It's hard to say no to free money - but should the government be giving it out?

The head of Kiwibank has suggested the government look into grants rather than loans, in order to help businesses.

He says businesses are reluctant to take out loans because of risk, tricky application processes, and complicated conditions.

Auckland Business Chamber boss Michael Barnett told Mike Hosking it's a bad idea to hand out money without a rigorous process behind it.

“A grant option could have been made available, but those should have been applied for instead of given out, like they were in Australia.”

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