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Penetaui Kleskovic, son of MP Shane Jones, wants to move into national politics and follow in his father’s footsteps with New Zealand First.
Kleskovic, also the Te Aupōuri iwi general manager, was running for re-election in the Far North District Council Ngā Tai o Tokerau Māori Ward. Based on provisionalresults, he would miss out on holding his seat.
This afternoon, he told the Herald that over the next six months, he would talk to those near to him and carve out a plan to get into national politics.
“I always knew as a kid that if I was going to be judged, I didn’t only want it to be by Māori, I wanted it to be judged by five million Kiwis.”
He described himself as a “great supporter of New Zealand First” who grew up following the Labour Party.
“But more recently, I’ve been a great admirer of Winston [Peters] ... Given the opportunity and perhaps when the old man, my father, has finished his time in Parliament, most certainly I’d be ready to step up to the plate.”
Foreign Minister Winston Peters. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Jones first entered Parliament in 2005 with Labour and joined New Zealand First as an MP in 2017.
He is currently the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries, Minister for Regional Development and Minister for Resources.
Kleskovic said he was happy to follow in his father’s footsteps when he called it a day.
Despite a provisional loss in election results so far for his ward, Kleskovic had not lost hope.
“The suspense is killing me, and I’ll tell you how I feel on 17 October when all the Friday and Saturday votes have been counted and all the special votes have been counted.”
On whether he liked his chances: “God loves a trier.”
Kleskovic told the Herald he spent yesterday recording a segment at Te-Oneroa-a-Tōhē/Ninety Mile Beach on how the iwi was trying to transition land and diversify its portfolio to generate greater returns.
He thanked everyone who supported and voted for him in the local body elections.
“When the issues that others weren’t strong enough to get across the line, the majority of the time it was myself who was called on to really get those things through.”
Katie Harris is an Auckland-based journalist who covers issues including sexual assault, workplace misconduct, media, crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2020.
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