Thankfully the Govt did not panic

There is a sort of peace deal between Iran and the US. If it holds, the fuel crisis is over. I’ll do a separate post on the merits of the peace deal, but for now want to focus on the response in NZ.

The Government’s response was cool, calm and measured. They did not panic. They did not print money. They did not borrow to spend billions of dollars. They did not introduce restrictions. They provided targeted relief to low and middle income families, and invested in greater fuel capacity and storage in NZ. They gave regulatory relief.

Many on the left were demanding that we go immediately to rationing. The Greens demanded that the Government spend much more money. They also demanded free public transport. They would have spent billions, as the last Government did on Covid-19 (of which $30 billion was spent in projects that had nothing to do with Covid-19).

So hopefully the peace holds, and I for one am grateful the Government did not panic. I note petrol is already down below $3 a litre in some areas.