Government prepares for possible move to Phase 2 of fuel plan

Monday, 27 April 2026

The Government is looking to its “red tape tipline” in response to the fuel crisis, with plans to remove or temporarily relax some current regulations around freight movement if necessary.

The government last month urged businesses, fuel users, freight operators, and the wider public to report any barriers that could stand in the way of the government's response when it laid out its response plan to the rising fuel costs triggered by the conflict in the Middle East in February.

It is now refining some of those tipline submissions with the aim of implementing them quickly, if required.

Options being looked at include allowing some heavy vehicles to carry more per weight per trip; removing some restrictions on the routes that over-dimension vehicles can make and when they can travel; relaxing time and access restrictions for over-dimension vehicles, enabling travel during off-peak time and shorter trips; and bringing some licence class weight thresholds for zero emission vehicles into line with similar diesel vehicles.

All options were being developed so they could be implemented quickly if the Government moved to Phase 2, and were expected to be in train by as early as the end of this week if necessary.

Read more:

• Oil under pressure: The numbers behind the warnings and reassurances

• Airline company Lufthansa cuts 20,000 flights as war squeezes fuel prices and supplies

• Jet fuel is the Pacific’s blind spot – regional co-operation can fix it

• The fuel ships heading to New Zealand. Here’s when they arrive

Minister for Regulation David Seymour said while New Zealand’s fuel supply remained stable and the country was still in Phase 1 of the fuel response plan, the Government didn’t want a repeat of the Covid-19 lockdowns.

“Doing the work to boost fuel efficiency now helps ensure we can stay in Phase 1 for as long as possible, causing the least disruption to Kiwis,” he said.

Transport Minister Chris Bishop said one of the consistent messages from the freight sector was that current weight restrictions were holding back efficiency.

“In the short term, even small increases in permitted loads could reduce the number of trips needed, saving time, lowering costs, and reducing fuel use.

“We need to balance that with safety and network impacts, but there are sensible changes we can make that will lift productivity without compromising standards.

“Fuel prices are already putting pressure on households and businesses, which is why this work matters. Getting ahead of the problem now helps reduce the impact if global conditions worsen.”

Some options may also be reworked into more permanent changes to reduce the impact of elevated fuel prices on the economy over the medium to long term.

The red tape tipline was introduced in 2024 as an online portal for the public to report unnecessary regulations, rules, and 'red tape horror stories'.