The former fisheries boss said that with former MP Kelvin Davis in no hurry to return to politics and plenty of MPs in Auckland, the party felt he would be more useful boosting Labour's visibility in the North. He was acutely aware of how strong the National vote was in Northland but would put his energies into advocating for a region which had become an "economic orphan" of government policies.
At an economic summit in Kerikeri last week Prime Minister John Key spoke of the "poverty beyond belief" afflicting some Northlanders. However, Mr Jones said the answer to reversing that poverty lay in allocating a bigger share of the budget to Northland.
The MP is living in a rented house on Waimate North Rd with his partner Dorothy Pumipi.
Mr Jones said both he and Mr Davis had found living in the Kaitaia/Doubtless Bay area meant spending a huge amount of travelling. He hoped his proximity to Bay of Islands airport would solve that.