MIL Email Publisher (NZ)

8 April 2026, 2:30 pm – New Zealand's response to the fossil fuel crisis must provide immediate relief to communities and local businesses, and enable a recovery that is equitable and sustainable, building our resilience for future shocks. Some practical measures to rebalance our tax system would make a significant contribution to such a response, says Tax Justice Aotearoa (TJA), and the Better Taxes for a Better Future Campaign (Better Taxes).

“Despite the potential of a ceasefire, there are tough times ahead for many of us already struggling with the cost of living. We need an effective immediate response that provides meaningful support to those worst affected, including small businesses, those on low incomes, Māori, Pacific and rural communities,” says TJA and Better Taxes spokesperson Glenn Barclay.

“But this crisis also provides us with an opportunity to make a meaningful shift towards a low carbon economy, and energy sovereignty. It is also an opportunity to rebuild a more resilient and productive economy that rewards hard work and shares our wealth more fairly.”

“The Government seems to want to respond within its self-imposed fiscal limits, but it is likely to have to do more. There is an urgent need to grow government revenue to fund both the immediate response and the longer-term recovery,” says Glenn Barclay. “This must be done in a way that protects the least well off, while ensuring that those who can afford it, and those who benefit from it, contribute the most.”

TJA and Better Taxes are calling for the Government to immediately adopt the following measures:

• Introduce a windfall tax, targeting industries, companies or sectors that make unusually high profits during the crisis. This should apply to fuel companies, but also other sectors that may make windfall profits, such as the banks, supermarkets and energy companies. Revenue gathered via this mechanism should be earmarked for the immediate costs of the crisis response.
• Require fuel companies to report profit margins to ensure  the Government has sufficient information from fuel companies and other relevant sectors to monitor windfall profits. Information on the margins of each fuel company should be published on a regular basis (e.g. weekly) throughout the crisis.
• A one off wealth tax. The crisis will hit those on low incomes much harder than the ultra wealthy. The Government should consider the one off application of a wealth tax on those who earn, or own assets, above a high threshold.
• Target investment boost to green energy. The Government's investment boost should be amended immediately to target private investment in green energy infrastructure that will reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and make our economy more resilient (e.g. solar panels, company EVs).
• Establish recovery corporate surcharges on sectors that are vulnerable to shocks, manage critical infrastructure and services, and/or lack competition (e.g. major banks, supermarket chains, electricity gentailers) to discourage excessive profits and generate revenue to build our resilience for future crises. 

TJA and Better Taxes do not support any temporary reduction of the fuel excise. It would do nothing to reduce demand for fuel and the financial advantage would flow to big corporations, and the ultra-wealthy, as much as the least well off. The measures outlined above focus on delivering relief to those least able to weather the crisis, while supporting a transition to a more equitable, resilient and productive economy.

“A windfall tax on fossil fuel companies and transparency around their profit margins will discourage price gouging, and generate the revenue we need to provide immediate support to struggling whānau and local small and medium businesses,” says Glenn Barclay. “Other tax reform measures proposed will both generate much needed revenue, and enable us to take advantage of this moment to start to rebalance our tax system to support a more sustainable, fairer future for everyone in Aotearoa.”

Tax reform is the primary focus of TJA and Better Taxes, but increased borrowing is also a legitimate way to fund crisis response, particularly when accompanied by the recommended tax measures. Further, borrowing for immediate and medium term investment to build green energy sovereignty and resilience to future shocks is appropriate; a failure to make sufficient investments would be reckless.

Midlife women focus more on alcohol’s immediate health impacts than longer-term risks, a new study shows.

Women manage the immediate health impacts of alcohol, but pay less attention to long-term risks such as cancer, according to new research out of Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland.

Dr Kate Kersey, a research fellow in the Centre for Addiction Research, interviewed 50 New Zealand women aged 35 to 60, both individually and in friendship groups, to explore how they understand and manage their drinking. See Psychology and Health: https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2026.2650785

Overall, 29 women (58 percent) drank at least twice a week, and 25 women (50 percent) typically drank three or more drinks on each occasion.

“There was a strong sense of expert knowledge in how participants talked about what alcohol does to the body,” says Kersey. “They spoke frequently about its negative effects on sleep quality, energy levels and weight.

“Interestingly, they did not talk much about long-term health effects such as heart disease or cancer. However, consistent with our other research, some participants said that if they were to develop cancer, they would feel deeply guilty, worrying that alcohol might have contributed.”

Kersey says these understandings reflect our current social context, where people are expected to take individual responsibility for successful lives and good health.

“If you are expected to be a ‘good’, productive citizen – you need to have the energy to perform well at work and stay fit and healthy.

The study also analysed women’s answers through a gendered lens. Today’s ‘empowered’ midlife women are expected to put effort into being a good mother and career women, into looking after themselves and others, and into ‘looking good’.

This was evident in how women in this study often framed drinking-related harms as something that could be managed through knowledge, careful monitoring and self-discipline – for example by tracking consumption through apps, investing in their health, and maintaining a slim body.

“They described doing a lot of exercise, with a strong sense that this was compensating for the effects of alcohol. However, we know that exercise does not always counteract alcohol’s harms, particularly its carcinogenic properties,” Kersey says.

The research focused primarily on middle-class Pākehā women, and Kersey notes that further work is needed with different communities and demographics.

Within this sample, however, most participants believed that they were ‘responsible’ about their drinking – a term Kersey sees as highly flexible and individualised.

“Everybody has a different idea of what being ‘responsible’ means when it comes to drinking,” she says. “For some people, that can still involve drinking quite large amounts – half a bottle of wine a night, or even a bottle.

“And if they are still doing their lives ‘right’ – working, parenting, exercising – they are less worried about their consumption.”

Kersey describes this as drinking within an ‘alcohol-genic environment’, where responsibility is placed on individuals to manage their drinking while alcohol remains widely available and heavily promoted.

“The industry pushes the framing of ‘drinking responsibly’, as does the government, because alcohol is a prized economic activity in our society.”

She argues that policy changes are needed like those that successfully reduced smoking-related harm: higher pricing, reduced availability, and strong regulation of marketing.

Kersey also emphasises the need for gender-responsive alcohol policy.

“One of the worst developments was alcohol being sold in supermarkets where the majority of shoppers are women, and where it’s seen like any other grocery item,” she says. “But alcohol is not a food product – it’s a psychoactive substance that can cause significant harm.”

Alcohol companies also increasingly target women through marketing that links drinking with health and self-care (relaxation, pleasure, social connection). Drinks labelled as low-sugar or low-carb also target women’s desire to maintain slim bodies.

Overall, the study shows that women’s drinking practices do not exist in a neutral environment.

“They are socially shaped, deeply gendered, and strongly influenced by powerful commercial interests,” Kersey says.

“If we want to reduce alcohol-related harm, we need to move beyond individual responsibility and address the wider systems that normalise New Zealand’s drinking culture.”

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is common, yet there is little support for carers, something a researcher at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland hopes to improve.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is common in Aotearoa New Zealand, yet there is little support for individuals and whānau affected by it – something Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland is keen to change.

Dr Joanna Ting Wai Chu, a senior research fellow in social and community health, has received $1.4 million over three years to run a gold‑standard trial of a parenting intervention aimed at supporting caregivers and people with FASD.

“I am thrilled to receive the HRC Health Delivery funding for this trial because I feel a sense of social responsibility to carers who have been advocating for better support for many years now.”

The Ministry of Health estimates that three to five percent of the population may have been exposed to alcohol before birth, meaning it is likely that 1,800 to 3,000 babies are born each year with FASD.

For Chu, finding out more about the scale of the problem and what can help feels like a social responsibility. “We have such a huge alcohol‑drinking culture in New Zealand, but when you come into the space of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, the amount of blame and the stigma attached is actually quite upsetting.”

According to data from the University of Auckland’s Growing Up in New Zealand study, around half of pregnancies are unplanned, Chu says.

“If you look at our drinking culture, and the fact we often don't find out we're pregnant until we're six or seven weeks or, even 12 weeks for some, by then you probably have drunk some alcohol.”

Yet, even though it is easy to accidentally drink during pregnancy, there is still shame and stigma associated with FASD, Chu says.

FASD is a lifelong disability that affects brain function and development, creating significant challenges for individuals, their families and society.

International research estimates that ten to 36 percent of people in youth-justice facilities have FASD.

Chu plans to co‑design a randomised controlled trial of a parenting intervention currently available only on an ad hoc basis, usually when a community organisation can fund it.

Chu developed the funding application with the FASD Care Action Network (FASD‑CAN), a nonprofit that supports caregivers impacted by FASD. They will now work together to design the trial to ensure it is bicultural, measures the most important outcomes and is delivered safely and respectfully.

“We want to make sure that the programme is going to work for the community, rather than us as researchers deciding everything. One of the issues with parenting programmes is they often works in the controlled setting, but when you roll them out into the community, the impact or the uptake is often not very high.

“And that's because often what we can control for in research doesn't necessarily mean it applies in the community.”

The aim is to ensure the programme meets community needs and, in the long run, for it to be funded by government as a key parenting programme to support carers.

“There is currently very little support available for parents and carers,” Chu says.

The hope is that parents and carers will learn about FASD, how it differs from other spectrum disorders and strategies to respond appropriately.

With better diagnosis and targeted support, Chu hopes carers will feel better equipped to support those living with this common disabling condition.

8 April 2026 – The Monetary Policy Committee today agreed to hold the OCR at 2.25 percent. Since the February Monetary Policy Statement, events in the Middle East have materially altered the outlook and the balance of risks for inflation and economic growth in New Zealand. In the near term, inflation is expected to increase and the economic recovery to weaken. The Committee is vigilant to any generalised inflationary pressure and stands ready to act to return inflation to its medium-term target.  

The Middle East conflict has disrupted global supply chains, leading to significantly higher prices for oil and refined petroleum products. As a result, near-term inflation is increasing and economic growth is weakening in many countries. Global financial markets have been volatile and market interest rates have increased.

In New Zealand, the extent of the near-term increase in headline inflation will depend on how the conflict in the Middle East evolves and the magnitude and duration of the disruption to global supply chains and energy markets.

Medium-term inflationary pressure will depend on the extent to which higher costs influence price- and wage-setting behaviour by firms and workers in the economy. If medium-term inflation expectations increase, then inflation is likely to become more persistent. However, weak demand and spare productive capacity in the economy should constrain the degree to which higher costs can be passed on.

The current economic situation is different to 2022 when COVID-19 and Russia's invasion of Ukraine disrupted global supply chains and increased energy prices. Back then, demand was growing strongly, adding to inflation pressure.

The Committee's decision to hold the OCR balances the potential benefits of responding pre-emptively to the risk of higher medium-term inflation against the cost of unnecessarily stifling the economic recovery.

The Monetary Policy Committee is focused on ensuring that inflation returns to the 2-percent target midpoint over the medium term. This requires core inflation and wage growth to remain contained and medium- and long-term inflation expectations to remain around 2 percent. If these conditions are not met, decisive and timely increases in the OCR would be required.

Read the full statement and Record of meeting: https://govt.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd316aa7ee4f5679c56377819&id=922ab96a14&e=f3c68946f8