Seven-week fuel buffer, but diesel shortages could hit jobs - Willis
Sunday, 22 March 2026
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has said New Zealanders can be “assured” the country has “seven weeks of fuel security” going forward.
Willis made the announcement at Northland’s Marsden Point this afternoon, following a tour of Channel Infrastructure, New Zealand’s largest fuel import terminal.
The facility had 300 million litres of fuel on site, with ships carrying fuel to the country “continuing to turn up, as expected”.
However Willis said the government was still looking at solutions to relieve fuel costs for New Zealanders that could be implemented ahead of May’s budget.
When asked if that would include a fuel tax decrease, she said official advice indicated it would not help those who needed it most.
'Any solution will have to be temporary and targeted and need to be economically responsible,' Willis said.
Earlier this week it was revealed Willis had instructed Inland Revenue and Treasury officials to work up a package to help households with the cost of fuel.
The visit comes as the cost of petrol jumped to well above $3 a litre in many parts of the country, as the US-Israeli war against Iran continued.
Economists said New Zealand consumed around 24 million litres of fuel daily across diesel, aviation and petrol.
Much of it consists of refined products processed from crude oil imported from the Middle East and elsewhere.
However there had been a chokehold on global oil supplies in the three weeks since the war began, with Iran effectively blocking the Strait of Hormuz.
Around 20% of the world’s crude oil passed through the waterway, between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, each day.
Willis said New Zealanders were already reacting to the crisis by making their own choices, like opting for public transport.
But she signalled the country would be in trouble if it ran short of diesel, which was used for freight and heavy machinery.
“If we don’t have diesel it would affect thousands of jobs,” she said.