‘Citizen-run’ movement plans 43 protests as families struggle with fuel prices

Friday, 8 May 2026

Fuel Tax Protest organisers are calling on the Government to halt fuel tax hikes as drivers struggle with rising costs at the pump across Aotearoa.

Mounting frustration over record-high fuel prices will spill onto the country’s roads next week, as protesters challenge the Government’s reliance on narrow, targeted relief in the face of widespread economic strain.

Since the beginning of the Middle East war and the following double blockade of the Hormuz Strait, the New Zealand Government has not introduced measures such as universal direct support for consumers, price caps on fuel, or energy tax cuts, as other countries have according to the International Energy Agency.

Fuel Tax Protest organiser Phil Barrett had planned a day of protest across the country to invite the Government to reconsider its stance, due to Kiwis struggling to absorb the steepest increase in petrol and diesel prices in the past 15 years.

Barrett, who said he did not believe climate change was man-made, had organised the events via social media channels and groups and over video calls, and the messages had been amplified by fringe news outlet Counterspin Media.

He said the movement opposed the fuel tax increase planned for early next year, the high price of fuel and the Government in general.

They had planned 43 protests in as many towns and centres on May 16.

Barrett, a mechanical engineer from Balclutha, said the fuel price spikes had affected rural areas more.

“I’ve seen mums and dads down at the pump putting $20 worth of fuel in their car and knowing that that’s not going to last them the week.

“They’re putting the same amount in as they always do, because that’s all they could afford. They are struggling.”

Barrett, who stood for the Clutha District Council in 2025 but was not elected, said the movement was “very apolitical” and its organisers had put aside political ideas.

“We want this to be constructive. We’re not trying to go full Irish on this … we’re not interested in blockading roads and setting things on fire.”

Finance Minister Nicola Willis says it’s “very unlikely” the Government will go ahead with the planned fuel excise tax increase of 12 cent per litre in January.

Three weeks ago, the Irish government announced a package of fuel supports, after nationwide protests blocked major motorways, and slow-moving convoys of trucks and tractors blocked Dublin’s central streets, the BBC reported.

Overall, the Irish government had spent €755 million (NZ$1.5 billion) on fuel supports in recent months, including previous excise duty cuts, the BBC reported.

Barrett said the New Zealand Government should consider dropping the fuel excise tax for petrol users and the road user charges for diesel users.

The fuel excise tax went up from 45 cents per litre to 70 cents per litre in June 2023, and it was scheduled to go up by 12 cents per litre in January next year, with a further 6 cents per litre increase in January 2028 and another 4 cents a litre in 2029.

The money collected through the excise duty went into the national land transport fund to pay for upgrading, maintaining and building new roads.

Taxes, levies and the Emissions Trading Scheme accounted for about 40% of regular petrol prices in May, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment data showed.

Minister of Finance Nicola Willis said on April 6 it was “very unlikely” the Government would go ahead with a planned 12 cent per litre increase to fuel taxes next January.

However, no steps had yet been taken to avoid it.

“There is no formal decision that we have made yet as a cabinet, but in order for that to happen we would have to legislate and there has been no proposal for legislation brought forward at this stage.”

Willis said the Government had chosen “targeted relief measures” rather than tax cuts or subsidies, including a $50 weekly boost for a selected cohort of families and an increase in the transport allowance for teachers.

“The challenge with any temporary pause in either the petrol tax or the road user charge is what happens when you have to put it back on again.

Fuel Tax Protest organiser Dave Tailby says the movement is apolitical. (File photo)

“It’s an extremely expensive measure, even just for three months it would cost around half a billion, I’m advised, and we know that it’s a very difficult thing to put back on.”

In March, Te Pāti Māori called on the Government to “suspend fuel excise tax to provide urgent relief for whānau already feeling the strain at the petrol pump”, while Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour said the planned tax increase should go ahead.

While the United States seemed to have gained the most from the choking of the Hormuz Strait and the following energy crisis, overtaking Saudi Arabia as the top world’s crude oil exporter, according to Arabian Business reports, dozens of countries had decided to introduce temporary measures to support struggling households and businesses.

Across the ditch, the Australian government passed a three-month fuel excise cut, ending on June 30, which reduced the cost of fuel by 26.3 cents per litre, according to a press release from the Anthony Albanese government.

Messages about the Fuel Tax Protest had been widely shared on Telegram channels and more than 40 Facebook groups had been set up to co-ordinate the protest.

Motueka protest organiser David Tailby said the protest was “fully citizen-run” and political parties could share the same kaupapa.

Tailby said his tax policy beliefs aligned with those of NZ Loyal, a fringe political party founded by former broadcaster and anti-vaccination activist Liz Gunn, but the Fuel Tax Protest was not endorsing any political parties.