David Farrar: Think how Labour would have dealt with the fuel crisis?

ACT points out:

It’s hard to see Adam Smith’s invisible hand of the market, perhaps that’s why media don’t report on its many successes. They’re first to complain when things go wrong, but who’s around to praise the market when it works? Free Press, that’s who, and this week we look at the crisis that wasn’t.

So, what happened to the fuel crisis? Only two months ago, it felt like we could be digging in for a COVID-level crisis. Shock jock commentators seemed to hope so, as they made scarier forecasts and called for deeper Government interventions.

David Farrar: Managing the fuel crisis

The Government announced:

The Government’s unprecedented contract with Z Energy for close to 90 million additional litres of diesel, equivalent to around nine days’ supply, has been signed, Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones say.

This will make a real difference.

Ryan Bridge: The real message in the Government's fuel plan

The most interesting thing about the fuel ration plan has nothing to do with fuel rationing.

Read the Q & A script the Minister's office provided and you quickly realise this thing will probably never see the light of day in any practical sense.

Trump would probably need to drop a nuke for us to get there.

David Farrar: NZ First voted against the Singapore FTA

NZ First voted against the Singapore free trade agreement in 2000. It is that FTA that has led to this latest extension:

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he discussed the potential for other countries to join a landmark deal that ensures essential supplies like fuel and pharmaceuticals make their way to New Zealand during a crisis.

Mike's Minute: How do you not have confidence in an event already sorted?

In a year of wacky polls and debate, we have this morning probably the maddest result of all.

Horizon research has either asked a leading or confusing question, or they have a misrepresentative group of people. Or the people who answered have other things in mind when they answered because the poll is about the fuel crisis.

Now the fuel "crisis", such as it is, has not actually been a crisis. You might argue in price it has, but it's peaked and the fears of $200 a barrel never happened and never came close.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: It's a matter of time before we head to the Strait

I’m inclined to think that at some stage and in some way we will be helping the US to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. It’s been revealed by American media that Trump has told US embassies around the world to pressure governments to help. Australia is considering assistance and so are we.

Dr Bryce Edwards: Democracy Briefing - Sleepwalking into the worst crisis since Covid

“Thought Covid was bad? If New Zealand runs out of diesel, Covid will look like the rehearsal.” That line from Matthew Hooton in the Herald this morning lands like a slap. Not because it’s designed to alarm, but because Hooton is making a precise argument, not a rhetorical one. During the pandemic, the circulatory system of the economy kept pumping. He explains today that trucks still delivered to supermarkets, harvesters still picked crops, milk tankers still collected from farms, and ambulances still ran. None of that is guaranteed now.

Steven Gaskell: Iran Faces Mounting Economic Pressure as Hormuz Blockade Ripples Globally.

As of late April 2026, the naval blockade around the Strait of Hormuz is inflicting severe economic damage on Iran, with analysts estimating losses of between US$435 million and US$500 million per day. The disruption has effectively paralysed Iran’s most critical export sector and is now sending shockwaves through the global economy.

Oceania Unfiltered with Aldebaran - BREAKING: Aussie Scientist ACCUSES Labor Government of Sabotaging Energy Security With Net Zero Lies

A climate scientist has just made a grave public accusation against Australia's Net Zero policies — and she's directly naming Albo's Labor government as responsible for the country's devastating fuel crisis. Anika Sweetland, a qualified climate scientist and former energy policy adviser to the Australian government, has come forward with a serious denouncement: the diesel and petrol shortages crippling Australia right now are not accidents. They're not due to the Iran conflict. They're the direct, deliberate result of Labor's Net Zero agenda.

Ryan Bridge: No queues means trust in fuel plan

There's been a bit of hand-wringing this week about the fuel situation and some of it is justified.

If you're running an airline, it's bad. If you're paying $4 bucks to fill a truck with diesel, also bad.

Clive Bibby: Special Needs vs Ideological or Race based Entitlement

It is interesting to note how Governments of different political persuasions respond to a crisis by rationing the availability of critical resources.

It doesn’t seem to matter who is in power when an international event forces a prioritising of scarce resources to the areas that are perceived to need it most - the results of the decisions are inevitably the same - for some, ideology or race  almost always takes preference over common sense special needs. 

Kerre Woodham: It's the economy, stupid

"It's the economy, stupid," is a catchphrase that means the primary concern of American voters is the state of the American economy and how that economy affects their personal finances. It was a phrase coined by a strategist in Bill Clinton's successful presidential campaign, and it's pretty much what Christopher Luxon campaigned on in 2023.

David Farrar: Why reducing demand now won’t help

I’ve seen a lot of people on the left demanding that NZ implement petrol rationing immediately, to prepare for when the supply to NZ of petrol and diesel reduces. They are trying to portray the Government as not doing enough, so presumably they can claim that when rationing does occur, it could have been avoided by acting earlier.

They are wrong, because they overlook a vital fact – our in country storage capacity. It is estimated our in country capacity is around 28 days worth of petrol. We currently have 27.9 days according to MBIE.

NZCPR Newsletter: A Wake-Up Call

New Zealanders are now confronting the most serious energy and fuel pressures in a generation. Diesel prices have surged to record levels, truck stops in several regions have already run dry, and questions are increasingly being raised about whether national fuel supplies will hold. Fertiliser importers are warning of tightening global markets, supply chains are under strain, and the latest price spikes are already feeding directly into the cost of living and inflation.

Simon O'Connor: Of fuel and fury

How can a government ministry blatantly fund political and 'furious' activism, yet there be so little media scrutiny? And why the fuel crisis should have been anticipated.

One of the striking aspects around modern media is not so much the bias that various outlets pursue, but deliberate ignoring of stories and perspectives of importance.

Ani O'Brien: Slashing taxes won’t fix the Fuel Shock, targeted measures the right move

The Fuel Shock explained: what’s actually going on
The Government has announced a $50 per week support package for working families in response to the fuel price surge that has resulted from the Iran conflict. Around 143,000 households will receive the payment through a boost to the in-work tax credit, with eligibility expanded to a further 14,000 families. It will cost up to $373 million if it runs for the full year. It will run for up to a year or until the price of petrol goes below $3/litre for four consecutive weeks.

Mike's Minute: Are EVs having their moment?

I note the whinging has started from EV owners as their fixed price deals for recharging their Nissan Leafs at home come to an end.

Some claim the new deals will be 50% higher. How can you possibly be surprised?

Did you think you would get away with it forever?

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: The Government is right to have limited the fuel relief package

If you were listening to the previous show - Tyler’s show - you’ll have heard that not everyone loves the package the Government has just announced to help families pay their fuel bills, because it’s not for everyone.

Pensioners have complained that they should be helped as well because they don’t have enough money. Beneficiaries have complained. Diesel users have complained because their fuel has actually gone up much more than petrol.

Dr Oliver Hartwich: Hormuz crisis may force government reform

When oil prices spiked after the Strait of Hormuz closed, New Zealand’s ministers lined up to reassure the public. Fuel stocks were “healthy.” There was “no need for panic.” The associate energy minister assured New Zealanders that supplies were not under threat “in coming months.”

What the ministers did not dwell on is that government agencies are now briefing them daily on supply disruptions extending well beyond petrol. A fifth of New Zealand’s fertiliser imports come from Saudi Arabia, shipped through the strait that is now closed. For a country whose economy runs on grass-fed agriculture, a fertiliser shock in autumn is no small matter.

Dr Eric Crampton: Let fuel prices rise and do their job

No fuel was available where I lived on the east side of Christchurch immediately after the 2011 earthquake. Power was out. Petrol pumps do not operate well without it.

The west side of town was still running. But the earthquake had also damaged the pipeline bringing fuel from the terminal at Lyttelton Harbour, and power outages were an issue.

More fuel was coming. Tanker trucks were heading up from points south and would haul supply up to Christchurch. It would just take a few days.

But things went wrong.