iSAYSO
KIWIS ARE BEING GOUGED AT THE PUMPS, OIL IS CHEAPER THAN 2008 YET WE’RE PAYING MORE THAN EVER
KIWIS ARE BEING GOUGED AT THE PUMPS, OIL IS CHEAPER THAN 2008 YET WE’RE PAYING MORE THAN EVER
New Zealanders are being squeezed while fuel companies & importers pocket swollen margins & the government stands by.
The country is importing oil at prices well below the 2008 oil shock yet diesel prices have exploded to levels that would have been unthinkable back then.
The LANDED COST of oil — the real price once it arrives in New Zealand — is nowhere near the 2008 peak.
But pump prices behave as if oil is smashing records every week. Oil companies hike prices instantly when global oil rises even when the fuel in their tanks was bought at the old cheaper rate.
The claim is that this is not market behaviour — it’s opportunism.
Price history used to make the case
2007: Diesel around $1.60/L
2008: Oil hits US$147/BARREL; diesel peaks near $2.00/L
2011–2012: Oil mostly in the US$86–110 range; diesel $1.70–$2.00/L
2020: Oil collapses; diesel drops to $1.40–$1.50/L
The situation described for April 2026
Oil is trading around US$90–103/BARREL — roughly 30% cheaper than the 2008 high. Yet diesel is averaging $3.54/L with many stations charging $3.99–$4.00+.
This gap cannot be justified by LANDED COSTS & instead reflects inflated margins taxes & corporate markups far beyond anything seen in previous decades.
Claims about government inaction
The government of standing by while companies extract record profits from households farmers & freight operators.
Officials have full visibility of importer margins through MBIE monitoring yet have not delivered tax relief or demanded transparency.
PETROL EXCISE ACC LEVIES & GST push the tax load above a dollar per litre while diesel users face heavy ROAD USER CHARGES.
Despite lower LANDED OIL COSTS no meaningful steps have been taken to shield the public.
The economic pressure described
Every inflated litre flows into higher freight costs more expensive groceries & rising production costs.
New Zealanders are now paying more at the pump than they did when oil was at its most expensive point in modern history & that this represents a systemic failure to protect consumers.
The call for accountability
We demand tougher scrutiny of fuel company margins temporary tax relief & policies that prevent companies from charging record prices when the underlying cost of imported oil is far lower than in 2008.
New Zealanders should not be left exposed to global volatility while corporations profit & the government refuses to intervene.