Associate Minister for Energy Shane Jones said the government was waiting to recieve advice back from Treasury on whether there should be government interventions and if so, what they would be.
Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The coalition government says if it provided relief for cost of living pressures due to the Iran war, it would need to be temporary and targeted.
Treasury has inflation reaching 3.7 percent in a worst-case scenario if the war continues to the end of this year.
Associate Minister for Energy Shane Jones said the government was waiting to receive advice back from Treasury on whether there should be government interventions and if so, what they would be.
“It’s one thing to introduce support measures, and it’s another thing to remove them,” Jones told Morning Report.
“We’ve got to be absolutely confident that in the event support measures are required, that we step up to the plate and they actually target the people who need the support.”
ACT Party leader David Seymour said there’s no question people are under acute pressure, but the conflict in the Middle East can change very rapidly.
Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
In a press conference on Monday, Finance Minister Nicola Willis ruled out a potential fuel excise tax cut but left the door open for other types of targeted support.
However, ACT Party leader David Seymour, who is the acting prime minister while Christopher Luxon is in Samoa, said Cabinet has not discussed any government support.
He said there’s no question people are under acute pressure, but the conflict in the Middle East can change very rapidly.
“The government hasn’t had any discussion about this. I know Nicola Willis said this will affect poorest people more. It’s those people who have to get to their job, have to be on their shift, have to pay whatever price is at the tank because they can’t afford to lose their job… Those are the people who are the most obviously vulnerable,” he said.
“As to what sort of intervention the government might make, the only thing that’s clear at this point is that it will be timely, targeted and temporary. There’s an old saying that there’s nothing more permanent than a temporary government programme. We will be very clear that anything we do won’t be like the Covid response that went on far too long, it will be designed to alleviate a specific hurt at a specific time.”
Over March, the average price of 91 has risen about 50c a litre, according to price monitoring app Gaspy. On Monday, it was just over $3 on average across the country.
it’s largely due to the conflict in the Middle East effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz. The area is critical because around 20 percent of the world’s oil consumption or 20 million barrels a day, usually pass through it.
Westpac chief economist Kelly Eckhold said if the crisis were to continue, the price of oil could hit US$200 a barrel, which would take retail petrol prices past $4.
Petrol stations across the country have seen a surge of drivers filling up as prices rise.
It’s resulted in several petrol stations running dry over the weekend.
Jones said no New Zealander should be worried about access to fuel.
He is “quite cross” with Gull for telling people pumps were running dry. Jones claims the company did not make it clear enough that there’s enough fuel in the country.
Jones said there is plenty of fuel in the country, and the trucks running fuel to Gull stations were running behind schedule, causing some of their network to run dry.
“The Gull leadership need to ensure they do not exacerbate the situation or, indeed, foolishly encourage excessive consumption of fuel,” he said.
Signage at a Gull station in Auckland.
Photo: RNZ/Pretoria Gordon
There were signs at the pump that said “no fuel” and “91 not available”.
Byt in a statement on the weekend, Gull said there was enough fuel in the country.
“Gull has good levels of fuel at its terminal and is working as fast as practical with our logistics’ providers to get fuel to our sites to meet Gull’s customers increased demand,” a spokesperson said.
The fuel company said there was still plenty of fuel for everyone in Auckland the rest of the country.
RNZ has contacted Gull for further comment.
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