Jones hits back at National’s claims of vote-buying

National is again accusing Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones of using the Provincial Growth Fund to buy votes in Northland after the region was allocated its hundredth million PGF dollar.

But Jones said he’s fed up with National’s accusations and numbers show the PGF was committed to “tapping into the potential that exists up and down our country”.

According to Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) data, Northland is third on the list of regions which have received the most PGF funding, behind Taira¯whiti and the West Coast.

Wednesday’s $8.2 million PGF funding announcement for five projects in the Far North brings the total allocated to Northland to just under $100m.

“Jones has been shameless all along about the Northland bias to the fund,” National’s economic development spokesman Paul Goldsmith said.

Jones ran in Whanga¯ rei in the 2017 election; NZ First leader Winston Peters ran in Northland.

Goldsmith said although some of the Northland projects were worthwhile, there had been a lot of “froth and spray and attempts to buy votes”. Jones said that was not the case. “It’s becoming somewhat tiresome to have to defend every dollar we commit to Northland as if it’s a region that is not deserving of this support.”

He said the PGF had allocated money to regions throughout New Zealand.

The East Coast region of Taira¯ whiti has been given the most — $157m — 21 per cent of the total PGF allocation so far, the majority for the Taira¯whiti Roading Package, which got $137m in September last year.

The West Coast has been given the second highest amount of PGF funding — $138m — for projects including $40m for an upgrade of KiwiRail’s TranzAlpine service and more than $30m to improve ultra-fast broadband and mobile networks.

Northland takes the PGF bronze medal for money allocated, at just under $100m.

The Bay of Plenty, East Coast, Manawatu-Whanganui, the West Coast of the South Island and Northland, are all “surge regions” — areas which face high unemployment, low wages and low productivity.

Some $162.6m has been allocated to “multi-region” initiatives.