News and views

There are a myriad of government measures to help support the business community while the rest of New Zealand concentrates on saving lives by observing the lockdown. The government’s objective is twofold. Firstly, to reduce the risk of businesses going under as well. Secondly, to maintain a healthy workforce so the business community can restart the economy once the restrictions are lifted.

On 24 March 2020, the Principal Family Court Judge, Judge Jacquelyn Moran, released a statement of guidance around the many questions posed for children in shared care and how this works with COVID-19.

On March 17, the Government announced a wage subsidy to support businesses affected by the Covid-19 crisis, particularly those struggling to meet their obligations to their employees. Here’s what you need to know about the wage subsidy.​​

The new travel restrictions introduced by the New Zealand government highlight the new reality facing many businesses and communities. The situation is fast-moving and with the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 increasing, the government has introduced new measures to `flatten the curve’.

February has always been a stressful month for parents and children going back to school. But March is proving even more stressful with the threat of self-isolation looming for many parents of school-age children.

A recent news story on the front page of the stuff.co.nz website featured two Wellington couples who were selling their dream home after owning and living in it together for seven years. One comment suggested the story normalised the fact that “housing is now unaffordable for most Kiwis.” The story also normalised the fact that the current generation are more open to property sharing than in the past.

On 30 January 2021, the new Trusts Act 2019 will come into effect, replacing the Trustee Act 1956. It’s the first major update to Trust laws in more than 70 years

​In the Winter 2019 edition of Property Speaking, we outlined schemes available to help first home buyers. Following the government’s announcement on 4 September 2019 of changes to the schemes, some schemes have been re-named.