Annoying reporting from RNZ.

"The situation was created by the political decision to ban oil and gas while moving towards net zero, she said.

"The oil and gas ban certainly didn't give anyone confidence to go out looking for more gas - so ... a whole lot of businesses that are facing increased costs for gas which are pretty much threatening their survival."

This is referrig to the ban on new oil & gas exploration by the last Labour government. The implication is that had the ban not been in place there would have been new oil & gas supplies available to us now. Untrue. If they had found any they would be years away from development, and there probably isn't anything economically useful to find (although that view might change if prices stay very high).

Also, Labour brought in a scheme very like the one being asked for here to assist industries to move away from gas to electricity. It was making useful progress. The current government dropped it. But I think the RNZ story should have mentioned that since they were happy to talk about the exploration ban

Business NZ seeks government loan support for firms moving away from gas | RNZ News
https://www.rnz.co.nz/