Ryan Bridge: A billion-dollar Gamble on oil

Author: Ryan Bridge ,
Publish Date: Mon, 20 Jul 2026, 6:11am

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New Zealand First has reported $300,000 in donations associated with the racing industry so far this year. Photo / RNZ, Dan Jones

New Zealand First wants to spend a billion bucks looking for oil and gas fields to make our country rich again.

Well, richer.

A bit more like the place our kids go to earn a living, Australia, who've pulled in $430 billion in mining royalties over the past decade alone.

A bit more like Norway, where per person GDP is $153,000, one of the highest in the world, ours is only about $85,000.

The Norwegians, of course, got a big boost from oil post 1960s and have a $2-trillion wealth fund, which pays for the stuff the Greens and Labour here could only dream of.

And herein lies one of two big problems with this country. The first one is not that we don't more children out of poverty or a generous welfare state or universal pensions.

The problem is how you pay for them. Debt is a downward spiral but is how we've been operating since 2019. That's the last time the books actually balanced.

So, there is logic in dragging oil and gas up out of the ocean to pay stuff, especially as the rest of the world, especially the US, is doing it anyway.

Which brings us to the second problem with this issue, and Winston's plans for it, and that's the opposition.

What's the point in us spending a billion bucks to look for oil the next government won't let anybody drill for?

The only way this makes sense is if you get the big parties to agree with each other, we actually need another feather in our bow, economically speaking.

Right now, Andy Burnham is having this very debate with his top advisors, including Mike Munro who worked for Jacinda Ardern.

The British press is reporting Burnham is about to announce plans for new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.

Labour banned it.

Burnham's a union guy, a worker guy, a more commonsense guy, so they say, and therefore he is about to turn the black tap on again.

Chris Hipkins is not that guy for the New Zealand Labour party.

And until the Opposition puts down its giant no sign, then spending a billion bucks looking for oil is throwing money down the dunny.