Shane Jones 'provided reassurance' to ministers, despite declaring conflict

Saturday, 9 March 2019

Documents show that having declared a conflict of interest in a Northland project seeking cash from the Provincial Growth Fund, Shane Jones sat in a ministerial meeting to decide on the funding application and provided reassurances to his colleagues.

After declaring a conflict of interest in a proposed Northland cultural centre, Shane Jones sat through a meeting when ministerial colleagues decided on its multi-million dollar funding application, even giving reassurance about its governance.

Manea, Footprints of Kupe was among the first group of projects to be awarded cash from the Provincial Growth Fund, a $1 billion a year fund secured in coalition negotiations between Labour and NZ First, which is coming under increasing criticism.

On February 23, 2018, Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis announced the fund would provide up to $4.6 million, for a 'cultural tourism experience' in Opononi.

An all-weather centre to teach the legend of Kupe, proponents claim it will attract visitors to an largely overlooked by tourists and create around 17 full-time jobs.

* Hokianga residents fear impact of Kupe cultural centre

* Hokianga residents concerned about visitor influx

* Northland gets big slice of funding pie**

Only later was it revealed that Jones had declared a conflict of interest, which he said related to advocacy he undertook when he was a Labour MP.

He has repeatedly said he stepped back from having involvement in the project and denied advocating for it.

But documents quietly posted on the website of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) showed that Jones attended what appears to be the single ministerial meeting to determine the application.

'Minister [of Finance Grant] Robertson raised his concerns about the broader management and commercial operations of the project,' MBIE official Mark Patterson wrote.

'Minister Jones provided reassurance that as the project has Far North Holding Ltd, the commercial arm of the Far North District Council, involved in its governance structures, he was comfortable their presence would alleviate any concerns on the issue.'

Patterson added that MBIE would manage other concerns through milestone payments.

'Minister Robertson was comfortable to sign the briefing knowing this mitigation was in place.'

Less than a month after Davis announced the funding, Jones was asked by ACT leader David Seymour whether he had held any discussions with his ministerial colleagues about Manea.

'I asked my colleagues to make the decision on that project in order to manage a conflict of interest'.

Later he said he 'noted' the involvement of Far North Holdings to colleagues.

On Friday, Jones insisted he purely offered 'statements of fact' in the meeting and he believed he had managed his conflict of interest, but acknowledged others would consider it appropriate to exit meetings altogether.

'You can physically exit or you can declare a conflict and let colleagues deal with the issue,' Jones said.

'I don't believe my presence in any meeting with three other powerful ministers has any deterrent effect.'

Apart from his reassurances, Jones said he otherwise took no part in the meeting, with Davis voting in his place.

THE PROPOSED CHAIRMAN

During an interview in April 2017, Jones said 'as far as I'm aware' he was not lined up to be a director of any entities related to Manea.

On Friday morning his office said he only learned that day that proponents of Manea had previously expected him to have a governance role.

Stuff has obtained a series of documents which claimed that in 2014, Jones was named as the proposed chairman of Manea Kupe Ltd, as it attempted to win funding from the now defunct Tourism Growth Partnership, a fund set up by the former National Government and administered by MBIE.

Manea was repeatedly turned down for funding from the TGP on the basis that it did not provide sufficient information.

After the documents were provided to his office, Jones said he had been aware of the interest and seen documents linking him to the projects.

Māori groups he had an association with almost always claimed he would have a leadership role, he said.

He was never appointed as a director of any organisation and was never going to be.

'When four or five Māoris are gathered, they generally assume the most talented guy is going to lead it,' Jones said on Friday.

'I don't care what the documents said, that was just wishful thinking on the part of the people of Hokianga.'

Seymour said the documents suggested Jones 'was decisive' in seeing the funding go ahead to an organisation he had a prior association with.

'He actually provided reassurance to his colleagues, which is at stark odds with his repeated assurances in Parliamentary questions that he'd recused himself from any role,' Seymour said, claiming Jones had breached the Cabinet manual.

'I don't see how you can continue to be a minister when something as simple as a conflict of interest, you can't manage.'

On Sunday morning, Seymour called for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to sack Jones.

'Shane Jones not only involved himself in an application in relation to which he had a conflict of interest, he also concealed this key meeting in answer to a written parliamentary question,' Seymour said.

National's regional development spokesman, Paul Goldsmith, said it defeated the purpose of declaring a conflict of interest and delegating responsibility, 'if a minister then engages fully in favour of a project which Shane Jones appears to have done'.

'We need a full explanation from Shane Jones of his involvement in this project from start to finish.'

The prime minister's office did not respond to written requests for comment.