"The Pātaka Is Ash: How Nicola Willis Stood Before a Burning Storehouse and Called It Warm" - 19 March 2026

The government told you it has 90 days of fuel.

It doesn't.

Physical diesel on New Zealand soil: 21 days. The rest is paper contracts — IOUs from overseas suppliers now legally voiding them under Force Majeure as the Strait of Hormuz crisis deepens.

Petrol is past $3. Diesel is up 72 cents a litre. The legislative fix was scheduled for 2028. Marsden Point — our only refinery — is already gone.

And Nicola Willis stood at the podium and called it "not unusually so."

My latest essay exposes five hidden connections behind this catastrophic failure of energy sovereignty — and what it means for Māori whānau who will absorb the cost first, hardest, and longest.

The pātaka is ash. Read the full essay →