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6:00 am, March 16th, 2026 - 32 comments
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Open mike is your post.
For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.
The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).
Step up to the mike …
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360951056/would-be-week-drive-ev-thanks-nothing-coalition
Verity asks why national have destroyed the ev market and want to saddle us with dirty lng power backup.
It's because they are equal parts beholding to big oil,mindless functionaries that can't spot a spot good idea, and trying to keep their knuckle dragging moron voter base happy
Well said Verity. Transportation is responsible for 76% of NZ's oil usage. NZ’s EV take-up is scandalously low compared with, for instance, the UK-6.9% versus 23.4% in 2025.
I think the idea that NZ could be almost SELF-SUFFICIENT and not need to import much oil is becoming very attractive and would be a great policy for Labour to adopt. (The Greens are far ahead on this as ever).
Subsidies for rooftop solar would be a great start-they have been a stunning success in Australia. Reversing some of the COC’s illogical policies on EV’s would also help.
Enough with this lady.
Before the last election she used her column to run the vote suppressing ‘they’re all the same.’
Week or so ago she ran the jokey column, HAHAHA, about how Labour was an ex and then ran everything Nicola Willis was saying- they’re not doing anything, they haven’t changed etc etc, but funny because she likes firefighter calendars, shagging and reality TV!
How about just for starters pay equity and the international rule of law? Both things that would make the world and cost of living better for many middle and low income households.
I’m sure the Dames on the public pay equity select committee are grateful for her firefighter calendar campaign, while ignoring their pay equity one.
She has no consistent philosophy and is obviously trying to be Miss Centrist. Or worse, perhaps even a concern troll.
EVs on their own are no good. The plan of updating of the overall fleet to more efficient helped. Now they are potentially planning to do the reverse and allow in any old polluting dunger.
Surprise that Stuff is protecting Willis again today. As her call on the ferries gets worse and worse, they let her skate on her response to the oil shock, rather than hound her like they’d do to a Labour minister.
And yeh as commentators below were alluding to there was real momentum on our climate change transformation policies among others due to James Shaw and others.
Now we’re using the most polluting option for some culture war BS, even when there’s little economic case for it before considering climate crisis upon us.
I loathe my fellow countrymen and wonder where those brave anti-nuclear warriors went. We’re in a phase where a lot of nation building needs doing. Got Auckland houses and entitlements? The country don’t matter then no how.
Yes Verity Johnson did her air-head, centrist, they are all the same thing last night on The Panel by slagging Hipkins off …"I don't think he ever recovered form that 2023 slump in public opinion…..he is still unpopular….". It is right at the start of the audio here.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/thepanel/audio/2019027151/the-panel-with-verity-johnson-and-tim-wilson-part-1
But she is right about EV's.
Does?
/
Does Trump Risk Turning America Into a Rogue State?
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/14/opinion/iran-war-trump.html?unlocked_article_code=1.TVA.E68z.J4rIMXDXMh2A&smid=tw-share
@ wags above.
I think EV ownership is seen by these clowns as woke. As woke as someone using their indicators at a roundabout in Feilding.
Luxon says he scrapped the rebate EV grant because it helped rich people. And yet, tax cuts for landlords?
Let's hear from the opposition the reinstatement of the EV grant but with the rationale that it will create decent second hand car markets for all of us.
A tax jiggery pokery for companies to electrify their car fleet.
+100 gsays…see my post above.
We're not rich but we bought an 18 month old plug in hybrid EV 12 months ago – 50kms battery and 600 kms petrol range. 90% of our journeys are on battery, we are rural but live 150kms from a main centre for groceries, medical etc.
Glad to be able to benefit from a fledgling 2nd hand market in EVs!
Now now don't besmirch the good people of Feilding…
It's also worth saying that the prices on EV's didn't really increase post the subsidy removal however sales crashed as people decided they weren't getting a 'deal' anymore.
That and there were some massive artificial peaks relating to back ordered Tesla's arriving enmasse that contributed to the 'crash' as pent up demand was satisfied resulting in a massive drop in orders.
Starting to see some really cheap ev's appearing now which will probably make a big difference to uptake.
What might have been. Not just National, but successive governments have badly let us down
https://newsroom.co.nz/2026/03/13/how-this-coastal-nation-of-5m-people-insulated-itself-from-the-iran-oil-shock/
"I want to tell you about a beautiful, rugged coastal nation of 5 million people where accidents of history and tectonic geography have combined with generations of smart leadership and an egalitarian political consensus to isolate and insulate it from the dangerous volatility of the Iran War oil shock.
It’s called N … orway.
And I want to warn you now: much like comparing our Covid experience to Sweden or Taiwan five years ago, comparing our oil and gas experience to Norway today elicits more questions than answers."
Norway – which is sustained on North Sea oil production?
Yes, they've used their market position (and aggressive exporting of the 'lucky' bonanza of oil) – to transition their own energy ecosystem.
This is not an option that NZ had. Our gas/oil finds were small-scale and largely limited to internal use (i.e. no cash bonanza). And, even if we did strike it 'lucky' we're a very long way from potential markets (unlike Norway whose market is right on their doorstep – EU and UK).
In addition, there has been very strong opposition for further oil/gas exploration in NZ.
Finally, Norway is not immune from controversies related to their energy policies.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14693062.2023.2169238#abstract
The major point you ignore is that they did not privatise everything. Our gretaest money earner is grass. Imagine if Fonterra had been treated as a strategic asset, and taxed accordingly.
Problem is that grass is not a natural (as in native to NZ) resource. It required (historically) significant effort to establish, and requires a lot of ongoing effort to maintain. The people doing that work, are doing it for their private benefit. We've seen how poor governments are at doing this directly, or socialising the benefits of the hard work (Soviet style communism).
The NZ government has never had a windfall profit opportunity – as North Sea oil has been for Norway.
And, I can't actually think of another country, who has managed to do the same with their oil reserves. Scotland/UK certainly haven't, and none of the Middle East countries have done much except enrich the aristocracy/oligarchy.
Despite several warnings in the Newsroom article, you went for a direct comparison between Norway and NZ and scored a few easy points, yet again. The contrast invites asking open-ended questions that might actually generate potentially useful approaches for NZ, which was the intention of the author of the piece in Newsroom, I’d imagine.
Norway had and has farsighted leadership “with generations of smart leadership and an egalitarian political consensus”, unlike NZ, where short-termism rules and leadership is mostly absent, but it has plenty of managers, mostly mediocre ones. Despite MMP, political consensus is not the norm in NZ and partisan politics still dominates.
Norway kept ownership and control of its golden goose and charged taxed others highly. NZ sells off SOEs and strategic assets to the highest bidder and NZ royalties are a joke; it gives overseas investors tax breaks and rolls out the red welcoming carpet with VISAs thrown in as bonus.
Norway aspired to be self-sufficient and of course, that wasn’t achieved without controversies. NZ sells quickly for a quick gain and not just the product, but the whole lot, incl. know-how, expertise, and IP.
Norway not only invested back heavily, it also invested and diversified heavily overseas – it set up its sovereign wealth fund. NZ does neither very well, not investing in itself, in R&D, or Overseas Direct Investment (ODI), for example. This comes back to farsighted leadership.
Norway built its prosperity on selling fossil fuel products to the rest of the world. NZ increased its GDP though immigration, built virtual wealth by selling houses to each other, and sold its major banks to Oz.
If one wished to think and act constructively and progressively, one would be wise to ask good questions.
Bombing started from the US and Israel on Feb 28 2026 and we are at 16 March now, with no plan or even an inkling of a plan that our Prime Minister can front and give us confidence.
Also no sign from Willis that there is any change to the 2026 Budget – yet also no pre-Budget announcements yet.
In my memory of PMs, all of them would be calming the farm and building a plan: Muldoon, Lange, Palmer, Bolger, Clark, Key, English, Ardern … maybe Shipley would have been as lost. as Luxon.
This is so bizarre.
We need to keep the bar very low, Luxon has spoken with Hosking.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360951497/pm-reassures-fuel-supply-hormuz-tensions-raise-possibility-nz-naval-support.
At the least they would have given a clear outline of what the plan entails, highlighting the critical steps & decision points in plain language, e.g., through a traffic light system. They would have a clear line of communication, preferably with a dedicated website, with one highly visible & present spokesperson (together with sign language interpreter), i.e., the PM (not the Prime Mumbler) with a regular slot for Q&A.
Like the Covid19 process? Difficulty was had then inevitably, but managed so that the country didn't fail completely.
Now what if our electricity pylons went down, our fuels on ration, our ubiquitous internet, our trains, our ferries; help trouble at mill!
Strike me down with a feather, Willis must be reading The Standard!
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/589684/no-need-to-panic-fuel-supplier-says-as-average-petrol-price-surges-past-3
I don't mind Willis saying don't panic, and I heard her out on RNZ this morning.
But when the refineries of Vietnam, India, Indonesia, and Philippines are getting close to exhausting their raw oil, April in New Zealand will start getting ugly: everyone will be waving their contracts at Singapore and Texas and you can guess where in the queue we will be.
This obviously a massive failure of the free market.
Brent crude oil – Price – Chart – Historical Data – News
The world is at $US103 per barrel and rising.
The day, probably quite soon, when one or more of the boats bringing refined product to New Zealand get diverted to the highest bidder is when the shit hits the fan.
Going to be an entertaining 1:00 pm standup for Nicola on that day.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/589684/no-need-to-panic-fuel-supplier-says-as-average-petrol-price-surges-past-3
So, in other words, Nicola Willis is saying that wealth doesn’t trickle down, but she hasn’t realised it yet.
The second hand car market simply doesn't exist for the 1%-ers like Willis.
Latest media update from Minister Willis is "Again, don't panic, but we're not doing anything about it."
One thing we can absolutely count on with the CoC, they will be reactive, rather than proactive.
They'll wait until fuel stocks are almost gone, then . . . panic!
A proactive government would have already brought in free public transport and speed limits. But not this shower!
They will mostly let the damage fall wherever it falls. To do otherwise would not be 'fiscally responsible'.
"Again, don't panic,
butwe're not doing anything about it."What a difference one word makes.
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO2603/S00098/help-us-now-23000-home-support-workers-hit-by-petrol-price-hikes-urge-govt-to-act.htm
My guess is that the response will be ‘suck it up, sunshine, and check your tyre pressure’.
There’s zero indication that Nicola Willis and her heartless austerity gang will contemplate any relief for these workers, as they don’t care about care workers. They will only do something when forced, not by events or evidence, but by polls and public perception. Curia should do a poll soon asking how well we think the Coalition is handling the ‘crisis’.
What are the fishing inspectors, of another industry sector, receiving for their car time?
I don’t know; do they use their own cars?
Fishery officers are generally provided with work vehicles, fuel cards, and full compensation for work-related travel (paid from start to finish of their shift)
Whereas home care workers (paid only between clients – In-Between Travel)
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/565563/community-support-workers-among-nz-s-lowest-paid
I put the press release up as a post for the morning, thanks