From page 1 // ‘Good news’ for builders

‘‘Although, the major thing will be getting the land to build the houses on, which is our biggest problem here at the moment,’’ Hopkins said.

For social service providers, the Government promised a $79m boost to food banks, $46m for community groups, and $22m for family violence services.

Marlborough Foodbank manager Wynnie Cosgrove said the Budget was ‘‘good news’’ for Marlborough welfare organisations, which had seen a huge increase in demand due to the pressures of the coronavirus pandemic.

‘‘When we compare our own statistics from April just gone to April last year we doubled the number of parcels,’’ she said.

Expecting an increase in demand when the wage subsidy was due to expire, she was encouraged to hear it had been extended another eight weeks.

But she said the real need would only become apparent in the next few weeks as agencies got back to work under level 2 and could reassess.

News of the Government’s $3.2b extension to the wage subsidy for a further eight weeks was a relief to Kaiko¯ura coffee shop owner Sharon Rayner.

‘‘It is a relief to hear that – it’s positive,’’ said Rayner, who reopened her cafe Bean Me Up yesterday as New Zealand moved to alert level 2.

‘‘There’s still people worried about going into shops. There isn’t the tourism now. It was very concerning for staff and for the future of Bean Me Up.’’

Marlborough Forestry Association executive officer Vern Harris said the wage subsidy extension would not be a saviour, but would offer a buffer to companies that were struggling.