Shane Jones

Shane Geoffrey Jones (born 3 September 1959) is a New Zealand politician and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for the New Zealand First party.

Jones' political career began in 2005 as a list MP for the Labour Party. He became a cabinet minister in his first term, serving as Minister for Building and Construction in the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand. Following Labour's defeat in the 2008 election, he was a senior opposition MP and unsuccessfully contested the leadership of the Labour Party in a 2013 leadership election. He left parliament the following year for a brief diplomatic career, before returning as a New Zealand First MP at the 2017 general election.

Jones was Minister for Regional Economic Development and Minister of Forestry in the Labour–New Zealand First coalition government from 2017 to 2020. He was elected for a fifth non-consecutive term in Parliament at the 2023 general election, and is Minister for Oceans and Fisheries, Minister for Regional Development, and Minister for Resources in the National–ACT–New Zealand First coalition government.

Early life and career
Jones was born in Awanui, near Kaitaia, the eldest of six children to parents Peter, a farmer, and Ruth, a teacher. He is Māori, of Te Aupōuri and Ngāi Takoto descent, as well as having English, Welsh and Croatian ancestry. Jones' secondary education was at St Stephen's School, a boarding school for Māori boys in Bombay, south of Auckland. His time there overlapped with future Māori Party MPs Hone Harawira and Te Ururoa Flavell. He next studied at Victoria University of Wellington where he earned a Bachelor of Arts. In 1990, he was awarded a Harkness Fellowship to study at Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University where he completed a Master of Public Administration. Jones returned to Victoria University in the 1990s as a lecturer in Māori studies. He is fluent in te reo Māori.

Jones was a public servant in the 1980s. He worked in the Māori secretariat in the Ministry for the Environment and later in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, providing advice to the Fourth Labour Government on settling Treaty of Waitangi breaches. When the Fourth National Government began the settlements process in the 1990s, he was appointed a member of the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission. He became chair of the commission in August 2000 and completed the allocation of fisheries resources among iwi in 2004. He also chaired the Māori-owned fishing corporation Sealord during which period the company was merged with Nippon Suisan Kaisha. A 2004 "power list" by the New Zealand Listener ranked him the ninth most powerful New Zealander.

Jones had seven children with his first wife Ngāreta, from whom he separated in 2011; she died from cancer in 2015. Jones began a relationship with former beauty queen Dorothy (Dot) Pumipi in 2011 while she was his campaign manager; they married in 2018.

Labour Party, 2008–2014
Jones has been elected to Parliament for two political parties—first with the Labour Party for nine years from 2005 to 2014, then with New Zealand First from 2017 to 2020—and was a Cabinet minister under both affiliations.

Although he had often been speculated by the media and among his colleagues as a future leader of the Labour Party, and indeed contested the Labour leadership in 2013, Jones' move away from Labour was not a surprise. Before his election as a Labour MP, Sir Graham Latimer had tried, unsuccessfully, to recruit him for the National Party. Instead, Jones joined Labour in part because he had been impressed by David Lange and the Fourth Labour Government. Over time he felt less comfortable in the "modern Labour Party," and openly stated in 2014 that he was not "naturally left-leaning." He had been speculated as a New Zealand First candidate since at least 2015 before joining the party in 2017, in part due to his close relationship with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters.

Fifth Labour Government, 2005–2008
After the fisheries settlement was passed by Parliament in 2004, Jones announced he was interested in standing for the Labour Party at the upcoming election. He was approved as the candidate for the Northland electorate and was ranked 27 on the party list. This was the highest position given by Labour to someone who was not already a member of Parliament. While Jones did not win Northland, he entered Parliament as a list MP and was immediately made the chair of the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee.

On 31 October 2007, by then still in his first term, Jones was promoted into Cabinet. He became Minister for Building and Construction and held additional responsibilities as associate minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Immigration and Trade. He scrapped a government proposal requiring new buildings to have low flow showers heads, prior to the 2008 general election.

Opposition, 2008–2014
Labour was defeated at the election and Jones contested the Northland electorate unsuccessfully, but was returned to parliament as a list member due to his high list placing of 16. Labour lost again in the 2011 election; Jones was defeated in Tāmaki Makaurau but remained a list MP. During his six years as an opposition MP, Jones held various portfolios in the Goff, Shearer and Cunliffe shadow cabinets including building and construction, infrastructure, economic development, transport, fisheries, forestry and Māori affairs.

He was twice removed from his portfolios under controversy. On 10 June 2010, after the release of ministerial credit card records, Jones admitted to having used a Crown credit card for personal expenditure, but assured the public that he had reimbursed the Crown in full for the expenditure. Later that day Jones admitted that he had used the card to hire pornographic films at hotels while on ministerial business. The credit card record showed that he chartered an executive jet for $1200, which he claimed was due to bad weather which forced a change in his schedule. Four days later, opposition leader Phil Goff demoted Jones along with two other Labour MPs for misuse of ministerial credit cards.

As Associate Minister of Immigration in 2008, Jones approved the citizenship application of Labour Party donor, Chinese businessman and later convicted money launderer William Yan, also known as Bill Liu. Four years later, Yan was charged with making false declarations on immigration documents. On 23 May 2012, Jones stood down from the front bench and his shadow portfolios while an investigation took place. Labour Party leader David Shearer asked the Auditor-General to investigate Jones' handling of the citizenship application. Jones had acted against officials' advice that he should decline the application because of questions about Yan's multiple identities and a warrant for his arrest in China. Jones defended his decision, saying it was based on humanitarian grounds because a high-level Government official had told him that Yan faced execution if he returned to China. Shearer said Jones supported the decision to refer the matter to the Auditor-General because Jones must be given a chance to clear his name. On 24 May 2012, Yan was found not guilty on all the immigration charges. The Auditor-General investigation commenced on 30 May 2012. When it reported back the following year, it found no evidence that there was any improper motive, collusion, or political interference in the decision to authorise citizenship.

In 2014, while economic development spokesperson, Jones alleged that Progressive Enterprises, owner of Countdown supermarkets, was involved in racketeering and extortion. A Commerce Commission investigation found no evidence to support the claims.

Leadership contest and resignation
David Shearer resigned the Labour leadership in August 2013. Jones was the second MP to declare his candidacy, following Shearer's former deputy leader Grant Robertson. The pair would be joined by the party's economic development spokesperson David Cunliffe, who secured sufficient support from party delegates to win the leadership. Jones later said his candidacy was to honour Labour stalwart Parekura Horomia who had died earlier that year. Jones won the votes of seven out of 34 caucus colleagues and a minority of members' and affiliated unions' votes. Crucially, he did not have the support of senior Māori Labour MPs Nanaia Mahuta and Louisa Wall. Ten years later, The Spinoff founder Duncan Grieve would write Jones' candidacy was less an "expectation of success than [a] signal he felt his banishment had ended."

On 22 April 2014, Jones announced his intention to step down as a Labour Party MP, leaving at the end of May. He was appointed to the newly created role of Pacific Economic Ambassador by Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully. Kelvin Davis succeeded him as Labour list MP.

2017–2020 term
On 30 June 2017, after months of speculation, Jones was confirmed as the New Zealand First candidate for Whangarei for the 2017 general election. Jones was also placed eighth on the party list for New Zealand First, above some of the members of the New Zealand First caucus of the Parliament at the time, increasing his chances of re-entering Parliament. New Zealand online magazine The Spinoff hosted a live debate on Facebook with seven of the 2017 election's candidates that the magazine found "most exciting", including Jones, representing New Zealand First. Jones placed third in Whangarei, behind National candidate Shane Reti and Labour candidate Tony Savage, but was elected as one of New Zealand First's nine list MPs.

New Zealand First held the balance of power. Jones was part of the negotiating team that ultimately saw Winston Peters select a coalition with Labour over National. Jones was appointed Minister for Infrastructure, Minister of Forestry and Minister for Regional Economic Development and associate minister for finance and transport. As Minister for Regional Economic Development Jones was responsible for the $3 billion Provincial Growth Fund and announced a number of grants for the development of various regions, e.g. for Southland, the West Coast, the Wairarapa and Kaipara District. The first grants in February 2018 included $6 million for the Whanganui rail line, $5 million for the Napier-Wairoa rail line and $2.3 million for the Gisborne port. Further grants were announced for Hillside Engineering in South Dunedin ($20million) as a major heavy engineering and KiwiRail servicing hub. The fund was criticised by National for being a "slush fund" targeted toward marginal electorates and for the links between some fund applications and New Zealand First.

Jones continued to court controversy in his new party. On 25 September 2019, Jones and Labour MP Kieran McAnulty were ejected from Parliament by the Speaker of the House Trevor Mallard after trading barbs with National MPs during a parliamentary debate about Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's meeting with US President Donald Trump. In mid-October 2019, Jones drew media attention when he was photographed using an AR-15 style rifle while on holiday. The AR-15 rifle was among the semi-automatic weapons banned by New Zealand Government's Arms (Prohibited Firearms, Magazines, and Parts) Amendment Act 2019 following the Christchurch mosque shootings.

Jones drew further criticism when he made a series of anti-Indian remarks in October and November 2019 and again in February 2020. In response to members of the Indian New Zealand community's criticism of Immigration New Zealand's recent decision to tighten partnership visas for those on arranged marriages, Jones had said:

Jones' comments were condemned by the Waitakere Indian Association, who called on Ardern and Minister for Ethnic Communities Jenny Salesa to demand a public apology from Jones and to address the Indian community's concerns. A rally in protest of Jones' remarks was held on 3 November 2019 by members of the Migrant Workers Association and Love Aotearoa Hate Racism. Jones' remarks were also condemned by the broadcaster Patrick Gower, who described Jones as a "gutless wonder." Ardern, Trade Minister Damien O'Connor, and Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway have disavowed Jones' remarks as not representative of the New Zealand Government. On 5 November 2019, Jones described the community response as a "Bollywood reaction" and claimed that he was speaking for New Zealanders who were anxious about immigration. On 6 November 2019, the Government reversed the partnership visa decision, restoring the exception for non-resident Indian marriages.

The following year, Jones claimed in a television interview that immigration was placing "enormous stress" on the country's social and economic infrastructure and that the large number of international students from India had ruined New Zealand tertiary institutions. Jones' remarks were criticised by Ardern, the Waitakere Indian Association, National Party leader Simon Bridges, Green Party co-leader James Shaw, and Labour MP Iain Lees-Galloway. The Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon also condemned them as "racist, ignorant and harmful." Jones defended his comments, claiming that members of the Indian community were exploiting their own people.

As Forestry Minister, Jones' flagship policy was to plant one billion trees. A farmers' protest in November 2019 against the Government's forestry policy caught Jones' ire; he described them as "rednecks." Federated Farmers vice president Andrew Hoggard described Jones' comments as unhelpful and alleged that the Government was ignoring the agricultural sector's concerns. In 2020, Jones described climate change activists for advocating reduced meat consumption as "medieval torture chamber workers" hellbent on "preaching this gospel of absolutism" in response to the Government's recent announcement that they would be introducing climate change education in schools.

Out of Parliament, 2020–2023
Jones was selected as New Zealand First's Northland candidate for the 2020 general election. He was defeated, coming third place with 5,119 votes behind Labour's Willow-Jean Prime (17,066) and National's Matt King (16,903). New Zealand First also lost all its parliamentary seats, gaining only 2.6% percent of the party vote, below the five percent threshold needed to enter Parliament. The day after the election, Jones, hungover and dressed in a t-shirt and baseball cap, was one of the first New Zealand First MPs to address media, saying he was "astounded" with Labour's success in the election. Since leaving Parliament for the second time, Jones has provided media commentary critical of the Sixth Labour Government.

In the 2023 general election, Jones stood as New Zealand First's Northland candidate and was ranked second on the party list. During the campaign, he was described as New Zealand First's deputy leader and finance spokesperson and advocated for greater investment in regional New Zealand. In mid-August 2023, he released a TikTok video of himself singing to the tune of the American rock band Journey's song "Don't Stop Believin'". Jones also used the song to highlight his role in promoting the Government's Provincial Growth Fund. He polled in third place in the electorate. With New Zealand First winning 6.08% of the party vote, he returned to Parliament for a fifth term as a list MP.

Sixth National Government, 2023–present
Jones was appointed the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Resources, and Associate Minister of Finance and Energy in the Sixth National Government of New Zealand on 27 November 2023.

In late January 2024, Jones along with his New Zealand First and National parties colleagues including Winston Peters and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon attended the Rātana Church's special annual hui (meeting). During his speech, Jones expressed support for reviewing the powers of the Waitangi Tribunal, stating: "An institution that's been around for 50 years should not expect to continue on uncritically for another set of decades without being reviewed.".

During his 2024 Waitangi Day speech on 6 February, Jones' defended the Government's proposed Treaty Principles legislation and rejected opposition claims that the Government was degrading tino rangatiratanga (self determination). He also said that the Government was funding wānanga (Māori tertiary institutions) and marae (meeting houses).

In late March 2024, Jones as Fisheries Minister announced the Government had halted work on legislation to create a 620,000sqkm ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands.

In mid April 2024, the Waitangi Tribunal summoned fellow ACT MP and Minister for Children Karen Chhour to an urgent hearing on the Government's plans to repeal Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989. In response, Jones told Waatea News during an interview that "the Waitangi Tribunal has no business running its operations as some sort of star chamber delivering summons for ministers to rock up and be cross-examined or grilled." Jones' remarks were criticised as inappropriate by the Māori Law Society, who complained to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Attorney-General Judith Collins. They asked whether Jones' remarks breached the Cabinet Manual and for the Government to uphold the integrity of the judicial arm.

In early June 2024, Jones announced that the Government would introduce legislation to reverse the previous Labour Government's ban on oil and gas exploration in the second half of 2024. He also confirmed that the Government would also amend legislation to make it easier for companies to get permission for oil exploration. Jones argued that reversing the ban on oil and gas exploration would help attract investment and promote economic growth and jobs. The Green Party's co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said that reversing the ban would worsen climate change while Labour's energy spokesperson Megan Woods criticised the Government for ignoring alternative, renewable energy sources.

In July 2024, Jones expressed interest in expanding the aquaculture sector in his capacity as Minister for Oceans and Fisheries. Jones told the news website Newsroom that the aquaculture sector faced fewer barriers and offered more opportunities than the wool, dairy and meat sectors. In addition, Jones said that the aquaculture industry lacked the "cacophony of voices currently protesting New Zealand's farming footprint."

Political views
Jones voted in favour of the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill to legalise same-sex marriage in New Zealand in 2012 and 2013. He supported the End of Life Choice Bill at all stages in 2017 and 2019. He supported the Abortion Legislation Bill at its first and second readings in 2019 and 2020, but changed his position to oppose the Bill at its third reading in 2020.

In mid-February 2024, Jones criticised the Supreme Court of New Zealand for permitting climate activist Mike Smith to pursue legal action against several polluters, describing the ruling as the "Americanisation" of New Zealand's judiciary. The Cabinet Manual cautions ministers to "exercise judgment before commenting on matters before the courts or judicial decisions, whether generally, or in relation to the specifics of an individual case. Ministers should not express any views that are likely to be publicised if they could be regarded as reflecting adversely on the impartiality, personal views, or ability of any judge." Jones also claimed that the tobacco industry was being demonised by poiticians, stating "that there's a great deal of catastrophisation and tainting going on with these people in the tobacco industry. They're running an industry that still, the last time I checked, was a legitimate part of the economy."

Jones has also attracted scrutiny due to his links to the tobacco industry and New Zealand First successfully pressing for the repeal of smokefree legislation as part of its coalition agreement with the National Party. According to Radio New Zealand, Philip Morris International's external relations director and former NZ First staffer Api Dawson attended Jones' swearing-in ceremony at Parliament in late 2023. Jones also confirmed that Dawson was involved in "soundings" about the party's tobacco policy. In March 2024, Jones stated that he was not interested in following the Cabinet Manual's rules when engaging with tobacco lobbyists.