Page 63 - Print21 May-June 2020

Association News
The strangest of times
It has been a roller coaster couple of months for the New Zealand print industry, says PrintNZ CEO Ruth Cobb.
The year 2020 will certainly be one we will all remember. It presented us with the greatest
of challenges, but perhaps also incredible opportunities. Our industry is nothing if
not agile, and while it may be difficult at the moment to see the opportunities, I am sure there are some of you already working on it.
In February, even with Covid-19 in full swing in
China and Europe, we couldn’t envisage the change that was about to happen to our business and personal worlds. There
had been previous outbreaks
of Sars, Mers, Bird Flu, Ebola, none of which crept to our shores to any degree or had any effect on our day to day lives.
By mid-March Covid-19 had changed all that.
On Monday 16 March
we made the early decision
to cancel our training graduations – we wanted to take the lead, and ensure there was no unnecessary risk to
our industry. We managed
to squeeze in the Pride In Print Awards judging at the start of the week, but by Thursday New Zealand had closed its borders to anyone who was not a Kiwi, and all indoor gatherings of more than 100 were cancelled.
And so began a pathway
to the closure of many businesses and industries
that are the lifeblood of work for our industry – tourism, hospitality, events, retail, and many more.
On 21 March, the Prime Minister presented a four- level alert system and announced that we were
Ruth Cobb, CEO, PrintNZ
I also want to acknowledge the hard work of the owners and managers who have worked relentlessly during this time to ensure that their employees have a business to come back to.
at Level 2 already – where community transmission was likely and appropriate action needed to be taken. This
saw the introduction of the notion of enforced physical distancing and bubbles.
Two days later we moved to Level 3, which was simply the shutdown process for what would become known as lockdown for the next five weeks.
For our industry, the swift move to Level 4 created much confusion. Essential services were able to operate through Level 4, but the list was at best vague, and at worst prohibitive for print. By MBIE’s own admission, the guidance was not as detailed as it should have been.
PrintNZ lobbied hard in the three days prior to lockdown to ensure that we were included as part of all essential services supply chains, and with this approved it allowed some of the businesses in our industry to carry on full time, and others to undertake small amounts
of work that would at least see some cash continue to flow through the business.
We continued to lobby throughout this time to allow other sectors of the industry to be able to operate during Level 4, but there was little flexibility exhibited. Community newspapers and magazines were both particularly hard hit, with the government failing
to recognise the valuable role they play in the community. While a clearance was received for a small number of papers
to continue to publish, it was not enough to save some of our favourite, best-read magazine and newspaper titles, some of
which may never print again, and some which will never publish again.
But for the vast majority
of the industry business has been closed for five weeks
with no income, other than
the government wage subsidy, while rents and leases still need to be paid. My hat goes off to the landlords and suppliers that have provided some relief and flexibility to payments to help businesses weather the storm.
I also want to acknowledge the hard work of the owners and managers who have worked relentlessly during this time
to ensure that their employees have a business to come back to.
On 28 April, with community spread seemingly under control, we moved back to Level 3 and print businesses were once again able to operate. But work levels are unknown and will
be for quite some time to come as the economy starts the long climb back.
Now is the time we need
to start thinking outside the square looking at what our industry can turn its hand
to. Print is a vital cog in the economy – from the businesses that have supported essential services through to products such as catalogues and direct mail that will help revitalise our retail sector, and on to the new ideas that will be borne out of this crisis. Print will be there for all of it. As the economy creates a new normal we will need to pivot and adapt to create new opportunities for print.
To use the buzz word for 2020, these are “unprecedented times” and they call for extraordinary measures. We may be down, but we are far from out. 21
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