Iran War: Government wants public servants in the office despite fuel price rise
Tuesday, 17 March 2026
Public Service Minister Judith Collins says the Government is not considering any changes to work from home (WFH) settings for public servants to save costs on fuel.
And Finance Minister Nicola Willis says she is not yet encouraging the wider population to WFH or drive slower either, as she was reluctant to tell people how to live their lives.
The Public Service Association (PSA) has called for a slackening of the rules as petrol climbs above $3 a litre as a result of the Iran War, and could far further.
The Government issued guidance for public servants in September 2024 asserting that WFH was not an “entitlement” and saying it generally wanted to see public servants coming into work.
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Actual WFH settings are typically set between each agency and its employer at a bargaining level.
PSA head Fleur Fitzsimons told RNZ she wanted the Government to actively encourage public servants to work from home if they could, as this would save fuel for the country and the workers money.
Collins said the Government was not considering this.
“The public service has a clear – and flexible – policy that allows agencies to manage working from home arrangements as required. Working from home is not an entitlement – all flexible arrangements must be agreed in a way that supports a high‑performing public service.”
“This is not a challenge unique to the public service – every business and household in New Zealand is facing similar pressures.”
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour said it could be an “option” but the Government would want to see how private businesses reacted to higher fuel prices.
“I“m not aware that private sector businesses are taking that step, and they're the ones that are managing their own money,” Seymour said.
He said he was sure the PSA would want to use the opportunity to push working from home but the Government would want to make sure that the public service was not out of step with “what every other New Zealander faces”.
Willis, who is leading the Government’s ministerial oversight group in response to the crisis, was asked about whether she would encourage the wider public to work from home or to drive slower to save on fuel.
“I’m very reluctant to adopt the role of the schoolmarm telling people what to do with their own lives,” Willis said.
“People will make their own choices. People's circumstances vary considerably. Their budgets vary considerably.
“I think most Kiwis understand that if you've got less stuff in the back of your car, you don't need as much petrol. If you don't drive as fast, you don't need as much petrol. That if you want, you can carpool with a neighbour. They don't need me giving them a lesson.”
She noted that the National Fuel Plan does “envision” that at some point the Government might do a public information plan.