The case for energy loans: read our latest explainer
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"Very quickly, the risks outlined around LNG access have come true. Current events make it harder to immediately buy into why this LNG facility is likely the best option, because it has potentially fallen over at the first hurdle." That's Brad Olsen, chief economist at Infometrics, spelling out what the situation in Iran means for New Zealand on RNZ.
As he says in Kate Newton's story about the shipping delays and price rises as a result of the military action in the Middle East: " ... If the whole idea of the LNG facility was to provide that short-term relief, well, if New Zealand hit a dry-year time and something's happening in the Strait of Hormuz, then you've got a very expensive white elephant that might be sitting there."
The LNG facility is about removing a domestic risk (the dry year), but we're solving it by adding another big international risk and increasing our dependency on imported fuel.
In a more volatile world, relying on a volatile commodity as an insurance policy doesn't stack up. Energy security needs to begin at home.
The unfolding situation in the Middle East is devastating for people across the region and for their loved ones around the world. Our thoughts are with those facing the human cost of conflict. As the crisis escalates, another reality is becoming clear here at home: New Zealand is exposed.
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