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Summarised by Centrist
A growing fuel tax protest movement is colliding with government preparations for a potential fuel shortage emergency.
The clash comes as rising global oil prices and Middle East instability continue to push up costs for motorists and businesses.
More than 50 locations are now confirmed for a nationwide fuel tax protest planned for Saturday 16 May. The strike is being, organised by Southland machinery operator Phil Barrett.
Barrett says frustration is mounting over high petrol and diesel prices, with protesters blaming GST, ETS costs and government taxes for worsening pressure on households, truckers and farmers.
At the same time, the government has unveiled a revised national fuel rationing framework designed for a worst-case supply shock scenario. The updated plan would rely heavily on voluntary restraint during “Phase Three”, with mandatory rationing reserved for “Phase Four”, the highest emergency level.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis said modelling suggested the chances of reaching Phase Four were “in the single digits”, but acknowledged prices could rise further if global supply tightened.
The government has also secured an additional 90 million litres of diesel storage at Marsden Point, equivalent to roughly nine days’ supply.
Willis said: “Unfortunately, yes it would mean prices going higher which none of us welcome, but it would have to be quite an extreme scenario where we would literally run short on fuel.”
The plan has backing from freight and retail groups, who say the simplified “high-trust” approach is more workable than earlier proposals. National Road Carriers Association chief executive Justin Tighe-Umbers said the previous model had been “overly complicated” and difficult to enforce.
But Labour leader Chris Hipkins warned some people could exploit the system by filling up at multiple service stations while others complied with restrictions.
