Labour has privately conceded that New Zealand’s gas shortage is so serious it requires cross-party action, despite being the party that banned new exploration in 2018.
On August 20, well before the Prime Minister called for cross-party unity on gas, Labour’s energy spokesperson Megan Woods wrote to Energy Minister Simon Watts calling for “a bipartisan manner on the development of a gas prioritisation plan.”
Woods acknowledged soaring power prices, dwindling reserves, and major factories shutting down. “The urgency of this challenge calls for cooperation rather than division,” she told Watts. Yet Labour continues to rule out re-starting offshore exploration, the most direct fix to boost supply.
Watts replied more than a month later, scheduling a meeting, and four days after that Prime Minister Christopher Luxon sent his own letter to Labour leader Chris Hipkins. Luxon asked for “credible, bipartisan” support to shore up gas security, warning that with reserves falling “manufacturers in regional New Zealand are being forced to contemplate their future, putting jobs and livelihoods at risk.”
The political storm began when Hipkins’ office received Luxon’s letter almost simultaneously with a Herald journalist seeking comment, prompting accusations the government leaked it for “point-scoring.” Woods called the episode “an absolute shemozzle.”
Centrist Ltd.