Shane Jones will desecrate our environment with shady crony capitalism deals with the biggest polluters for a 2% return
Regional Development and Resources Minister’s mine visits not publicised
Regional Development and Resources Minister Shane Jones visited two mines on the West Coast on Thursday, without revealing the visits until afterwards, then had a private lunch with mining industry representatives.
His only pre-publicised engagement on the West Coast yesterday was his speech at Blackball about the government’s plans to boost mining.
The minister, who has been under fire for his close links to the mining industry, told the Westport News he couldn’t care less if people think those relationships are too cosy.
The Westport News contacted his office on Tuesday, after reports the Coast visit included Buller. His office said the minister had a private meeting scheduled in Buller, and would talk about it afterwards, but wanted no pre-publicity for “safety” reasons given protests were already planned at Blackball.
However, Jones told the Westport News yesterday he had avoided pre-publicity because he did not want the media tagging along “like a kind of public circus”.
He said he had spent about 90 minutes at Federation Mining’s Snowy River gold project, near Reefton, then visited Roa Mining’s Rajah open cast coal mine north of Greymouth.
Jones said he had been keen to see how Federation Mining had spent the $15 million it received from the Provincial Growth Fund when he was PGF minister.
He had met Sydney-based Federation Mining vice-president Simon Delander and ventured about a kilometre underground.
Asked whether private visits to mines reinforced the perception of his cosy relationship with the miners, Jones said he could not escape meeting industry representatives in “all contexts”.
“Socially, I bump in to them at the rugby. I go and see them in their offices. I invite them to my office.
“I don’t think there’s much I can do, quite frankly, to overcome the perception that there is a cosy relationship between myself and both the fishing industry and the mining industry.
“But it bothers me not one iota, because in this game I’ve learned the hard way the best way to hide is in the open.”
Jones also revealed he had lunch yesterday with “a whole bunch of mining people” in Blackball.
Asked if the lunch had been recorded in his ministerial diary, he said his office had insisted everyone there was recorded.
His office provided a list of 10 people who attended the private lunch at a café.
They were: Francois Tumahai (Ngāti Waewae and Bathurst Resources), Richard Tacon, Fiona Bartier (Bathurst Resources), Alison Paul (Oceana Gold), Patrick Phelps (Minerals West Coast), Lincoln Smith (Terra Firma Mining), Phil McKinnel (Birchfield Coal Mines), Mike Meehan (New Zealand Institute for Minerals and Materials Research) Robert Brand (TiGa Minerals and Metals), Simon Delander (Federation Mining).
Two of the representatives, Delander and Bathurst Resources chief executive Richard Tacon, also attended a private dinner with Jones and Stevenson Mining Group deputy chair Barry Bragg on the West Coast in February. Jones failed to record the dinner in his ministerial diary until after Newsroom asked questions about it.
Stevenson Mining and Bathurst Resources are both seeking to use the government’s proposed fast-track process for their Buller projects.
Jones yesterday defended incorrectly telling Parliament earlier this month that the Westport News supported the government’s view on mining. The newspaper has never expressed a view on mining.
“You’re dealing with politicians, get over it…,” he said yesterday. “You’re dealing with political rhetoric, and if you as an editor haven’t worked that out then you’ve got a lot more to learn about how to do your job.
“Us politicians, we are always deploying hyperbole and rhetoric.”
Jones said his comments to Parliament should be seen as “Akin to the political wind of God speaking, and let the wind blow away such remarks.”
Just so I have this completely straight with all those Kiwis who voted National, ACT, NZ First AND all those who didn’t bother voting because post Covid bitterness made you blame Jacinda for having the temerity of saving 20 000 lives.
Just so we are 100% clear.
You are going to give someone as venal, selfish and corruption adjacent as Shane Jones the powers of Muldoon on Meth to desecrate the environment for rare earth minerals that are many times more toxic than lead for a mere 2% return???
Just so we understand, this appalling human being with the crony capitalism interests of the donors ahead of New Zealand – THIS is your standard on the Political Right is it?
This is your reward for political apathy and a self denial of ‘it can’t get any worse’.
Well guess what, it can!
If the political right honestly allow this walking Pork Barrel gain the powers he wants, you don’t get to lecture the Left on corruption ever again!
Shane Jones is poisoning the earth, trashing due process and only looking after the interests of his donor mates for a fucking 2% pittance!
Are those on the Right so lobotomised in their misogynistic hatred towards Jacinda that you will allow Shane Jones?
Are you really that self-mutilating?
This is on you, for the rest of us, let your rage howl at the June 8th March against this desecration of our democracy, our environment and the egalitarian values that built this nation!
Increasingly having independent opinion in a mainstream media environment which mostly echo one another has become more important than ever, so if you value having an independent voice – please donate here.
If you can’t contribute but want to help, please always feel free to share our blogs on social media.
If we want nice things like pharmaceuticals, MRI machines and welfare, they have to be paid for. Shane has a plan to do just that. What’s yours?
The flaw with your guess Andrew is that firstly NONE of the elements Jones is backing make the products you state.
Coal, gas , oil, gold , antimony are NOT needed for MRI machines nor so called green energy for the planet to survive. Eg. Gold is still predominantly an obsession globally, for bejeweled decorations. It has no real value in solutions to save the world. All processes with deadly antimony are replaceable.
You perpetuate the falsehood still by repeating baselessly these false claims.
For NZ and Jones , overseas private companies will make profits at the expense of leaving wastelands of toxins for centuries, drive water scarcity – oh shit.. for farming… and emit shitloads of CO2 for mere miserly royalties of just 1% and 2%. The long term destruction outweighs today’s greedy, but miserly benefit.
Secondly, the drive for mining elements globally is not at this point about green energy for the good of all mankind by the major players. The BS# spin !
It’s drive, ITS GREED, is more akin to stockpiling elements to hold the world to ransom ( eg. In December 2023, Beijing banned the export of technology for making rare earth magnets.)
EVEN MORE SIGNIFICANT is that the mining industry underpins trillions of dollars of weaponry for the Super Powers’ wars of domination, ie. NACTZis are talking bullshit, it’s not for green energy nor for altruism !
Without , for example the top mineable elements ( NZ DOESN’T HAVE ) of gallium, germanium and good old graphite from China, the US military would grind to a halt. Israel and Ukraine…. ?
China has the stranglehold on more than 85% of these commodities in its mineral resources, that it’s stockpiling and then dominates the processing industries to refine them. ( Nearly all materials — no matter where in the world they are mined — travel to China for refinement before they can be used in technologies.)
The US military is facing critical mineral shortage for advanced weaponry so the likes of the US throwing billions into the development of the likes of Mountain Pass is no surprise.
In the scale of this global picture Jone’s is pissing in the wind, selling BS# and a lemon, all for EGO and power.
You Andrew along with Jonzie et al. have even unwittingly, joined the chorus that votes for short term gains and long term extinction.
You might as well resurrect the industries of blacksmiths for horse shoes and roof thatching. They’ll be alot more useful in the years ahead.
SO IF YOU BELEIVE THAT A 1 BILLION INCREASE IN EXPORTS OF COAL IS GOING TO SAVE nz AND THE WEST COAST DREAM ON .How much will house prices and rents rise ?Where will people live when westport floods .How will the coal be shipped out of NZ and lastly remember when coal corp tried this a few years ago they went down the shitter big time .We have been there and done that many times and failed .
Shane Jones is a bombastic person who I find hard to like but he is speaking the truth when he says we need mining to go ahead if we want to continue to be a 1st world country. The environment is important as it draws in tourists but it is a market that is not a great wage earner like mining.
The African continent is blessed with all sorts of minerals. Using your logic, the country formerly known as Zaire would have it’s streets paved with gold. Same with most other African nations.
Tourisms worth about 30 billion to nz. Mining is currently 1 billion and estimated to peak at 2 billion if the fast track bill goes through. You can’t have your cake and eat it…
Why & how does the Labour party in Australia get away with doing so much Mining.
Remember the Muldoon comment about NZ people moving to Australia raising the average IQ of both countries might go some way to explaining it.
It is more likely to be the massive size of their mining industry that gives them a boost like the farming industry here.