PM Christopher Luxon to speak as Cyclone Vaianu clean-up continues

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is about to speak to journalists in the aftermath of Cyclone Vaianu.

Luxon will hold a media stand-up in Auckland about 3pm. A livestream will be played at the top of this article.

He will likely address how the country fared over the weekend with Cyclone Vaianu hitting northern and eastern parts of New Zealand.

The storm, deemed potentially life-threatening in the days before landfall, which prompted evacuations, appeared not to inflict as much damage as initially feared.

Local states of emergency have been removed in several areas, including Tauranga and Hawke’s Bay.

Several highways remain closed across the North Island between the Coromandel and Gisborne after rain and gales led to flooding, downed trees and slips.

NZTA said crews were out across the Bay of Plenty and Coromandel state highway network today, clearing slips, flood debris and culverts.

Power was still out for hundreds of people this morning. As of 9.30am, about 500 customers, mainly in the Western Bay of Plenty and the Coromandel Peninsula, remain without power.

Luxon will also likely face questions on the country’s fuel stocks as tension remains in the Middle East with the United States and Iran unable to agree to a peace deal after negotiations over the weekend.

In an update released this afternoon by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, New Zealand had 25.6 days of petrol in-country, 21.7 days of diesel and 25.1 days of jet fuel as of the evening of Wednesday, April 8.

There is additional fuel on ships on the water coming to New Zealand. As of Wednesday, there were 14 ships expected to come here within the next three weeks.

Taking into account that on-water fuel, New Zealand’s stock of petrol sits at 59.7 days’ worth, 49.1 days of diesel and 50.7 days of jet fuel.

“The latest update shows national fuel stocks remain stable with sufficient stock levels across petrol, diesel and jet fuel,” the ministry said.

It said there had been a “slight decrease across all fuel types since the last update on April 8”.

“Movements remain within expectations and show normal patterns.”

Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.