1 o Hui-tanguru 2023
Hon Grant Robertson
Minister of Finance
Hon Peeni Henare
Incoming Minister of Tourism
Kei te rangatira, tēnā kōrua
Minister Henare, congratulations on your appointment as the Minister of Tourism. We have
enjoyed working with you in your previous roles, including as Minister of Civil Defence and
Associate Minister of Tourism, and we look forward to continuing that work as you take on this
new role.
I would like to thank you both for the work you are doing to support businesses impacted by the
recent extreme weather events. As the representative body for more than 2,500 hospitality
businesses across the country, our members were very appreciative that I was able to both
provide them with an update from the Government and communicate some of their worries
directly at the meeting, as part of the Auckland Business Roundtable, on Sunday 29 January 2023.
Despite it being the previous Minister of Tourism present at that meeting, I believe that this update
will be helpful to you both.
During the meeting we outlined some of the most pressing concerns raised by our members,
including the importance of clear and targeted communications as well as financial support. Since
our meeting, we have conducted a member survey and can now provide more information on the
immediate impact to our members of the recent extreme weather events. The results of that
survey are attached, and I want to draw your attention to some of the key findings:
- 75 percent of respondents have seen a significant downturn in trade, particularly in
- Auckland, Coromandel and the Bay of Plenty areas where the anniversary weekend is
- traditionally a busy weekend for the hospitality industry.
- 54 percent of respondents have experienced material damage to their business as a
- result of the weather.
- 55 percent have been forced to close their doors due to:
- damage to their building (60 percent)
- staff unable to travel to work (68 percent)
- road closures (40 percent) and
- reservation cancellations (20 percent).
Other issues of note include interruptions to the supply chain causing shortages of food, and
insurance contracts not covering financial downturns or damage due to natural disasters. Several
of our members have also raised issues with negotiating a variation with their landlords, which is
an area of particular interest that you mentioned at our meeting.
We appreciate that this is an ongoing and dynamic situation that is likely to be with us for some
time – and despite its framing as a 1-in-100-year weather event, it is clear that the impacts of
climate change mean these extreme weather events will become more frequent.
Our businesses need certainty during these trying times, and we’ve learnt from the pandemic that
such certainty is delivered through clear policy responses developed in partnership with our
sector, as well as relevant communications to small businesses like ours. The Restaurant
Association remains ready to assist with the development of these responses, and to support the
dissemination of such communications across our industry.
Please do not hesitate to let us know how we can assist at this time, or if you require any further
information. Thank you for your support and ongoing engagement.
Ngā mihi nui,
Marisa Bidois
Tāhūhū Rangapū (Chief Executive)
Restaurant Association of New Zealand