The Country 05/03/26: Shane Jones talks to Jamie Mackay

The self-titled Prince of the Provinces, the Mighty Matua, opines on the Middle East crisis, the state of the economy, and why Winston Peters is such a great statesman. Plus, his ongoing debate over gold mining in Central Otago, and why he has no background on the end of a handpiece in a shearing shed, despite growing up on a Northland farm.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Here's the Prince of the Provinces, self titled Martua Shane Jones. Shane,
you're a very worldly man. How worried should we be
about the world at the moment? Put this into some
historic perspective for me?

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Please, Well, whenever there are missiles flying ships being sunk,
apparently in the Indian Ocean, even us distant Kiwis nestled
in the South Pacific are going to be effected and impacted.
But I want everyone to remember we're already past a
bunch of regulations last year requiring the fuel companies to

(00:36):
increase their holdings here in New Zealand. I'm told that
there is nine on fifty days I'm worth of holdings here.
But although we derive our fuel and whatnot from South
Korea and Singapore, the challenges where's the raw material going
to come from? So no, no, it's definitely hawkeye, like
our focus from Treasury and our Finance Minister on the issue.

(00:59):
But I'm really that we passed the regulations in anticipation
that New Zealand would need to stall more fuel in
the event there was geopolitical excesses.

Speaker 1 (01:10):
How big a cock cup was it? Mothballing Marston point.

Speaker 2 (01:15):
Look, there are two major snaffoos in the energy sector.
The first one was de Cinder canceling the oil and
gas industry, and the second one was Megan Woods canceling
and selling now closing down the refinery, an extraordinarily stupid

(01:35):
thing to have done in a vain attempt to burnish
New Zealand's credentials that we were single handedly going to
save the planet. Where much the poorer for it? And
not a single listener to your show should ever doubt
the Labor Party had every chance to maintain that asset
in ownership, they stood by and actually allowed the sale

(01:58):
of the asset, and where much the poor for it?
As we are learning right now.

Speaker 1 (02:03):
We currently have the PM misspeaking and winston sharpest attack
from South America on foreign policy. Have we got the
wrong guy running the country? Could Shane Jones the Kingmaker
become king? Does the Kingmaker want to be king? And
does that make you prince?

Speaker 2 (02:22):
Well, let's not get too aspirational about monarchy. There's a
certain prince in another part of the world who is
in a great deal of drama. But look, coming back
to Winston, I mean Kerew should be not only respectful
but reassured that we have such a wily navigator, we
have someone who is speaking in a vein that gives

(02:44):
reassurance to Kiwis that we're not going to be bullied
by the extreme hypocrisy of the Green Party or other
self appointed political experts. And at the same time we
support each other in our coalition arrangements. But Winston is
exclusively the Foreign Affairs minister. When he's back from Latin

(03:05):
America over the weekend, you'll hear a lot more from him.

Speaker 1 (03:09):
Could we have a scenario where the king maker has
the balance of power and gets a larger proportion of
the vote, maybe ten twelve, who knows fifteen percent and
demands to be prime minister.

Speaker 2 (03:22):
Well, Winston got over thirteen percent of the vote in
nineteen ninety six. It's not our style, it's not his
style to make demands of any nature, because Kiwi's can
turn on the head of a dime. Really, Kiwi's absolutely
Kiwis know that the elections on November the scene.

Speaker 1 (03:40):
He said it's not in Winston's nature to make demands.
Did I missare that? Did you misspeak?

Speaker 2 (03:47):
The reality is the demand comes from the public. The
public reflect through their voting power, how much authority or
influence each party is going to enjoy, so any loose
talks how we're demanding to form a particular character formation
of the government. That's up to the public and my job,

(04:09):
in Winston's job, and the both of us. And we're
going to go around New Zealand very nook and cranny
asking for the public to back us, and I believe
they will.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
Well, I'll take that as a s Winston wants to
be Prime minister back to the Middle East? Could this
easily stall or derail the economic recovery? Inflations the number
one threat to the economy.

Speaker 2 (04:31):
Well, number one on people's minds, Jamie. You know as
well as I do, even the money floating around the
farming sector I was up at Dargeable recently. Is the
cost of living. But you know, you always do have
other issues, not the least of which is the environment.
But then there's a lot of businesses under pressure as well, Jamie,
U South Island is Why is your largest city, christ

(04:51):
Church threatening to pour all the sewage over my beloved
marine farming industry on the upskirts of chrish Church. Why
is the Bromley Why am I hearing it. The Bromley
Poupon is about to be deluged over all sorts of
oyster growing and salmon growing and fish growing enterprises down there.
The hecker you South Island is up to.

Speaker 1 (05:12):
Well, I don't know a North Islander wants to pollute
some of the South Island water systems with this gold mining.
This will get a bite in central Otargi.

Speaker 2 (05:22):
The Matua is coming not to give a sermon from
the mount but to bring overdue economic opportunity to the
South Island. And I know I got criticized for being
unkind to Sir Sam Neil, and I was told by
a member of the public, don't boot a Labrador. But
the reality is if you get involved in these debates,

(05:44):
even if at Sea and Taylor, I am not going
to pull my punches because I'm standing up for the
garden variety Kiwi whose kids are going all over to
Australia to dig up somewhere around Calgoley. And we've got
these self appointed guardians who have only succeeded in pulling
up the ladder and denying other queser charts.

Speaker 1 (06:01):
Have you found a venue, in a time, a date
for your debate with Saren Taylor.

Speaker 2 (06:07):
Well, number one, I have no idea why see, and
I've bothered to take up my invite, but I'm very
happy that he has. And look, debating politically is a
pugilistic sport now. The last time I heard that he
wanted to have a debate but no audience, and he
wanted to get Paddy Gower involved. Of course I promoted
you until Sean Plunkett got jealous and said it should

(06:28):
be him. But I'll back you, mate. If I want
an audience there have. He can pick fifty, I can
pick fifty, he can pick seventy five. I'll pick twenty
five and have an old fair dinkm an yard, not
scrap but debate. But you know, I like going soft
on the personality, hard on the issue. But these Tarrasf people,

(06:50):
they've tried to demand my personality. They're leaving me alone
now because they know I've got new Zealanders on my site.

Speaker 1 (06:55):
A final question for your Golden Shares World Sharing Championships
are on at the moment. Grew up on a Northland
beef farm that you had a few sheep running around.
Are you any good on the end of a hand piece?

Speaker 2 (07:05):
No, I'm sorry. We had a guy Sampson to Futa
in the Pike cares from in and around my Naghvor
Steve McNally. He's very handy. I had a cousin Migel Lloyd.
I think he shared single handedly millions of sheep himself
in his lifetime. He's a good ten or fifteen years
older than me. No, no, I was on a farm
where we were milking the odder and that's not being

(07:26):
on the public purse.

Speaker 1 (07:27):
Shane, I reckon and the sharing shed. You'd be quite
good in the press tramping the wall.

Speaker 2 (07:35):
There's too many tough women in front of me to
do that job.

Speaker 1 (07:38):
Bro Oh, you've got the god given physeeke for that job.
Shane Jones, Prince of the Province, is always good to
have your time on the country.

Speaker 2 (07:45):
Thank you very much,