Saga of charisma and conflict
The political circus this week should have been the Serious Fraud Office investigation of the $100,000 donation to the National Party. It is round two in the alternately depressing and entertaining dispute between National leader Simon Bridges and his former friend turned pariah, Jami-Lee Ross. But as juicy as that story could possibly turn out to be, it was eclipsed by yet another Shane Jones saga.
The NZ First MP has a knack for publicity, both good and bad, that has so far exceeded his accomplishments. He was feted as a potential Labour leader despite an embarrassing, taxpayerfunded pornography scandal that would end other political careers. His return to politics with NZ First was talked up as though it was the fulfilment of an ancient prophecy, and given the myth-making of the handful of media backers who spoke in awe about
‘‘the Jones boy’’, the comparison was not farfetched.
On the plus side, he is a charismatic figure, who is highly intelligent and articulate. He is longwinded but entertainingly so – why use three short words when 10 florid, ornate, grandiloquent and superfluous ones will do? On the negative side, some see a lack of discipline that can come across as lazy and narcissistic. The story of Manea, Footprints of Kupe and Jones’ overblown reaction to it only seems to confirm that view.
The cultural tourism venture in Northland was awarded $4.6 million in public money in 2018, from the hefty $3 billion Provincial Growth Fund overseen by Jones. He declared a conflict of interest given his earlier connections to the project, but did not recuse himself from the funding meeting with other Cabinet ministers – instead, he offered Finance Minister Grant Robertson ‘‘reassurance’’ about the venture.
This was a poor look, compounded by Jones’ attack on the journalist who broke the story, described by Jones as ‘‘unethical’’ and a ‘‘bunny boiler’’, a reference to the obsessed stalker in the movie Nor is it the first time that Jones’ management of the Provincial Growth Fund has been criticised – it was reported in December that Treasury warned Jones not to allocate $11.5m of his funding to projects in Gisborne. The ever-messianic Jones slated Treasury officials as ‘‘doubting Thomases’’.
A picture starts to emerge of relaxed oversight of a large public fund while Jones’ sharp and personalised criticism has a chilling effect on journalists and officials expected to scrutinise his decisions. Unorthodox comments about Spark and the Serious Fraud Office in recent days only add to the picture.
While Labour MP Clare Curran was dismissed from Cabinet for not declaring meetings, Jones is likely to get away with Manea and his grandiose threats, attacks and claims. Such is the nature of coalition politics when Labour is wedded to a NZ First party that often seems undisciplined.
Whether it is leader Winston Peters and China, the strange story of Veterans Affairs Minister Ron Mark allegedly pitching for votes when addressing a veterans’ charity, or the accumulating dramas of ‘‘the Jones boy’’ himself, it is clear NZ First has created and is likely to continue to create problems for the Government.
Who could have predicted this? To be fair, almost everyone did.
He is long-winded but entertainingly so – why use three short words when 10 florid, ornate,
grandiloquent and superfluous ones will do?