MP claims wage subsidy
National MP Alastair Scott is defending his wine company’s claim of more than $170,000 from the Government’s wage subsidy during what has been called an outstanding season for winegrowers.
Scott’s company, Matahiwi Vineyard, which he owns outright, was paid $171,451 on behalf of 26 employees, according to the Ministry of Social Development’s (MSD) website. Critics say large, successful companies with wealthy shareholders should have been able to sustain themselves during the Covid-19 crisis, rather than calling on the taxpayer.
MSD says businesses were required to take steps such as drawing on cash reserves and talking to their bank before applying.
The subsidy scheme was announced in March and ended on June 9, with $11 billion paid to 1.7 million employees. It has been extended for eight weeks on tighter criteria.
Scott is a multi-millionaire former investment banker who worked as a senior manager at Credit Suisse in London and Tokyo. He was elected to Parliament in 2014, drawing comparisons to then-prime minister John Key, who was also headhunted for National after a international finance.
According to the register of MPs’ financial interests, Scott has interests in various funds and family trusts, as well as the vineyard land and properties worth millions of dollars in Wellington, Eastbourne and Ohope Beach.
Scott, who is not standing for re-election this year, said his wine company met the criteria for the subsidy because it had recorded revenue declines of 30 per cent or more during the first part of the year.
Vineyard staff were able to continue working through all levels of lockdown because it was considered an essential service. career in
But exports and sales to restaurants were impacted, Scott said.
Asked whether people in his position should have called on their own resources to get through the crisis, Scott said: ‘‘It is a subsidy directed to qualifying businesses only, large or small, to support them to support employees. The quality of the balance sheet is not a qualifying factor.’’
Scott said he topped up the subsidy so his staff were earning their normal wages throughout the period.
Jayne Russell, MSD’s group general manager employment, said applicants for the wage subsidy were required to declare that they have taken ‘‘active steps’’ to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on their business. This included engaging with their bank, drawing on cash reserves as appropriate, and making an insurance claim.
‘‘While applicants are not required to show what steps they have taken when they apply, they may be required to demonstrate this as part of any audit undertaken by MSD. What is appropriate will depend on the circumstances of each business,’’ Russell said.
Several other wineries and vineyards in the Wairarapa region also claimed the subsidy, according to the MSD website.
NZ Winegrowers announced last week that ‘‘an excellent summer throughout most of the country has contributed to an outstanding vintage for New Zealand’s wine regions’’. Exports were up 6 per cent on last year, the organisation said.
Chief executive Philip Gregan told Stuff while there had been strong demand for New Zealand wine in supermarkets and online, wineries that focused on the hospitality trade and specialist retail had ‘‘taken a real hit’’.
‘‘Given the closures or restrictions on those market segments there is no doubt sales ... have been negatively impacted, and wineries affected will have needed to apply for the wage subsidy.’’