NZ Resources Minister Shane Jones woos Australian miners, slams Jacinda Ardern’s legacy
New Zealand Resources Minister Shane Jones has warned against a ‘trans-Tasman virus’ targeting coal in a pitch for Australian companies, as he took aim at the ‘childlike naivety’ of Jacinda Ardern’s wellbeing budgets.
New Zealand Resources Minister Shane Jones has warned against a “trans-Tasman virus” targeting coal, wellbeing budgets and green-riddled “fairytales” in a pitch for Australian companies to unlock new mines, jobs and energy sources across the ditch.
Mr Jones, known in New Zealand as “King Coal”, is bringing forward a suite of legislation including fast-tracking approvals for new mining, infrastructure and marine farming projects to lure Australian and other offshore investment.
In an interview with The Australian, Mr Jones also took aim at former prime minister Jacinda Ardern’s economic legacy and the concept of wellbeing budgets, which the Albanese government initially embraced but later downgraded after the 2022 federal election.
“The wellbeing budget in Jacinda Ardern’s six years led to a childlike naivety about economics, personal responsibility and maintaining a position of power and influence in the broader world,” Mr Jones said.
The New Zealand First MP, who is also Oceans, Fisheries and Regional Development Minister in Christopher Luxon’s cabinet, on Tuesday tabled legislation to reverse Ms Ardern’s 2018 gas ban and allow new exploration, extraction and development in the country.
Amid rising geopolitical tensions and as New Zealand grapples with fuel, energy and economic security crises, Mr Jones said the country was importing coal from Indonesia and refined fuel from Singapore.
“There is a trans-Tasman virus relating to the coal industry. It’s not something that afflicts me personally. My tagline is ‘coal before dole’. I say that, because we’re going to struggle to keep the lights on in New Zealand unless we maintain a pragmatic attitude as to the inputs,” Mr Jones said.
“I think you’ll find that the stance I have adopted is one that takes on the ideological dogma that if we don’t cease using coal by half-past eight tonight that the planet is going to boil to death.”
Mr Jones, a Harvard-educated Maori political veteran who defected from Labour to join Winston Peters’ New Zealand First party and has served as a minister under Helen Clark, Ms Ardern and Mr Luxon, shot back at those opposed to fossil fuels and mining on the grounds of disruption and environmental impact.
“Human beings have been living in our country since the arrival of the first Maori from the Pacific … and the country has been consistently changed,” he said.
Attending a mining conference in Sydney last week, Mr Jones met with Australian resources chiefs who are at war with the Albanese government over red and green tape, industrial relations laws and the speed of environmental approvals. New Zealand is home to a range of onshore and offshore resources, minerals and metals including coal, gold, silver, ironsand and vanadium.
Mr Jones, who said new fast-track approvals legislation would make New Zealand one of the world’s easiest places to do business, warned risks were being “perpetually overstated” by governments and were blowing out project costs.
“Not unlike Australia, we’ve been through a period of stagnation where projects are trapped to the point they don’t go ahead. The costs completely outstrip the benefits. We’re taking a very strong approach driven by efficiency to accelerate outcomes, and my message to the Aussies is that we are creating the most accommodating regime.”
When it comes to guardrails, Mr Jones said they should be “established on the basis of economic rationalism, science and no more green-riddled fairytales”.
“That type of unicorn-kissing naivety has blighted the New Zealand economy and it has hobbled our minerals sector … we’re going to turn it around,” he said.
With New Zealand boasting up to 85 per cent renewable energy, Mr Jones said the Western dream of fully decarbonised economies was a “fairytale”: “It’s extraordinarily difficult for a tiny country like New Zealand to snuff out that last 1 per cent. And you have to ask yourself if it’s worth the effort.
Energy security trumps whatever climate alarmism narratives are floating around at a given point in time.”
NSW Minerals Council chief executive Stephen Galilee said New Zealand had “valuable mineral deposits, and the minister has clearly recognised the opportunities associated with responsible resources development”.
“We also have an abundance of many minerals the world increasingly needs, and a world class mining industry, but setbacks like the recent McPhillamys decision make it more difficult to attract the global investment needed,” Mr Galilee said.
Not quite as bad as Gough but it’s close
The Albanese government provides no rationale or narrative for its disconnected actions. Everything is spin. We’ve seldom seen a government this poor in such critical fields at such a dangerous time.
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