Shane Jones

just because people are worried about fuel security when there is really, at this stage, other than price, bugger all to worry about.

Appreciate it, Shane Jones, Associate Minister of Energy.

I don't care how much criticism we get.

I am just never going to agree with a sort of butter chicken tsunami coming to New Zealand.

Well, obviously we've got experts securing us options, not only now but into the future.

Those are called call options, but it's crowded space.

I mean, for example...

The Europeans are now scouring everywhere looking for options for aviation fuel.

And feedstock problems continue to afflict Southeast Asia, but as you've said in the past, this is a sophisticated industry.

If the price is good enough at the margin, people will bring on additional sources of supply, but

It's been a while since the government worked directly with anyone into the market to secure a buffer.

Yeah, I don't think Nicola or I have shied away from the fact that if the Crown intervenes, despite relying upon the sophistication of the fuel companies, if the price does drop, and at some point you have to hope and pray it'll get normal again, God knows when,

then there's likely to be a margin in the wrong direction.

So we take options.

We take the highest quality of advice.

In this case, MBIE, there's a chap there working there, Robert Pagu.

He's had some professional commercial advisors, and I think Kiwi should be reassured that this is not something that we've done recklessly.

Yeah, well, I like the tail end of what you've just said.

In the event that we do strike a problem logistically or supply lines clog up, then this is a buffer to ensure we don't mine too far below the statutory threshold that the oil, sorry, the fuel companies have to work within.

And you're right, it could come to pass that things will normalise in a way that's a lot quicker than the average armchair critic