Govt announces temporary $490 per week payment for Kiwis unemployed due to Covid-19
The $570 million scheme, called the Covid Income Reflief Payment, is aimed to help people adjust and find new employment or retrain. It will be available for 12 weeks from June 8 for anyone who has lost their job due to the impact of Covid-19 since March 1. It will pay $490 a week to those who lost full-time work and $250 for part-time. The payment will also not be taxed. "The Government’s priority is making sure people are in work and able to find new work if their job has been impacted by Covid," Mr Robertson said. "That’s why we made a $1.6 billion investment in the Budget to help people retrain. The Budget also invested to create practical jobs for New Zealanders through environmental work, construction and infrastructure. This payment will help Kiwis as they make these transitions." Mr Robertson compared the scheme to the Job Loss Cover payment, which was introduced by the previous Government during the Canterbury earthquakes. He also said it had similarities to the ReStart package for workers who lost their jobs in the Global Financial Crisis. "We know these schemes reduced the impact on people who lost their jobs due to those shocks. They show how important it is for people to have a safety net to support themselves and their families as they look for new work or retrain.
"As we move from the respond and recover phases of our Covid response, and towards rebuilding the economy, we have an opportunity to reset some of the foundations of the safety net for working New Zealanders."
=========================================================
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
2025: The Year of Puzzling It Out!
There’s a one-story house where everything is yellow.
The walls are yellow, the doors are yellow, and even the furniture is yellow.
What colour are the stairs?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
Want to stop seeing riddles in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.