John MacDonald: Luxon needs to do some elbowing for fuel supplies too

After what happened at the weekend, I think Christopher Luxon needs to take a leaf out of Anthony Albanese's book, jump on a plane and head over to South Korea to make sure we don’t run out of fuel. 

With negotiations between the U.S. and Iran falling over, President Donald Trump has announced that he’s now in charge of the Strait of Hormuz, with the U.S. Navy blockading the vital trade route. 

He’s also talking about stopping any ships that have paid any sort of toll to Iran to sneak through. 

Which says to me one thing: this fuel crisis isn’t going to be over anytime soon, and we now need to start doing a little bit more than calming the farm. 

Which is where Anthony Albanese comes into it. He’s going to make his second trip in a week to Asia to shore up fuel supplies. 

This week he’s off to Brunei and Malaysia. Last week he was in Singapore, where he signed a new agreement - which means Singapore has promised to keep sending fuel to Australia. 

The other part of that agreement is that Australia has promised to keep sending gas to Singapore. Which is where Anthony Albanese has more to put on the bargaining table than Christopher Luxon does. 

Albanese has been telling countries he’ll give them gas if they give him petrol and diesel. 

Christopher Luxon might be thinking he doesn’t need to rush. Because he’s due to travel to Singapore next month, where he’s going to be signing the agreement with Singapore to keep fuel supplies flowing. 

Which is fine. But what about South Korea, where we get about half of our fuel from? 

That’s why, at the very least, Christopher Luxon should be on a flight to Seoul as soon as he can. 

Because one of the things he is extremely good at is getting on with world leaders. He loves nothing more than working a room. 

So let’s get him doing what he does best. Because this fuel crisis isn’t going to be over any time soon. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Canterbury Mornings podcast with John McDonald
from News Talk ZB.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
After what happened at the weekend, I think Christopher Luxen
needs to take a leaf out of Anthony Albanese's book,
jump on a plane and head over the Singapore and
South Korea to make sure we don't run out of fuel.
With negotiations between the US and Iran falling over, Donald Trump,

(00:33):
you've probably heard he's announced that he's now in charge
of the Australia of Ulmus, with the US Navy blockading
the vital trade route. He's also talking about clearing minds
from the area and stopping any ships that have paid
any sort of toll to Iran to sneak their way through.
All of that says one thing to me. This fuel

(00:54):
crisis isn't going to be over anytime soon, and we
now need to start doing it a little bit more
than just calming the farm, which is where Australia's Anthony
alban and Easy comes into it. So tomorrow is going
to make a second trip in a week to Asia
to shore up fuel supplies for his country. This week

(01:15):
he's after Brunei and Malaysia, and last week he was
in Singapore where he signed a new agreement, which means
Singapore has promised to keep sending fuel to Australia. The
other part of that agreement is that Australia has promised
to keep sending gas to Singapore, which is where Anthony
ol Madeazy has more to put on the bargaining table

(01:36):
than Christopher Luxen does. Albanese has been telling countries that
he'll give them gas if they give them petrol and diesel.
But the other reason why I think Christopher Luxen needs
to bring his travel plans forward and head over to
Asia asap is that the person who has been over

(01:58):
to represent New Zealand's interests over there is yesterday's man.
Simon Watts. Was in Asia last month when he was
still in minister, but as of the other week when
the Prime Minister did his cabinet reshuffle, Watts is no
longer Energy Minister. So Singapore and South Korea where we
get our refined fuel from. I've met the guy who

(02:19):
used to be New Zealand's energy minister well last week
and this week they're meeting Australia's head honcho, Anthony Obneza,
who's over there doing the old shake and howdy saying
itt a. He's not just calling them on the phone,
He's jumping on a plane and pressing the flesh. And
in times like these you do what you have to

(02:40):
do to get a result. And in times like these,
the boss turning up in person speaks absolute volumes. Now
I said before about Luxon bringing forward his travel plans,
maybe he's thinking he doesn't need to rush because he's
eventually going to go to Singapore next month. That's his plan,
and one of the things he's going to be doing

(03:01):
is signing an agreement when New Zealand and Singapore will
pretty much give up their rights to empower his export
restrictions during the crisis, which will mean Singapore can't knock
their fuel exports to New Zealand on the head if
they think God might leave them a bit short on supplies,
which is fine, but that's just Singapore. What about South
Korea where we get about half our fuel fromk That's why,

(03:27):
at the very least, Christopher Luxen should be on a
flight to Soul as soon as he can't wait until
next month, as soon as he can asap, because let's
face it, one of the things that Christoph Luckson is
extremely good at is getting on with world leaders. He
loves nothing more than working a room, so let's get
him doing what he does best. EH.

Speaker 1 (03:49):
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