Shane Jones has told an Auckland business audience that New Zealand First will provide more support for struggling small and medium businesses in its election manifesto – even if he has to clear the homeless off the streets himself.
In a wide-ranging speech to more than 300 business leaders this morning at an Auckland Business Chamber event, the deputy New Zealand First leader acknowledged businesses are struggling.
“I do fear for a lot of our SMEs [small and medium businesses], not just in Auckland, but throughout the motu, we’re going to have to come up with a dedicated series of policy interventions going forward to revive their fortunes,” he told chamber CEO Simon Bridges during a lengthy Q&A session.
He went on to discuss Auckland’s central city homeless problem and the plan to introduce move-on orders.
“I do not subscribe to the notion put around by the Salvation Army that clearing our roads and streets of vagrants is somehow worsening those people. I resent coming to Auckland, bringing my mum, my whānau, and I’m a pretty big guy and I know how to look after myself. I resent seeing these people blighting our streets, intimidating our people and then telling me they are the victim. If you gave me a big van, I’d clear them out tonight.”
On the more pressing issues of the fuel crisis, he reassured the audience the Government was leaving “no stone unturned”.
He meets with Finance Minister Nicola Willis and other members of the fuel working group every morning at 7.45am.
“We started off not getting good-quality information from fuel companies and then I jumped on the Mike Hosking show – your local deity here in Auckland – and we said we would regulate, and then within 45 minutes we had people on the phone. I’m not going to reach for the regulatory club immediately, but in that case the threat did mean results.”
New Zealand remains at Phase 1 of the Government’s fuel crisis plan.
But Bridges sought reassurance that the Government had prepared for rationing and prioritisation, should it be needed. Business leaders have been urging the Government to show details of those plans.
Jones hinted that further details of how those plans might look would be made by the Government tomorrow.
“I’ve been reluctant to set in train a whole set of moves that are designed to frighten and scare, but we’ve had to contemplate that there may come a point where our five million people ... may face genuine absence of physical material, that’s why we’ve focused so much on supply.
“Why am I frightened about going there? I don’t want to bring back the ghosts of Covid; I don’t want to bring back the spectre of what brought Auckland to its knees and drove Jacinda out of public life. One of those things was actually positive,” he said, to laughter and applause from the audience.
New Zealand First has vowed to take on the electricity gentailers to bring energy prices down if it was part of a government after the November 7 election. Jones vowed it would be the first thing New Zealand First would do as part of a coalition agreement.
He admitted some in the audience would not be a fan of the policy.
“If you’ve got a better idea, turn up and argue with me.”
Bridges is supportive of that policy.
But he pushed Jones on whether he would follow through on his promise.
“Do you want a new job?” Jones jokingly asked Bridges.
“I take on the warning that it’s a complicated thing to do.”
That led to discussions about the recent tension between National and New Zealand First.
“We are going to have to manage the arguments between ourselves, they are going to come.”
The friendly – and not so friendly – fire is likely to continue to spark the closer it gets to the election.
He referenced the backdown he’s had to make over controversial Fisheries Act changes.
“We’ve lived by the coalition agreement, unless it’s in the coalition agreement, I’m not bound to stand by it. And some things in the coalition agreement won’t be delivered, a la my beloved Fisheries Act. If it does survive, it’ll survive in a vastly different form to what we envisioned in the coalition agreement.”
“As we get closer to the election, there will be ways to distinguish ourselves.”
Another fight Jones has on his hands is over plans to fast-track the Bendigo-Ophir gold mine. A decision on the fast-track proposal has been delayed until October. It has fierce supporters and opponents.
The most high-profile of those opponents is actor Sir Sam Neill.
Bridges asked if it was going to be impossible for Jones to win a battle against Neill.
“When you get yourself on the front page of an international magazine called the Guardian ... people have reported their thoughts to Winston Peters, who said have you looked at how many Facebook and Instagram followers Sam Neill has? Three times the number of people who voted for New Zealand First, shut the well up.”
A high-profile spat has also broken out between Jones and Sir Ian Taylor. Jones said both men – Neill and Taylor – were pulling the ladder up from underneath them in opposing pro-growth projects for environmental reasons.
“I believe both of these gentleman are taking up the ladder of opportunity from other New Zealanders, I genuinely believe we are capable of having environmental guardrails in New Zealand.”
Katie Bradford is a Senior Correspondent at the Herald. She has been a broadcast journalist for over 20 years and was based in the press gallery for ten years. She specialises in politics, business and Auckland issues.