AM Edition: Top 10 Politics Articles on LiveNews.co.nz for March 25, 2026 – Full Text

MIL OSI

Source: Radio New Zealand

A law professor says if New Zealand was asked to support ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, a combat deployment is unlikely.

But Professor Alexander Gillespie said a joint statement between 19 countries condemning Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the Gulf was “effectively just scoping”.

“Nothing’s been nailed down, and it would be premature to nail it down until you know what’s happening with the wider war.”

If a request was made to New Zealand, Gillespie told RNZ it could be helping with intelligence, or picking up patrolling obligations for others so they could deploy to the region.

Another option was actual deployment, which he thought was unlikely.

On Tuesday, the Foreign Minister said people should not be alarmed that “we’re going to be engaged in some military exercise” after the government signed the joint statement.

Labour had raised concerns about the “broad nature” of the statement, criticising the government for not detailing what that commitment might look like, with leader Chris Hipkins saying New Zealanders had a right to know.

But Winston Peters said there had been “scaremongering” from critics who said the government was “rushing to contribute military forces to this conflict”.

“What absolute crap, what absolute nonsense – New Zealand is not a party to this conflict, and we have absolutely no intention of joining it,” he said at Parliament on Tuesday.

It also came as the head of NATO included New Zealand as one of 22 countries “coming together” to secure the Strait of Hormuz.

On Tuesday the government said it had not made any commitment towards military action in the Middle East, but Hipkins said he was very concerned about “what the government had signed us up to”.

He was referring to the joint statement the government signed with 19 other countries, including the United Kingdom and Germany, condemning Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the Gulf.

They called on Iran to immediately cease threats, laying mines, drone and missile attacks and other attempts to block commercial vessels from travelling through the Strait of Hormuz.

“Freedom of navigation is a fundamental principle of international law, including under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” the statement read.

The statement also expressed its signatories would be ready “to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait”.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon clarified any such future support would need to be considered by Cabinet.

Luxon also outlined nothing had changed in terms of the government position on the initial attacks that started the war, after being asked about condemning Iran’s strikes, while “acknowledging” the strikes by the United States.

“What we’re talking about now is a second order consequence, which is Iranians holding hostage a whole bunch of ships that should be freely traveling to bring fuel and fuel and critical supplies to places like New Zealand.”

Gillespie said it was a “notable inconsistency”.

He said New Zealand should treat “all violations of the UN Charter the same”.

“In as much as we condemn Russia for their illegal war against Ukraine, we should act consistently with the US and Israel.”

On the ‘right side’ – law professor

Gillespie said New Zealand was on the “right side” in supporting an international principle – the freedom of navigation – but “we have to be very cautious and have our eyes wide open as we walk forward”.

He said the statement had the backing of the UN Security Council with regards to the protection of international waterways in freedom of navigation.

He said New Zealand was in good company with the other signatories, and pointed out it was not an initiative from the United States, Israel or Iran.

The protection of international waterways was a longstanding principle, “No country can effectively strangle international commerce by trying to control a waterway,” he said.

“You just can’t do that.”

In terms of the wording “appropriate efforts” in the statement, Gillespie said that could be anything, “it could be civilian, but it’s likely to be military”.

In regards to what New Zealand could offer if support was requested he pointed to the operations in the Red Sea, where the contribution had been “modest”.

The personnel had helped with intelligence, and part of the operations of a much larger system, he said.

A second option was offering “our military to relieve other militaries to be deployed to the region”.

“So we might pick up the patrolling requirements and select some American vessels in a safe area to allow the American vessels to then be deployed to the strait.”

The third option was deploying the Air Force or Navy to the war zone, which he thought was “very unlikely”.

“We’re more likely to be doing the other two, if asked.”

Ultimately he said New Zealand needed to be “very careful what we commit ourselves to, because you can start off in these exercises with a fairly good objective, but then you can find yourself in a very sticky situation that can take years to unravel”.

‘New Zealanders have a right to know’ – Hipkins

On Tuesday, Hipkins said the government had “basically” signed the country up to say “we’re ready and willing to participate in securing the strait”.

“I don’t think we should be making a broad commitment like that at this point. Any support that New Zealand provides should be after a United Nations mandate, and at this point that doesn’t exist,” Hipkins said.

“The government has signed us up to an open ended commitment to re-open the strait, without detailing what that commitment might look like.

“New Zealanders have a right to know what the government is signing us up to.”

Since the statement was released, speaking to Fox News, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said countries including Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, UAE, Bahrain and the NATO alliance were working to “implement [US President Donald Trump’s] vision of making sure that the Strait of Hormuz is free, is opening up as soon as that is possible”.

Asked for clarification about this comment, Peters said Rutte did not speak for New Zealand and he had probably been misinformed.

“We haven’t been asked, and should we be asked – we would consider it. That’s all I’ve said,” Peters emphasised.

On the joint statement, he said it was “specifically narrow”.

In Parliament during an urgent debate on the conflict in the Middle East, Peters said the government was committed to working with partners to try and address one of the consequences of this conflict, that was higher fuel prices for New Zealanders.

“But that is not the same as saying we are definitely going to contribute.

“If we receive a request, or if an international coalition was established in the future to safeguard commercial shipping, any possible contribution would be a matter for – guess who – the Cabinet first of all, to determine based on careful consideration of New Zealand’s interests.”

Currently, the government would not comment on what potential resources would be considered or committed if New Zealand was requested to help, due to it being a hypothetical issue.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

MIL OSI

Source: NZCTU

NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Sandra Grey is calling on the Government to pause harmful employment legislation in light of Brooke van Velden’s resignation.

“Brooke van Velden’s legacy as Workplace Relations and Safety Minister is one of the worst in this country’s history. Much of the legislation passed on her watch has wrecked the longstanding landscape of employment relations in New Zealand.

“Stealing pay equity overnight from more than 300,000 workers in low-paid, female-dominated sectors. Delivering real-term pay cuts for workers on the minimum wage for three years running. Letting multinational corporate lobbyists dictate our contractor law. These decisions demonstrate van Velden’s priorities as Minister.

“The Minister has two bills before the House that continue her track record of trampling on workers’ rights. In light of the Member’s resignation, we are calling on the Government to halt any further progress on the Employment Leave Act and the Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill, and to work with unions on real, long-term solutions to the issues these Bills raise.

“The Government now has an opportunity to do right by working people. The next Minister for Workplace Relations should be one who truly understands the struggle of workers in a cost-of-living crisis, and who listens to working people and their unions,” said Grey.

MIL OSI

Source: Radio New Zealand

The government will be hearing from officials later this week on possible steps towards “demand restraint”, Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones says.

Petrol prices have increased by almost $1 per litre on average in the past month, according to price tracker Gaspy, and diesel even more, as global energy markets react to Iran’s military grip on the Strait of Hormuz following the war launched by the US and Israel.

Around 20 percent of the world’s supply usually transits through the strait.

The government is expected to unveil a support package later on Tuesday which it says will be highly targeted and temporary. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has regularly stated there have been no plans to restrict usage, with stockpiles remaining healthy and supplies still arriving as scheduled.

The latest data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment showed stocks for about 47 days of fuel, including about 50 days worth of petrol, 46 days of diesel, and 45 of jet fuel.

Jones, speaking to Morning Report on Tuesday morning, said New Zealand consumed 24 million litres a day – nearly half of which was diesel, a third petrol and the rest aviation fuel.

Towards the end of the week… we’re going to be briefed at a granular level by the officials who are in contact with different industry groups as to the steps we would take if we move towards demand restraint.

“I am focused more on enhancing advancing, broadening and simplifying access to greater levels of supply.”

Reports from importers such as Z Energy were coming in daily, he said.

“We have never once been told that they are unable to deliver, or contracts are being terminated. Naturally, we’re watching that with a pair of hawk eyes. The challenge remains… the access of the refineries owned by Exxon and other such global giants to enough feedstock so they can produce the fuel in suitable quantities.”

New Zealand no longer refines crude oil, with the Marsden Point facility shutting down a few years ago.

“The fuel import companies are operating exactly within their statutory envelopes. They are observing what they promised to bring to New Zealand.

“If we are to increase and store more diesel fuel in New Zealand, we need to increase the storage. And I keep saying, the reason we can’t do that at scale is because they closed down the refinery, and I don’t care if you get annoyed with me saying that. I want New Zealanders to bear that in mind. This is the consequence of closing down the refinery.”

Jones has falsely claimed the Labour government closed the refinery down, repeating that claim again on Morning Report. Refining NZ (now Channel Infrastructure), a private company, made the call to end refining at the Marsden Point site and transition to being an import-only hub. The government considered stepping in, but decided against it, with advice to ministers being that risks to fuel security were “very low”, because any event that cut off the supply of refined oil would likely cut off crude as well.

Jones said the government was working with Channel to “enhance” how much product could be stored at Marsden.

“That will give us additional diesel storage. However, I don’t want any Kiwi this morning to doubt whether there’s diesel in the country on its way. There certainly is.”

Speaking to Morning Report after Jones, Labour leader Chris Hipkins said it was a “private decision made by the fuel industry” that would not have hindered New Zealand’s fuel security.

“Marsden Point was refining crude oil that was imported from overseas, so the same supply constraints would be hitting us now whether MarsdenPoint was operating or not.”

He suggested it was ironic that coalition MPs were criticising Labour for having spent “too much money” during the Covid response, yet were now saying “we should have kept a refinery that was going out of business because it was obsolete technology and because it wasn’t economic”.

Asked whether the crisis had shifted his thinking on electrification and moving away from fossil fuels, Jones said it was a “fair point” to stay open-minded.

“There is a source of hydrogen energy in New Zealand. It’s called white hydrogen. It’s called natural occurring hydrogen. I met last week with the Auckland University who are doing extraordinary work in Wairarapa, and they believe they’ve tapped into a vein of infinite power of a hydrogen character, of all places in the hills and the valleys of the Wairarapa coast.

“So I think it’s a fair point that you’re making that we need to be open-minded. And then I say to Kiwis, OK, how do you imagine we’re going to pay for it? To do that, certain things, if we are to underwrite this electrification journey, will have to go by the way.

“And that’s why we have an election. No doubt people will be contesting all of those ideas.”

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Foreign Minister says people shouldn’t be alarmed that “somehow we’re going to be engaged in some military exercise” following statements by the head of NATO including New Zealand as one of 22 countries “coming together” to secure the Strait of Hormuz.

It comes as Labour raises concerns about the “broad nature” of a joint statement New Zealand was part of over the weekend, and what the commitment may open the country up to.

Winston Peters said there had been “scaremongering” from critics who say the government is “rushing to contribute military forces to this conflict”.

“What absolute crap, what absolute nonsense – New Zealand is not a party to this conflict, and we have absolutely no intention of joining it,” he said at Parliament on Tuesday.

Currently, the government won’t comment on what potential resources would be considered or committed if New Zealand was requested to help, due to it being a hypothetical issue.

Earlier on Tuesday the government said it had not made any commitment towards military action in the Middle East, but Labour leader Chris Hipkins said he was very concerned about “what the government had signed us up to”.

He was referring to a joint statement the government signed with 19 other countries condemning Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the Gulf.

Over the weekend, the government joined 19 other countries in condemning Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the Gulf.

In a collective statement, the countries including the United Kingdom and Germany, expressed “deep concern” about the escalating conflict. The statement also expressed its signatories would be ready “to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait”.

They called on Iran to immediately cease threats, laying mines, drone and missile attacks and other attempts to block commercial vessels from travelling through the Strait of Hormuz.

Luxon clarified any such future support would need to be considered by Cabinet.

On Tuesday, Hipkins said the government had “basically” signed the country up to say “we’re ready and willing to participate in securing the strait”.

He then said that was a “slight paraphrase,” but “effectively, that’s what they’ve signed up to”.

“I don’t think we should be making a broad commitment like that at this point. Any support that New Zealand provides should be after a United Nations mandate, and at this point that doesn’t exist,” Hipkins said.

Speaking to Fox News, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said countries including Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, UAE, Bahrain and the NATO alliance were working to “implement [US President Donald Trump’s] vision of making sure that the Strait of Hormuz is free, is opening up as soon as that is possible”.

Asked for clarification about this comment, Winston Peters said Rutte did not speak for New Zealand and he had probably been misinformed.

“We haven’t been asked, and should we be asked – we would consider it. That’s all I’ve said,” Peters emphasised.

In Parliament during an urgent debate on the conflict in the Middle East, Peters said the government was committed to working with partners to try and address one of the consequences of this conflict, that was higher fuel prices for New Zealanders.

In Parliament during an urgent debate on the conflict in the Middle East, Peters said the government was committed to working with partners to try and address one of the consequences of this conflict, which has huge implications for us, our partners and the global economy.

“But that is not the same as saying we are definitely going to contribute.

“If we receive a request, or if an international coalition was established in the future to safeguard commercial shipping, any possible contribution would be a matter for – guess who – the Cabinet first of all, to determine based on careful consideration of New Zealand’s interests.”

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Almost 150,000 families will receive an extra $50 a week for up to a year to help ease the pain from soaring petrol prices driven up by the war in the Middle East.

Speaking at a media conference at the Beehive on Tuesday, Finance Minister Nicola Willis said the relief would come through a boost to the in-work tax credit – part of the Working for Families scheme.

That means only low-to-middle-income workers who have children are eligible. It excludes beneficiaries, superannuitants and those without children.

“The policy is carefully targeted to families in the squeezed middle – parents who are working hard for a living, are not eligible for main benefits, and yet have modest household incomes with which to support their children,” Willis said.

“We know these families will be hit particularly hard by the global fuel-price shock. We are delivering them timely relief.”

The temporary increase would last for as long as one year, or until the price of 91 octane petrol dropped below $3 a litre for four weeks in a row, Willis said.

About 143,000 households would start seeing the full benefit in their bank accounts from 7 April, if they were paid weekly, or 14 April, if they were paid fortnightly. A further 14,000 households would receive the support but at a lesser rate.

In the current tax year, the cut-off for receiving the tax credit was around $89,000 of annual household income for a family with one child, $112,000 for a family with two children and $135,000 for a family with three children.

The policy was estimated to cost $373 million if it ran for a full year, or less if it did not, Willis said.

Willis said that cost would come out of the government’s operating allowance for this year’s Budget, meaning it had already been factored into Treasury’s fiscal forecast.

“Funding the policy this way will not add to forecast debt or inflationary pressures. It is consistent with the government’s fiscal strategy which seeks to balance the books and bend the debt curve down.”

Willis said the government could not relieve price pressures for all businesses and families who were feeling price pressures. She said “large, untargeted government spending programmes” could make the situation worse by driving up inflation and debt.

“The government is conscious that a careless response to this crisis could have long-lasting and painful consequences. We saw this in the aftermath of Covid, where excessive spending more than doubled debt and sent inflation soaring and mortgage rates skyrocketing. Kiwis are still grappling with the effects of that today.”

More to come …

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

MIL OSI

Source: Radio New Zealand

It will be 100 days of hiked up fuel prices at the pump even if the conflict in the Middle East was to end today, according to government officials.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins and finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds were briefed by officials from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and the mega-ministry, MBIE, on Tuesday morning.

“They indicated to us they’re expecting, and the government is expecting this to go on for months … that the escalated price in fuel is going to go on for months,” Hipkins told media on his way to caucus.

The officials were asked to brief the Opposition and gave a number of 100 days when asked how long the pain at the pump would continue beyond the conflict ending.

Hipkins said there were a number of questions officials were unable to answer.

“They weren’t able to tell us anything about the changes in fuel specifications that they agreed to yesterday, they couldn’t tell us what that actually means in practice, they weren’t able to tell us how much storage there might be available, they weren’t able to tell us what might trigger an increase in the government’s alert level framework,” he said.

“We’re very much relying on publicly available information.”

Hipkins used that as his defence for not having an alternative plan for what Labour would do to help New Zealanders feeling the pinch, if it were in government.

He ruled out any wage subsidy support for employees but has indicated Labour would go further than the government in other support.

However, when pressed on what that means he was unwilling to give details.

The Prime Minister and Finance Minister Nicola Willis are due to announce a “temporary, timely, and targeted” support package at Parliament on Tuesday afternoon.

Later this week Willis is expected to give an update on the national fuel plan and what the various alert levels would practically mean for New Zealanders.

*RNZ will be streaming the fuel support announcement from 12.30pm and blogging the updates as they happen.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The government announced almost 150,000 families will receive an extra $50 a week to help ease the pain caused by soaring petrol prices, but who can expect to see that money show up in their account next month?

Speaking at a media conference on Tuesday, Finance Minister Nicola Willis said the relief would come through a boost to the in-work tax credit – part of the Working for Families scheme.

People would start seeing the full benefit in their bank accounts from 7 April, if they were paid weekly, or 14 April, if they were paid fortnightly.

Who will get $50 a week?

Only low-to-middle-income workers who have children would be eligible for the payments, Willis said.

It excluded beneficiaries, superannuitants and those without children.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Willis said for beneficiaries, there would be usual increases on April 1 which “working families” did not automatically get.

“And I’d also note, working families face the obligation to get to and from work each day. Beneficiaries do not face that obligation,” Willis said.

“The policy is carefully targeted to families in the squeezed middle – parents who are working hard for a living, are not eligible for main benefits, and yet have modest household incomes with which to support their children,” Willis said.

“We know these families will be hit particularly hard by the global fuel-price shock. We are delivering them timely relief.”

In the current tax year, the cut-off for receiving the tax credit was around $89,000 of annual household income for a family with one child, $112,000 for a family with two children and $135,000 for a family with three children.

Willis said the government could not relieve price pressures for all businesses and families who were feeling price pressures. She said “large, untargeted government spending programmes” could make the situation worse by driving up inflation and debt.

She said while families that missed out would also have welcomed support, the government was “limited by the big increase in debt that occurred in the aftermath of Covid”.

“If it’s not you getting the support today, just know it might be your friend, it might be your family member, it might be the person serving you at the cafe today. Working families who cannot easily avoid higher fuel costs.”

How long will it continue?

The temporary increase would last for as long as one year, or until the price of 91 octane petrol dropped below $3 a litre for four weeks in a row, Willis said.

How do you get it?

Families who were already receiving the in-work tax credit (IWTC) payments, would not need to do anything to receive the money, the government said, with Inland Revenue automatically delivering the increase.

For people who didn’t receive the IWTC payments who thought they might be available, they needed to contact Inland Revenue.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand