Podcast: An operational pause is not peace
Dr Oliver Hartwich
Major General John G. Howard, MNZM (Ret)
24 April, 2026
The guns have paused in the US-Iran conflict but Oliver Hartwich and John Howard argue New Zealand should take little comfort from that.
All parties are struggling to find an off-ramp, damage to Qatar's refineries alone means a two-to-three-year rebuild, and New Zealand still lacks the energy strategy promised in 2024. Singapore, a city-state the size of Lake Taupō, has built the fuel resilience we have not.