Justine Gilliland Venture Taranaki, Chief Executive:

- With Alert Level 4 extended until midnight Tuesday 24 August for all of New Zealand, complying with public health recommendations to be safe and minimise community impact is critical so we can return to lower alert levels as soon as we are able. Please ensure to check places of interest and if you are feeling unwell isolate and call Healthline about a free Covid-19 test. By getting a test, you are helping keep our community safe. Getting our vaccinations as soon as possible must also be a top priority.

- There is uncertainty around how long we may remain at this alert level; this is an unsettling and stressful time for many enterprises who are unable to operate.

- As a region, Taranaki fared relatively well in the wake of the pandemic and lockdowns, and we remain well positioned to face this challenge again, having supported many of our enterprises with digital capability improvements so they’re able to operate as best possible in a lockdown situation.
- As a region, we have a comprehensive strategy that outlines our approach of working together to meet the challenges and changes ahead. This helps us be resilient and future-focused, so that we can take a proactive approach and work to stay in good shape, economically, environmentally and socially.
- Venture Taranaki is here to support enterprises. We encourage enterprises to contact us via the Venture Taranaki website enquiry form. This gives us the information we need to help enterprises the most efficiently, effectively, and quickly.
- The Government wage subsidy is also now available to businesses impacted by the move of Alert Level 4 on 17 August 2021. We will continue to keep our enterprise community updated on any other financial support that they may be eligible to access.

- We also encourage everyone to continue to champion the Go Local message and support local enterprises wherever you can. It is too early to tell what the impact of this change in alert level will look like, however continuing to Go Local is one way you can help our region’s resilience, and show aroha, tiaki, and awhina to your local community.
- Take care of each other and let’s work together, like we have done before, kia kaha, noho ora mai.

© Scoop Media