17 Sep 2020

'Jobs for Nature' delays blamed for tourism redundancies

From Checkpoint, 5:53 pm on 17 September 2020

A South Island tourism operator says he could have prevented redundancies if wasn't for delays to a nature-based job creation scheme.

More than $1 billion was earmarked for the Jobs for Nature programme in May as part of the government's cross-agency Covid-19 recovery package to run over four years.

Today, Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage announced an extra $19.7 million for kiwi conservation aimed to reverse the decline of the species.

While the funding has been welcomed, some applicants have been waiting months in limbo unsure if they'll get a green light.

Tourism reporter Tess Brunton has more.