Is NZ getting the fuel crisis right? Here's your timely, targeted and temporary analysis

Is NZ getting the fuel crisis right? Here's your timely, targeted and temporary analysis

From Gone By Lunchtime by The Spinoff

March 26, 2026 · 1h 9m

About this episode

The episode analyzes New Zealand's government response to the fuel crisis and economic challenges stemming from international conflicts, featuring discussions on political figures and their actions.

Covidesque in crisis-mode, but anti-Covid in substance, the government response to the economic shockwaves released from the war on Iran is playing out in New Zealand this week. Have Nicola Willis and Christopher Luxon got it right with a $50 weekly payment that will help many, but miss out many more? Has a small-target-fixated Labour Party missed an opportunity? Are we all Hormuzologists now?Winston Peters, meanwhile, is pulling the crowds and playing the hits with a big speech in Tauranga that emphasised gentailer breakup and social conservatism, and unveiled, a little awkwardly, a new party candidate in former minister Alfred Ngaro. Has he nailed the in-power and in-opposition challenge, or is it just the populist-nationalist global winds blowing his way? And just what, by the way, is going on with the U-turn on commercial fishing size limits that everyone seems to be claiming credit for?Plus: how the claims about Chris Hipkins, made on Facebook by his ex-wife, made its way to the tiles of parliament. And Brooke van Velden is resigning from politics to spend more time with the public sector. What legacy does she leave, and what does it mean for the yellow-blue paradise of…

Topics covered

  • fuel crisis
  • government response
  • economic shockwaves
  • political analysis
  • populism
  • fishing regulations
  • political legacy

Keywords

  • fuel crisis
  • economic response
  • Winston Peters
  • Nicola Willis
  • Christopher Luxon
  • Labour Party
  • Chris Hipkins
  • Brooke van Velden
  • politics
  • New Zealand

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Labour Party, Tāmaki

Places: New Zealand, Iran, Tauranga

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