Parliament returns with fuel crisis - and bad polling - hanging over National
Monday, 20 April 2026
ANALYSIS: Parliament is back from a two-week recess this week with open questions about the Strait of Hormuz and the leadership of the National Party.
The fragile ceasefire between Iran and the US appeared to falter over the weekend as Iran again shut the Strait of Hormuz, after the US failed to lift its blockade of the country’s ports.
And on Sunday night a 1 News/Verian poll had Labour seven points clear of National and forming a Government - lending new weight to questions about Christopher Luxon’s performance.
Monday: Fuel update
The first of the two fuel updates will come on Monday afternoon, with the Government letting us know how much fuel was in the country and on the way here as of Wednesday evening.
Read more:
The fuel ships heading to New Zealand. Here’s when they arrive
Should we be throwing the kitchen sink at the fuel crisis like Australia?
Luxon will speak to the fuel update at his post-cabinet press conference - usually around 4pm.
It’s unclear whether Luxon will use the occasion to announce the commercial deals for more fuel. Speaking to media last Monday, Luxon said he would have news on government-to-government and commercial arrangements to secure new fuel supplies “within a week“. That clock runs out on Monday.
But the Prime Minister's Office is refusing to nominate a day for any announcement, saying to do so would prejudice ongoing negotiations.
Tuesday: Inflation data, caucus meetings, Green list
Stats NZ releases the consumers price index for the March quarter on Tuesday — the first major inflation reading to capture the opening weeks of the fuel crisis.
Yet many economists say it won’t take in enough for us to really see the shock brought on by the Hormuz crisis.
Parliament returns properly on Tuesday, which means caucus meetings for the major parties, Question Time, and likely some MPs being stopped on their way in to be asked about the polls.
Also on Tuesday, the Green Party will release its full list ranking for this year’s election, which has been voted on by its members across the country. The co-leaders are automatically placed at one or two - but there will be much to read in where the rest of the caucus and any newcomers sit.
Wednesday: Another fuel update
The Government delivers its second fuel update of the week on Wednesday, revealing the amount of fuel in the country as of Sunday night.
The Government has been releasing supply briefings, and if the commercial deal has not yet been announced, it is likely Luxon will be questioned a bit about that.
But there are also many other pieces of work happening in fuel that might come up at these fuel briefings, including more detail on the “bands” for prioritisation within the National Fuel Plan.
Thursday: Credit card update
The Reserve Bank will release monthly credit card spending data on Thursday which will be an interesting indicator for how the first month of the Iran war hit consumer spending.
It’ll be another sitting day too - but both the prime minister and Opposition leader are likely to be out of Wellington somewhere else, as they usually are on Thursdays.