Jones accused of arrogance over handling of funding
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones has been accused of ‘‘arrogance and shamelessness’’ for declaring the ‘‘spoils go to the victor’’ when it comes to handing out cash to the regions.
Jones fronted MPs at a select committee yesterday to answer questions about his $3 billion provincial growth fund (PGF) and on what basis particular regions were being invested in.
Using his usual colourful array of metaphors Jones described the situation as being a case of the ‘‘spoils go to the victor’’, ‘‘to the winner goes the booty’’ and ‘‘first up, best dressed’’.
He said the ‘‘advocacy and political skills’’ of the likes of former National MPs Murray McCully and Far North Mayor John Carter were a big contributor to the fact the North had received so much attention from the fund.
As to how Jones and NZ First leader Winston Peters, who both hail from the North, ended up with billions of dollars to spend on the regions in the first place, Jones offered ‘‘to the winner goes the booty’’.
He said the PGF was a result of negotiations when forming the coalition government and the ‘‘booty in this case’’ is all the regions that had been identified as needing significant investment, which includes Northland.
The Opposition has done the numbers on the PGF projects and National MP Paul Goldsmith revealed $61 million had gone to Northland while $42m had been distributed to other regions.
Goldsmith said there had been hundreds of applications yet Northland had got ‘‘more than half of the total funding’’.
‘‘It’s the arrogance and shamelessness about the nature of the political fund which is of great concern to us,’’ he said.
But Jones says the investment the North has received was a result of the ‘‘great deal of preparedness’’ from leaders in certain regions.
‘‘It’s all very amateurish to suggest that just because we’ve started in the North others in the next three years, possibly nine years, will be injured,’’ Jones said.
‘‘I have visited a number of times the South Island and I’ve said to the civic leaders and stakeholders down there, meet me halfway.
‘‘But I’m a guy with political ants in my pants and if a region is well organised and they have proposals that have been largely tested then I don’t think that region should be injured because others are a bit slower.’’