New Zealand military mobilised during Auckland Airport fuel outage
By
John Braddock
27 September 2017
Four days before New Zealand’s September 23 parliamentary election, the ruling National Party government called in the military to deal with a fuel shortage amid escalating travel disruptions at Auckland Airport, the country’s main international travel hub.
On September 14, the pipeline from the Marsden Point oil refinery was discovered to have burst, leaving the airport with only 30 percent of its normal fuel. No public announcement was made for several days. Warnings only emerged as flight disruptions began four days later. Some Auckland service stations had also begun reporting they were running out of 95 octane grade petrol.
Virtually all of Auckland’s supply comes through the single pipe, which transports 40 percent of New Zealand’s fuel demand—2.26 million tonnes per annum. The pipe was made operational in 1986 by private owner Refining NZ.
On September 19, the government called in the naval tanker HMNZS Endeavour to move fuel from Marsden Point to ports around the country. The Defence Force cancelled an exercise in Singapore to release the ship and deployed 70 personnel, including 55 sailors, air force refuellers and truck drivers. The government also ordered more private tankers to deliver fuel, over-riding regulations concerning hours of work and weight restrictions.
Domestic military deployments have become increasingly common, dovetailing with intensifying austerity measures against the working class and ramped-up preparations to join Washington’s aggressive confrontations with North Korea and China in the Asia-Pacific.
Last November, when the South Island town of Kaikoura was isolated by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, the government sent army…