Nations, like individuals, often find themselves caught between the ideals they aspire to and the practical demands of the present. New Zealand, once a symbol of progressive climate ambition under Jacinda Ardern, has now granted its first offshore oil exploration permit to Australian firm EnZed Energy — a quiet but consequential reversal under Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's conservative government. With proven gas reserves at their lowest point in over two decades, Wellington has concluded that the question of what lies beneath its waters can no longer go unasked. The permit does not forec