Will the government help ease any price rise at the pump? 

Fuel prices are set to increase thanks to the conflicts in the Middle East. And while the cost of living is still a major concern for most Kiwis, Nicola Willis has said no to any idea of fuel subsidies for New Zealanders as global oil prices rise.

According to a report from RNZ,  Treasury has informed Willis that a $10 increase in the price of a barrel of oil “translates to 10 cents more at the pump for a Kiwi petrol user”.

“What we saw last week was that oil prices went up about $10, but you’re still seeing fluctuation today.”

Asked about introducing subsidies to help ease the cost of petrol for New Zealanders if prices were to increase substantially, Willis definitively ruled it out, saying “the evidence internationally is that they’re very difficult to sustain”.

“I watched the pain the last government went through when it attempted something like that.

“What we actually need to do is ensure across the board we’re doing everything we can to keep inflation low,” Willis said.

The Labour government cut 25 cents in excise duty from a litre of fuel between 2022 and into 2023.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins was reported as saying; “You’ll note that we reduced the price of fuel when we were in government because we were faced with a very similar set of circumstances.”

However Hipkins said it wasn’t great when the reductions ended. 

“Clearly the prices went back on in July and that’s about the time our polling went dramatically downwards, but there were other factors at play there,” he said.