9 Feb 2026 – Taranaki locals, affordable energy
advocates and climate justice organisations are condemning
the Government’s announcement to underwrite a Liquified
Natural Gas (LNG) import terminal in Taranaki, labelling it
a “lifeline for gas” that prioritises fossil fuel interests
over a just transition for communities.
“The
Government’s lack of imagination is thanks to fossil fuel
lobbyists like Energy Resources Aotearoa, who are doing
everything they can to lock expensive gas into the system
for decades to come. Today’s decision was timed in order for
Ministers to attend the annual fossil fuel lobbyist
breakfast tomorrow,” says Alva Feldmeier, 350 Aotearoa
Co-Director. “While Ministers are busy listening to sweet
nothings from gas executives, the public still hasn’t been
told what meaningful discussions were held with Taranaki iwi
before deciding to turn their coastline into an imported gas
terminal. We’re socialising the costs of gas so a handful
of industrial users can delay change.”
Tuhi Ao
Bailey from Climate Justice Taranaki says, “We are
appalled at the government’s decision to build an
unaffordable, gas-emitting, highly explosive LNG plant,
likely right next to a marine reserve and popular beach in
the middle of our major city. This is the complete opposite
of what energy transition off fossil fuels looks like, and
our communities will fight this all the way. New Plymouth is
the sunniest place in the country. The government should be
investing in decentralised affordable solar power
generation, building energy efficiency, public transport and
local economies instead”
Advertisement – scroll to continue reading
350 Aotearoa points out
that this decision is being made in a total strategic
vacuum. While MBIE has a nearly complete long-term energy
strategy sitting on its desks, the Government has chosen to
shelve it in favour of “scatter policies” and “fossil fuel
welfare”. “Investing in imported gas is like renting an
expensive heater for a house you’re already planning to
electrify. Every dollar spent keeping the old system running
is a dollar not spent finishing the upgrade,” says Alva
Feldmeier.
Alex Johnston, co-Director of Common Grace
Aotearoa, says: “Let’s be clear about what has been
announced here: a tax on every New Zealander’s power bill
to subsidise fossil fuel giants to import the most expensive
fuel source you could find rather than transitioning a few
industrial players to free up more gas supply.”
The
BCG report released in December outlined that the best thing
in the short term was to help industrial users get off gas,
not keep them on an imported drip line for decades. The
report found that a $100–200 million gas transition fund
would help resolve the gas supply-demand imbalance, ensure
more affordable domestic gas and be much cheaper than
building an LNG terminal.
Johnston added,
“Government policy and funding should be driving the
transition towards cleaner and more affordable energy, not
subsidising fuels of the past that are harming people and
planet.”
The Government claims the terminal will
save money, but advocates wrote an open letter to the
government last year to argue the numbers don’t add up for
everyday New Zealanders:
LNG-generated electricity is
estimated at $300/MWh double the price of new renewable
energy, which sits at approximately $135/MWh.
In 2022,
110,000 households could not afford to keep their homes
warm. 350 Aotearoa argues that while the Government can’t
provide clear figures on the impact this will have on
individual household bills, any subsidy for expensive gas is
a subsidy taken away from solutions that actually lower
costs.
A mass heat pump rollout could save households
$1.5 billion annually and free up enough domestic gas for
industry to avoid the need for imported LNG
altogether.
“We don’t need expensive imported gas; we
need a just transition”, says Feldmeier. “A true just
transition means co-designing our energy future with
workers, unions, and mana whenua to ensure we build a
resilient, 100% renewable grid that serves people, not just
shareholders and overseas corporations”.
350 Aotearoa
is calling on the Government to immediately release the
shelved Long-Term Energy Strategy and abandon the LNG
terminal in favour of publicly-funded, community-owned
renewable
energy.
