By Colin Ambler/cvnznews.com
BusinessNZ is urging the Government to elevate the food and grocery sector into the highest priority tier of any future fuel‑rationing system, arguing that feeding the public is as essential as keeping hospitals and emergency services running.
The call was made during a one‑hour briefing on Thursday morning involving Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones. The meeting brought together chief executives from BusinessNZ’s Major Companies Group, representing some of the country’s largest employers across banking, logistics, infrastructure, tourism and retail.
BusinessNZ chief executive Katherine Rich told RNZ that the group sought clearer guidance on how fuel rationing would operate if the Government activated the more severe stages of its National Fuel Plan. She said Willis encouraged businesses to participate fully in the current consultation and to keep supplying real‑time insights from their sectors.
Rich, who previously led the Food and Grocery Council for more than a decade, said she pressed ministers to shift food supply and distribution into Band A — the top priority category reserved for “life‑supporting services” such as hospitals, courts and lifeline utilities. Under the draft framework released in March, food and grocery operations sit one tier lower, in Band B, classed as “economically important services”.
“Feeding people is about supporting life and maintaining calm,” Rich said, adding that the industry believes it should be treated as a core stabilising service during any disruption.
While ministers did not indicate where final decisions may land, Rich said business leaders felt their concerns were taken seriously. Officials from Treasury, MBIE and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade also attended, inviting ongoing feedback on potential red tape or operational challenges companies might face if fuel supplies tightened.
Rich said the level of engagement marks a noticeable improvement on the early Covid‑19 response, with businesses now being given more opportunity to shape planning. “We’re facing a very fast‑moving situation, and the information flow is very important,” she said. “There’s a lot business can do on its own to work around international disruption, but we need to keep the Government informed.”
Speaking later in Nelson, Luxon said the Government was working closely with industry, including daily contact with fuel companies. He said the Commerce Commission had been on watch “from day one” to ensure companies were not overcharging consumers, and that no evidence of gouging had been found.
On global tensions, Luxon said signs of a possible Middle East ceasefire were encouraging but fragile, with significant trust still needing to be rebuilt.
