WELLINGTON - New Zealand's economy is doing better than predicted, thanks to an early economic and health response to the coronavirus pandemic, the finance minister said on Monday.
The government announced plans to tackle a potential second wave of infections by setting aside NZ$14 billion from a COVID Response and Recovery Fund included in this year's budget in May. "The economy is doing better than expected and is more open than anywhere else in the world," Grant Robertson told a news conference.Robertson said the government was no longer considering 'helicopter' cash handouts, or the direct distribution of free cash to individuals as a form of policy stimulus for the economy, a strategy it had said in May was being discussed.
Although the economy has opened up to pre-pandemic levels, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has warned of a second wave of infections, such as those suffered by other countries.
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