New Zealand has done away with its net zero policy by overturning a oil and gas drilling ban in a shock move many hope Australia will replicate.

The New Zealand government unveiled the plans in its latest budget, which was delivered earlier this week and provided for a $200m investment in new offshore gas fields.

This decision reverses a 2018 ban on new offshore oil exploration permits introduced by former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who had promoted it as part of her plan for a carbon-neutral future. 

Ardern’s 2018 decision came despite New Zealand discovering billions of cubic metres of natural gas offshore.

‘The world has moved on from fossil fuels,’ Ardern proclaimed at the time.

New Zealand’s energy minister, Shane Jones, said Ardern’s ban had been a disaster.

‘We are feeling the pain of constrained supply. The Government is not prepared to sit on the sidelines and watch our industrial and manufacturing dwindle because of energy security concerns,’ he told the

‘We are focused on growing the New Zealand economy, creating jobs and increasing prosperity and resilience. Natural gas will continue to be critical in delivering secure and affordable energy for New Zealanders for at least the next 20 years.’

New Zealand has done away with its net zero mission by overturning a ban on drilling for oil and gas first instituted by former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (pictured) 

Nationals Senator Matt Canavan (pictured) has embraced New Zealand’s move to abandon net zero, urging Australia to follow suit: ‘Why do we remain committed to this madness?’

Nationals senator Matt Canavan took to social media on Friday to question why Australia has not yet done away with its own plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

‘New Zealand just dropped net zero,’ he wrote in a post to social media.

‘Why do we remain committed to this madness?’

Canavan, who mounted an unsuccessful challenge to topple David Littleproud for the National Party’s top post earlier this month, told Sky News on Sunday he hoped to convince his party to abandon its support for net zero.

‘I didn’t really run to become leader, I ran to end our ridiculous support of this crazy idea of net zero,’ he said.

‘Now, obviously, that fight continues; I haven’t quite got there yet, but I had good conversations with my colleagues about that.

‘I’m sure there will be a reflection on that policy at some point while we’re in Opposition here.’

His position appeared to contradict earlier comments by the party’s deputy leader, Kevin Hogan, who said on Sunday that the net zero debate within the party had been settled.

‘The Nationals support net zero [by] 2050,’ he told ABC TV, adding the position was no longer ‘up for review or being changed’.

Littleproud has suggested policy disagreements should be on the table in renegotiating the Coalition agreement – a secretive document laying out the rules of engagement between the Liberal and National Party.

Canavan said he hoped to convince the Nationals to abandon its support for net zero

It’s unclear whether the Nationals will push to make net zero a key issue.

Liberal frontbencher Anne Ruston told ABC’s Insiders last Sunday the agreement should be limited to matters of administration, allowing both parties to handle policy issues within their party rooms.

Ruston said net zero was an ‘important part of policy going forward’ but added it was ‘no secret’ the parties held different views on how best to achieve it.

‘Right now, I absolutely think the thing we need to concentrate on is making sure that people can afford their power bills,’ she said.

‘The reality that we have to face as a political party, the Liberal Party, is that the electorate spoke very loudly to us two weekends ago that they didn’t like what we were doing and we needed to make some changes.’