New Zealand has done away with its net zero policy by overturning an 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.
