Government must step up to save vital regional air routes
Loss of regional air routes rips out lifelines for our communities – literally, in the case of Blenheim to Christchurch.
This is a critical healthcare link for Marlborough people needing specialist treatment such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy and day surgery in Christchurch.
As of September 28, that's gone and they face an about four-hour drive, one way.
Regional air services are the backbone of connectivity for New Zealand, not just healthcare and holidaymakers but business, education, freight and emergency response capability.
The Kaikōura earthquake and Cyclone Gabrielle showed us just how vital these regional air routes and carriers are in times of crisis, delivering vital supplies and medical care to cut-off communities.
With extreme weather events now part of life, they are becoming even more important.
Yet our regional carriers that serve smaller centres, supplementing Air New Zealand's domestic network, are struggling.
They face a growing burden of compliance costs across a range of government agencies that intersect with the industry.
This also includes other government charges such as ACC levies and airport landing fees.
Alongside the CAA's hikes, government air traffic control agency Airways New Zealand this week set a 6% average annual price increase.
These hikes amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars per year for regional carriers, on top of fee increases from airports and growing operational and maintenance costs.
The assumption is that operators can pass the cost on to the passenger, but there comes a point where that's not feasible.
This leads to route cuts, aircraft sales and staff losses and once gone, these are very difficult to bring back.
The Government says it wants to partner with the industry to 'build an aviation sector that continues to be a pillar of New Zealand's economy and a lifeline for our communities'.
Its goal is to transition the CAA into a 100% industry-funded regulatory body (it is already 90% industry-funded) and rely on market forces to lift the sector and support regional communities.
This is wrong. As with Crown funding for critical infrastructure such as rail and roading, the Government plays a role in supporting access to safe and secure air services domestically and internationally.
This is in the wider public interest and good for New Zealand.
There are at least 30 countries around the world that support regional airlines in different ways.
In Australia, the Government has made a strong commitment to support access to safe and secure regional air services with a package of measures.
This includes access to concessional loans, something that has been floated here and is part of a possible solution.
Aviation services are essential to our regional communities and New Zealanders deserve access to them now and into the future.
If the Government really wants to support regional connectivity and deliver its economic growth plan, it urgently needs to lend a helping hand to our regional carriers so they can keep these routes in the air.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
an hour ago
- NZ Herald
Govt's conservation changes spark backlash over land protections
A major overhaul of conservation land law has sparked sharp criticism from Forest & Bird, which accuses the Government of gutting longstanding protections in favour of commercial interests. The Government's intended changes to the Conservation Act, unveiled at the National Party conference in Christchurch yesterday, aims to 'unleash growth'
NZ Herald
3 hours ago
- NZ Herald
KiwiSaver tips for self-employed: How to maximise retirement savings
Many in that situation opt to only contribute the amount required to get the maximum Government tax credit (and some don't even do that). But in this year's Budget that tax credit was halved, meaning you'll get a maximum of $260.72 from the Government provided you contribute at least $1042.86/year (and earn under $180,000). While that further waters down the appeal for the self-employed – in fairness it's still a 25% return and even before that change if that was all you were saving for retirement, you'd likely fall short of what you need. A report from the Retirement Commission last year suggested the Government increase its contribution for those who don't benefit from employer-matching – but I wouldn't hold your breath, especially when time is of the essence. So, if you're self-employed, what should you be doing with your KiwiSaver to ensure you're on track for retirement? Start with some number crunching I know, I know, 'figure out how much you'll need' sounds like tired advice. But it can be difficult to prioritise money going anywhere except into your bank account to fund your current existence unless you have a clear idea of why directing it elsewhere is essential. That starts with figuring out how much you might need in retirement and what you're currently on track to have. Websites like Sorted have brilliant calculators that can help you establish how much you'd have each week in retirement based on your current KiwiSaver settings – a number that might provide a wake-up call. Consider the best strategy for contributing One of the biggest challenges when you're self-employed is managing income fluctuations. Some months are killer, some are anaemic – and it's tricky to manage even just your regular fixed costs amid those ups and downs, let alone KiwiSaver. It's therefore worth considering how to make it work for your situation – to ensure it happens. For example, you could contribute a percentage of every invoice, so when times are lean less goes in, and vice versa. You could align payments based on the seasonality of your income or contribute a percentage of your profits when you do your GST (if GST registered) to ensure they happen. You could do a lump sum before the annual KiwiSaver balance date of June 30, but often big dollops of money are harder to find than smaller, regular amounts. Whichever method you choose, double check before June 30 that – at the absolute minimum – you'll qualify for the maximum Government tax credit. Review your fund type I'm beating a familiar drum here, I know – but I still come across people in their 40s who have perplexingly chosen 'conservative' funds, when they have decades before they can access their KiwiSaver, and are potentially missing out on significant returns. Don't make the same mistake. Consider a company structure I'll preface this point by saying: get good accounting advice, as there are many things to consider here aside from just your KiwiSaver. But to get you thinking – if you're operating as a sole trader, you and the business are one and the same, whereas if you form a company, the business is a separate legal entity. If you only take drawings from that company, as many business owners do, anything you put into KiwiSaver will be considered a drawing and taxed accordingly. However, if you pay yourself a PAYE salary as an employee of your company, the company contributes the 'employer' side of your KiwiSaver contributions, which becomes a tax-deductible business expense (noting here that employers pay an Employment Superannuation Contribution Tax based on the employee's tax rate, reducing the amount that goes into the employee's account). This isn't about avoiding tax but using legitimate structures to ensure you utilise a system that is currently not designed well for anyone who isn't an employee. But I repeat – take professional advice. Can you sell your business? KiwiSaver may not make up the entirety of your retirement nest egg even if you are an employee, benefiting from employer contributions, but the case for diversification goes double for those in business and contributing less – and your business could be one of those irons on the fire. For many small business owners, however, you are the business – and as soon as you're not working in it, it ceases to make money or be worth anything. But some could grow their business into something that has a life beyond their working years, and therefore potentially have some realisable value. I'm peppering in 'some' 'could' and 'potentially' because it isn't necessarily easy. It involves succession planning, investing in business assets, systems, IP, keeping personal costs separate, maximising profit, perhaps vendor financing. In short, it's not a small task, but if you have enough time and energy, there's potential. Just don't make it your only plan – business cycles can disrupt even the best-laid plans – which is why including KiwiSaver in your retirement planning mix is still worth considering.
NZ Herald
6 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Why are we more likely to buy when our options are limited?
Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech. Why are we more likely to buy when our options are limited? Good business sense using consumer psychology. Photo / Getty Images Every city has its signatures. In Ho Chi Minh City it was someone pointing at my sneakers and offering to clean them. In Da Nang it was, 'Taxi, sir?' and in Hội An it's been, 'Want a boat ride?' We have resolutely fought off all efforts to part us from our money. Well, most efforts. It was our first afternoon in Hội An, a historical port city in central Vietnam, home to a Unesco world-heritage ancient town. We'd gone in search of a particular tailor, recommended to us by our hotel and breathless English tourists on TikTok. At the first street corner, I got out my phone to check directions, and 15 minutes later we were at a completely different tailor, having been expertly waylaid by one of their 'scouts', who'd seen us and asked if she could offer directions … The next day we did a lantern-making class at our hotel, led by the ever-patient tutor, Moon. Moon asked us what we had planned and made a few recommendations, including one for dinner at the Citadel restaurant at which a friend of hers worked. That evening, we followed her advice and had a frankly delightful evening marked by fantastic food, an absolutely lovely waitress, Anna, and regular check-ins from Gray, the manager (who also happens to be a Kiwi). As with every restaurant we visited, we had to force ourselves to sit back and enjoy the experience; at no point did we ever feel like we had to rush to finish, pay, and give up our table to the next customer. Not like, ahem, at home in Wellington. What do these latter examples have in common? Bloody good business sense based on friendliness and strategic use of consumer psychology. Having recently hosted friends visiting Wellington from overseas, my heart was warmed by hearing them say how friendly New Zealanders are, but it's a step change to Vietnamese hospitality. For example, first and last impressions count or, in technical terms, primacy and recency. We make impressions incredibly quickly and largely unconsciously, and research shows that, while we care deeply about how good the chef is, we have to be drawn in first to find out. That can hang entirely on the rapport we sense from our first encounter. When we left the restaurant, Anna farewelled us by our names (which she remembered several days later when we happened to pass by). That's a personal touch that leaves a positive impression. Ever started to feel tense because wait staff check in on you a little too frequently? Or neglected because they don't check in at all? That's another tricky balance, and one that requires a bit of intuition about the best time to stop by. Another thing Citadel did well, but almost every other restaurant we ate at didn't, was a sensibly curated set of options. Ever eaten at the American restaurant chain The Cheesecake Factory? The menu runs to more than 200 items and around 20 pages. It is frankly exhausting. You get to a point where you no longer care what you order, you just want to make it stop. Psychology researchers Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper are probably best associated with the notion of this 'paradox of choice'. In a particularly well-known experiment they showed that people may be more likely to head over to a counter offering 24 types of jam than a counter with only six, but people were 10 times more likely to buy jam when the number of types available was reduced from 24 to six. Why? Because what if you make the wrong choice? The more choices, the harder the decision, and the greater the likelihood of buyer's remorse. So in keeping with this research, we broke our holiday rule and went back to the Citadel and its more limited number of choices a second time.
