Petrol prices are likely to keep climbing past this week's record highs, despite a sudden drop in crude prices yesterday.

Motorists should expect to see a drop in the cost of filling up their cars early next week.

The skipper of a protest boat who was arrested yesterday plans to fight claims he acted dangerously.

Greenstone Energy, the company that owns and operates the Shell-branded service station network, has dropped the price of diesel.

Protesters near the East Cape have been told not to get too close to oil survey ships, while Maori Party MP Te Ururoa Flavell has compared the deployment of navy personnel to the Libyan situation.

The pressure on ruling powers to hand out more goodies to the people will ultimately have to be paid for.

Prime Minister John Key said this afternoon that the Government was considering providing naval protection to Brazilian company Petrobras so it can carry out its oil exploration work off East Cape.

Business magnate Owen Glenn spoke perceptively last week of how New Zealand was living beyond its means and had to decide how it was going to pay its way.

The Government says Petrobras is following DOC guidelines to minimise the disturbance to marine mammals while it looks for oil off the East Cape.

A flotilla of boats will leave from Auckland this afternoon on a mission to show solidarity with an East Coast iwi.