Photo: RNZThe country will not be moving up an alert level when ministers announce more details of the national fuel plan at Parliament on Friday. "Tomorrow we will also provide more information about the criteria we will use to assess when a change in the response phase is required. Willis also told MPs in the House that the government's goal was to "avoid ever getting to response phase three or four". Willis also doesn't expect the government would need to be "skipping through the response phases" of the alert level framework. On how much warning there would be for alert level changes, Willis said, "we are determined to ensure people aren't in a situation where things change suddenly overnight in ways that aren't expected".

Source: Otago Daily Times March 26, 2026 03:20 UTC