The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union has written to Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) chief executive Nic Blakeley seeking answers over what it says is a lack of transparency around fuel security data.
The move follows a recent meeting between MBIE officials and the Taxpayers’ Union regarding its Fuel Clock dashboard, which tracks New Zealand’s real-time fuel security using publicly available data.
Taxpayers’ Union executive director Jordan Williams says officials have failed to justify why certain information — including details of fuel shipments heading to New Zealand — cannot be disclosed.
“We’ve now had multiple meetings with MBIE. Each time we’ve asked a very basic question: what exactly is commercially sensitive about publishing the names of fuel tankers and their cargoes? And each time, we’ve received no answer,” Williams says.
The organisation says its Fuel Clock adjusts MBIE’s published figures to reflect real-time consumption and distinguishes between fuel already in the country and shipments still en route, resulting in lower availability estimates than official “days of cover” figures.
Williams says the group has tested MBIE’s claims of commercial sensitivity with industry participants and experts, without identifying any clear justification.
“That leaves a simple conclusion: either the risk doesn’t exist, or MBIE is unwilling to explain it,” he says.
The Taxpayers’ Union also points to what it describes as inconsistencies in MBIE’s explanations around fuel shipments.
“One week we’re told ships ‘on water’ have left port. The next week we’re told they may not have. That’s not a minor technicality – it goes directly to how much fuel New Zealand actually has available,” Williams says.
He says the public is being asked to rely on data that may be outdated and difficult to verify at a time when fuel security is under scrutiny.
“MBIE is publishing figures that are already five days out of date, while Ministers are receiving daily updates. At the same time, they’re refusing to release the underlying data that would allow anyone to independently verify the official position.”
The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on MBIE to release vessel-level data underpinning its fuel stock figures and clarify its position on disclosure.
