The Drought and the Coronavirus effect
While some are enjoying a long, hot summer and see it as a blessing many of us are now starting to feel the results of the recently announced drought in Northland. With water restrictions firmly in place for much of the Far North, and restrictions about to come into force for the Whangarei district, we are starting to hear anecdotal evidence of the effects of the drought, together with the effects of the coronavirus, on a number of Northland’s vital economic lifelines. These include the fire risk in our forests restricting working hours and a lack of grass on farms meaning more cattle are going to the works than is normal, with this glut leading to an inevitable drop in income for farmers. These effects, along with one of our largest trading partners for both logs and meat, China, closing its borders to imports will have significant long term effects on the Northland economy on the large scale, and closer to home, may create significant hardship on our friends and neighbours in these industries.
We are always available to support our clients in any manner we are able to when these adverse events happen, be that as support when meeting with your bank, as a liaison with Inland Revenue Department to access assistance and tax relief options, or simply as a sounding board or source of advice. Please contact your client manager or director if there is anything that we can do to help.