Wage subsidy challenged

A Christchurch businessman has issued a court challenge to the Auditor-general over the wage subsidy scheme. The Gama Foundation, a philanthropic organisation run by Grant Nelson, has filed a Judicial Review application in Wellington s High Court. Nelson has been investigating the scheme after concerns the Auditor-general failed to help retrieve billions of dollars wrongly obtained or retained by businesses. He said the scheme’s high-trust model was wide open to abuse and the Ministry of Social Development failed to ask recipients to provide evidence of eligibility.