The government’s fossil fuel folly
The following is an op-ed I wrote which ran in The Post on April 7th 2026. It’s not often a government’s chickens come home to roost so quickly, let alone within a single term. But here we are.
Fuel supplies are strangled by a war halfway across the world, revealing the folly of a system so reliant on fossil fuels.…
21 Comments We already have a plan for the fuel crisis
The world’s fuel situation is becoming clear, and it’s beginning to feel a lot like early 2020, where an incoming crisis is looming on the horizon.
America’s war in Iran has resulted in a drastic cut in fossil fuel supply from the Middle East.…
Weekly Roundup 2-April-2026
We hope you’ve all had a good (short) week! With the four-day Easter weekend ahead, here are some of this week’s top stories in transport and urbanism a day early.
Our header image shows mid city, mid-Queen St, in midweek – a little breathing space for people.…
NZ Government to un-ban walking, due to fuel crisis
A leaked Cabinet paper suggests the government is looking at a range of extreme measures to support New Zealanders with transport challenges through the fuel crisis.
These include a surprise U-turn on former Transport Minister Simeon Brown’s world-first ban on walking, which we first reported on two years ago today.…
Is government grasping the crisis and opportunities?
With the fuel crisis ramping up, all eyes are on the government’s response. Officially there’s a plan, with four phases. There are two relatively similar phases, Watchful and Precautionary – and then a quantum leap to quite serious measures at phases 3 and 4, Managed and Protected, both currently under consultation.…
Weekly Roundup 27-March-2026
We hope everyone is doing ok after the storm. Here is a roundup of stories that caught our eye to cap off your week. This week in Greater Auckland On Monday, we had a guest post by the esteemed Darren Davis, on what is next for Te Huia.…
New pathways Whau the people
The last week has seen not one but two important additions to Auckland’s cycling network, a positive sign of what’s possible in otherwise stressful times.
On Tuesday, a dawn karakia marked the official completion of the Great North Rd improvements.
The bike lanes along the ridge have already been open for some time, and they have made a huge improvement to both the corridor itself, and all ages access to and around adjacent neighbourhoods.…
Greater Auckland’s Annual Plan feedback
Feedback on Auckland Council’s Annual Plan close 11.59pm this Sunday (29th March). If you want to make a submission and haven’t yet, you need to get onto it now. Giving feedback is easy – and you don’t need to answer every question if you don’t want to!…
What can we do?
Or rather, to echo Patrick’s post from last week, what we can do…
…about the maybe imminent – but always possible – imported liquid fuels crisis.
We, in this case, being everyone except the government. Because leadership doesn’t always come from the top down.…
Te Huia – what comes next?
This is a guest post by Darren Davis. It originally appeared on his excellent blog, Adventures in Transitland, which we encourage you to check out. It is shared by kind permission.
And is even more relevant as we are reminded by events just how important more travel options between cities beyond flying and driving really are.…
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