By Dominic Taylor-
An estimated 50 businesses including former National Party MP Aaron Gilmore’s property rental venture were given a total of about $1 million in relief payments by the Newzealand Government due to the impact of the Parliament protests earlier this year.
Critics of the Newzealand government say the financial support was a drop in the ocean given the wide losses made by many businesses, and the amount of money the Newzealand government has.
A list of businesses that successfully applied for a slice of the $1.2m relief fund established by the council and the Government was released by Wellington Council.
Among them was Aaron Gilmore’s Mighty Rocket Properties which was given $21,100.
Businesses who faced more than a 50% drop-off in trade due to the Parliamentary protests earlier this year were eligible to apply for a one-off payment of up to $30,000. In total, 91 businesses applied for a grant.
Eighteen businesses received the maximum available grant of $30,000, with $2000 being the smallest amount provided.
Some of the notable establishments in the area to apply included: The Backbencher, The Thistle Inn, Vanilla Cafe, Juniper Restaurant, The Terrace Superette, Trax Bar and Cafe and Panache.
Council economic wellbeing manager Anna Calver said the occupation was “devastating” for many businesses in the area.
“They were either forced to shut completely or suffered massive downturns in custom due to the disruption and intimidation associated with the protest.”
The council contributed $1 million to the fund while the Government paid in $200,000.
Alistair Boyce, owner of The Backbencher Gastropub near Parliament, was disappointed by the Government’s token contribution to the relief fund.
Backbencher owner Alistair Boyce reckons businesses of a comparable size would have lost around $1 million over the two years of the Government responses to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Anything helps, but it’s a bandaid when you’ve lost your leg.”
“It wasn’t all about the protest. The protest shut down a lot of businesses, but we were totally impacted anyway being in the red traffic light and having to do the mandate.”
Boyce described the Government’s $200,000 contribution as “pure tokenism”.
Seven businesses may yet receive payments from the remaining $225,400 in the fund if they could provide documents that supported their claims, the council said.
Council used a set of criteria to determine which businesses qualified for payments.
Eligible businesses had their lost income for the months of February and March calculated, and they were allocated a portion of the $1.2mn based on the level of their lost income as a percentage of all lost income for all eligible businesses.
“Clearly there were instances where the impact of the occupation was felt more than in other parts of the city,” Calver said.