March 17, 2020
PGF cushion in economic slowdown
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Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones says the coronavirus crisis may be what’s needed to overcome red tape slowing up the release of money from the $3 billion Provincial Growth Fund.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson will this afternoon unveil an economic package to help firms get through the crisis, as tourism freezes up and trade slows.
Mr Jones says they are extraordinary circumstances, but the PGF is already acting as a stimulus for regional New Zealand, recapitalising its infrastructure and providing a foundation for future growth.
He says it’s time to turbocharge that effort.
"And a challenge for getting dough out the door into the community and into the engines of commerce via infrastructure is it takes a long time and this may be an opportunity where we start to dispense with a lot of the unnecessary levels of regulatory if we want, and I think the community is going to demand it, money to continue to flow in our economy," Minister Jones says
Shane Jones
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