipeline after the government announced the first loans from its gas security fund. It's investing $23.5 million into two projects, including drilling a new well and accessing deeper gas at existing fields. Both will be run by Todd Energy while there are 17 other proposals sitting on the government's desk. Energy Resources, Alta Do, a chief executive John Carnegie says that's significant. There's clearly a wider pipeline of potential investment here covering more than these two projects and the opportunities to turn more of these proposals into drilling, development

5:11and new gas supply. Resources Minister Shane Jones says the government loan book is necessary to entice business back into the gas industry. People have been unwilling and will remain unwilling on their own to continue to invest and take a risk of this subprose that the entire sector will be closed down again. The cost of construction is ramping up again thanks to rebounding diesel prices piling on the prisha. QV Cost Builders August figures show after two months of stability the average building cost per square meter for residential buildings rose 1.1% this quarter. This lifts annual residential building cost growth to 3.3%. Sparksperson Simon Peterson says diesel is the culprit. It's prices fall in June and July but then it bounced back up and that's obviously flowed through into construction costs. But despite that New Zealand's still had a positive corporate reporting season, Forsyth Bar analysis of the 31 companies results released last month shows earnings per share growth increased by 21% on average.

6:15For 15 of those results, beat expectations, seven were in line and nine missed. Forsyth Bar head of research Andy Bowley says most companies haven't been as impacted by the war as feared. There are some sectors that are facing more challenging demand, environments and cost environments than others but there are some that have bounced back significantly. A warning, scammers may be changing their disguise rather than their tactics. Ned Safe has found 34% of scams in August were pretending to be a bank up from 20% between April and July. Scams pretending to be a government agency fell from an average of 37 reports per month to just 11 last month. Ned Safe Chief Online Safety Officer Sean Lyon says most people are likely to engage when they believe they're dealing with an organisation they know and trust like a bank. RETALERS say digital labeling is the way of now not just the future.

7:21Regulations Minister David Seymour has announced an overhaul of labeling rules following some ministry recommendations to align with global standards. Once developed he expects it could generate $111 million in net benefits over a decade. Retail NZ CEO Carolyn Young says it will make it easier to sell and export New Zealand products with other benefits. The election promises are coming in thick and fast but what will they actually mean for your finances? This week's episode of the prosperity project unpacks all of the latest policies, starting off with nationals No New Taxes Promise.

8:33The same time we've got a bill that's just passed through Parliament for time of use charging for congestion charging in Aucklanders in a couple of years time might be paying to come into the city. You pay for a toll road if you if you head out north we've got more toll roads coming on the way. Those are fees, levies, charges, taxes, whatever you want to call them and I think there is a difference between a tax and a levy and it's just it feels a bit like it's a political stick for national to hit label with without potentially thinking it entirely through. You can catch the full episode in the Smithstream. And that's it for the weekly rat we'll be back again next Friday with all of the latest business news and of course the best bits in the Smithstream.