In recent years, there has been no shortage of warnings about the fragility of New Zealand’s largely imported fuel supply.

Now, motorists are seeing the cost of that vulnerability at the pump. Across the country, petrol has surpassed $3.30 a litre on average. On Auckland’s Waiheke Island, locals protested after prices at a local station exceeded $4 a litre.

The catalyst, of course, is the US and Israel’s ongoing war on Iran. It has disrupted key supply chains and pushed Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, over $100 a barrel.

There is no sign yet of Iran ending its effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which roughly 20% of all the world’s oil shipments flow.

New Zealand prime minister Christopher Luxon has called the crisis “one of the most significant oil shocks we’ve had in history”.

For his government, this moment should surely have prompted a hard look at the country’s deep dependence on imported fuels – and what sustainable alternatives there are to reduce it.

A small country, far from fuel

New Zealand is an island economy heavily dependent on imported fuel, and any sustained disruption ripples quickly through everyday costs.

The reason lies in both geography and infrastructure.........

© The Conversation