Iran War: Coupons for petrol, bans on containers - how fuel-rationed NZ might look
Friday, 13 March 2026
Finance Minister Nicola Willis says the Government is working out what New Zealand would look like under fuel rationing for the first time in decades.
Willis cautioned that New Zealand is many weeks from potentially needing such measures with about 50 days of fuel but the Government is thinking about what would happen if the Iran war went on and it became harder to get fuel into the country.
A 1981 law being dusted off by officials includes measures that would allow the Government to ban people from filling jerry cans and other containers — a measure designed to stop hoarding — and set maximum limits on how much fuel any individual could buy on a single visit.
In more severe scenarios, coupons could be issued to ration purchases across the population.
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Petrol stations could also be forced to change their hours or open only on alternate days, and in the most extreme circumstances, pumps could be restricted entirely to so-called 'critical customers' - a defined list that includes emergency services, hospitals, corrections facilities, food supply chains, and utilities.
Getting to that point requires a formal declaration of a fuel emergency, with four different “levels” available depending on severity.
A fuel sector coordinating entity — a grouping of the major fuel companies including Z Energy, bp, Mobil and Gull alongside government agencies — would be convened to manage allocation.
The 2024 National Fuel Plan which sets out in granular detail what a fuel emergency would actually look like for New Zealanders envisages civil defence groups helping manage queues and security at designated service stations.
Willis, who is chairing a ministerial advisory group on economic security, said that at present the Government had not heard that fuel importers were having difficulty bringing in fuel.
“We have 50 days worth of fuel security right now. Of course, we are looking ahead to a possibility in which there are challenges getting enough fuel out of other countries, I acknowledge that that that is a risk that we are preparing for and that we need to stand ready to manage,” Willis said.
“I'm not in a position to rule out the fact that there may be a day that comes where New Zealand has challenges importing fuel, but what I can assure you right now is we have enough fuel right now for the next 50 days.”
She said in the first instance the country would look to get fuel from elsewhere but it was an option “down the line, that we could consider demand management tools”.
She said the Government was expecting to receive advice soon.
“Ministers have not given active consideration to a list of those sorts of proposals at this stage, although we have acknowledged and been advised that those options in the future are things that we may choose to consider,” Willis said.
“So we're just not there yet, but we are looking ahead to if we ever had to do that, what would that look like?”
Willis stressed that New Zealand was not anywhere near needing such measures but she was unsure how long the conflict might last.
'There are scenarios in which it lasts for weeks. There are also scenarios in which it lasts for months,' she said of the conflict.
She said New Zealand would work closely with Australia to make sure it could still get fuel into the country.