New Zealand Will Start Giving Weekly Cash Payments To Lower Income Families Over Surging Fuel Prices Due To The War On Iran
The government said this was possibly the first direct fuel‑relief cash package of this kind globally, aimed at easing pressure on household budgets.
New Zealand will give weekly cash payments to about 157,000 low- and middle-income families to help cover the cost of surging fuel prices caused by the US and Israel's war on Iran.
After the US and Israel launched its joint unprovoked attack on Iran on Feb. 28, Iran has retaliated by attacking Israel and neighboring Gulf countries with US bases, as well as partially closing the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil is transported.
Since then, roughly seven to 10 million barrels of oil per day have been cut off from global markets in the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Oil prices rose more than 40% from US$72 per barrel to over US$100 per barrel.
In New Zealand, petrol prices increased roughly 40 to 50 cents a liter, pushing the average price of unleaded fuel above NZ$3 (US$1.75), with some petrol stations running out of fuel as people tried to stock up.
On Tuesday, March 24, New Zealand’s prime minister Christopher Luxon and finance minister Nicola Willis announced that about 143,000 lower-income working families with children will receive an extra NZ$50 (about US$30) a week starting April 1.
A further 14,000 families with slightly higher incomes will also become eligible but will receive less than $50 a week, local channel 1News reported.
The payment works through New Zealand’s in-work tax credit, which is part of a government program called Working for Families that gives financial support to families where at least one parent is employed and neither parent receives a main benefit like a jobseeker payment.
The payment will be temporary, lasting for one year from 1 April, or until the price of 91 octane petrol drops below NZ$3 (US$1.75) a litre for four consecutive weeks, according to the Guardian.
The support package is estimated to cost the government up to NZ$373 million if it runs the full year, according to 1News.
The government said this was possibly the first direct fuel‑relief cash package of this kind globally, aimed at easing pressure on household budgets without worsening inflation or debt.
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Cherry Mohamed
Cherry Mohamed
Cherry Mohamed
