Christopher Luxon back from Singapore and in studio with Mike Hosking after food-for-fuel deal signed

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon returned from Singapore on Wednesday. File photo / Michael Craig

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was in the studio this morning with Mike Hosking, fresh from returning from Singapore, where he inked a food-for-fuel agreement.

Speaking on Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking Breakfast, Luxon said the deal was “world-leading”.

There was no other deal that guaranteed no export controls on each other in the event of a crisis, Luxon said.

The PM and his Singaporean counterpart, Lawrence Wong, signed the essential supplies agreement on Monday to ensure food, fuel and other essential supplies like pharmaceuticals continue to flow between the two countries in a crisis.

Luxon pushed back on the Horizon Research poll showing 56% of those surveyed had little or no confidence in his Government’s ability to manage the fuel crisis, saying New Zealand has got organised early and is working well with the industry.

He agreed with Hosking that people just wanted free money.

“They’re in a Covis frame of mind where the cash bazooka was sprayed around, the credit card was maxed out, the rainy day fund is gone and the banks are telling us, ‘Hey listen, with credit rating watches, you need to be careful here’,” he said.

“I get people may not want to hear it, but I have to do the right thing for the long-term good of New Zealand.”

Luxon had high praise for the infrastructure he saw while in Singapore, which has a 50-year infrastructure plan - compared to New Zealand’s “ad hoc” approach.

“New Zealand [is]... probably in the top 10% of countries that spend on infrastructure, but we’re in the bottom 10% in terms of the efficiency we get from it.”

The new food-for-fuel arrangement was agreed in principle last year, but its signing comes amid the global oil crisis with ongoing uncertainty around the impacts of the Iran war.

Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key pipeline for globally traded oil, for two months in retaliation for attacks from the United States and Israel.

Around a third of New Zealand’s refined fuels come from Singapore, which in turn normally sources a large part of its oil feedstocks through the strait, from countries in the Persian Gulf.

New Zealand’s latest fuel update shows stocks of diesel, petrol and jet fuel are all down slightly - one of the Government’s triggers to consider moving up its fuel alert level system.

However, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday said the alert level wouldn’t be reviewed, with officials claiming stock levels were within “normal ranges”.

Willis and Trade Minister Todd McClay accompanied Luxon to Singapore.

Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour acted as Prime Minister in Luxon’s absence, as well as announcing the Act Party’s immigration policy on Sunday.

The Immigration Minister, National’s Erica Stanford, called Act’s policy “kneejerk” and “populist” and said it would hurt businesses.

Luxon’s interview also comes after the Government announced it would scrap the Broadcasting Standards Authority, saying the media regulator’s role no longer makes sense as the industry evolves.

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