New Zealand outstrips Australia, UK and US with $12 billion coronavirus package for business and people in isolation
- Written by Liz Minchin, Executive Editor, New Zealand
New Zealand will spend NZ$12.1 billion to support businesses, increase benefits for seniors and low-income families, pay people who can’t work because of self-isolation, and boost virus testing and intensive care capacity.
The NZ government’s new economic package is roughly equivalent to 4% of New Zealand’s annual gross domestic product – “dwarfing” Australia’s coronavirus response to date, according to The Conversation’s Australian business editor Peter Martin, and going further than US or UK government responses.
Authors: Liz Minchin, Executive Editor, New Zealand