Three out of five Māori authorities were classified as essential services during COVID-19, Stats NZ said today.
Māori authorities are businesses involved in the collective management of assets held by Māori and are predominately in the agriculture, non-residential property operations, and manufacturing industries.
By contrast, one-half of Māori small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were classified as essential. Māori businesses classified as essential were mainly in agriculture, manufacturing, and health services.
"Essential businesses, providing health services, food, and other items to the community, were key to supporting the country under COVID-19 alert levels," business statistics senior manager Darren Allan said.
Māori authorities had the highest proportion of businesses fully operational during alert level 4. Nearly two-fifths were operating fully, compared with around one-fifth for each of Māori SMEs, and all New Zealand businesses.
| Financial response | Māori authorities | Māori SMEs | Māori tourism businesses |
| Accessed government financial support | 46 | 77 | 94 |
| Arranged rent reductions or deferment with landlord | 15 | 38 | 56 |
| Postponed or cancelled any planned new capital investment | 38 | 37 | 56 |
| Reduced stock inventory | 15 | 19 | 50 |
| Closed part(s) of the business | 15 | 10 | 31 |
Less than half of Māori authorities accessed government financial support in 2020, compared with three in four businesses for each of Māori SMEs and all New Zealand businesses. More than 90 percent of Māori tourism businesses accessed government financial support.
"Māori authorities had more businesses that were able to fully operate during COVID-19, meaning they had less need to access support compared with other businesses," Mr Allan said.
Māori businesses adapt in response to COVID-19
Many Māori businesses adapted their processes and operations in response to COVID-19 restrictions. The most common changes were to meet social distancing requirements. Across all business types four-fifths of all businesses surveyed made changes to their physical environment for social distancing purposes.
"The need to protect whānau and kaumātua and ensure continued employment during such a vulnerable time may have contributed to the measures Māori businesses undertook to stay operational," Mr Allan said.
Māori businesses made other adaptations in response to COVID-19, including re-deploying staff, reducing work hours, and adapting to new markets.
Text alternative for Proportion of Māori businesses that took selected actions in response to COVID-19, 2020
Diagram shows 38% of Māori authorities re-deployed staff to different roles. 53% of Māori SMEs reduced work hours for existing staff. 50% of Māori tourism businesses adapted their business for new markets.
Information is from the business operations survey, which reports on businesses with six or more employees.
Businesses were surveyed from August to December 2020 about how they responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
