The Country 29/08/25: Shane Jones talks to Jamie Mackay

The Prince of the Provinces, Matua Shane, the Minister of digging it up and damming it up, talks about playing Santa Claus on the East Coast and dishing out the dosh from the Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF).

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Here's the self titled Prince of the Province's marta. Shane
Jones enjoyed his company last Friday and tapoki. We'll come
back to that one, Shane Jones. But you have been
playing Santa Claus on the East coast.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Good afternoon, ho ho ho, Father Christmas has been down
to whyde ortumn kisban? Now? Look make there's a lot
of good soil there climate and working through the Rift
fund with landowners helping them to embed some water storage
on the land. I mean, let's face it, in wide
all the biggest employers the freezing works and we need

(00:35):
to basically boost the productivity of that land. And if
it takes a bit of investment for water storage and
create a new line of exports and some new sort
of remedies to get rid of the unemployment bogie, why not.

Speaker 1 (00:50):
Now the riff fund that you were talking about is
the Regional Infrastructure Fund? Is this kind of like the
provincial growth Fund? And drag your but the Provincial Growth
Fund shame. We used to run around the country as
Santa Claus and handing out money to all sorts of
wastes and strays.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
I recall a certain group of South Islanders who raced
to the front of the queue to ensure that they
got their liquor the cherry. So at the time no
one was complaining. But of course as time has gone on,
different projects turn out and not quite the way we
originally envisaged, but the vast majority of them they served

(01:30):
their purpose. And the Rift Fund, as I announced yesterday
in Gismon and in Widow, works with landowners, works with councils,
and it's got to focus on infrastructure because, as you know,
I believe that the great opportunity in New Zealand is
for more water, not just about red tape, but growers,
farmers and users of land. They need reliable access to

(01:54):
water and Lord knows that paus and enormous quantities here
in New Zealand. And it's just that the government has
been but cherry recently about unwriting some of those projects,
which is why I'm very happy to say that they're
both in the South Island and arguably will be developed
in Gisbone and Wide Ore as well. Well.

Speaker 1 (02:12):
You can't beat a dam. I love dams and tall
buildings and adding to my list of loves Shane Jones's
four lane highways of course, you and I went on
one when we went out to Tapoki last Friday. I
love the one from Auckland down to the Waikato region.
We need more of those, I reckon. If we had
better mobile coverage in this country, better broadband and more

(02:36):
four lane highways, that would be happy days. We would
get the economy moving.

Speaker 2 (02:39):
What do you reckon, Well, the best way to ensure
that that's delivered is to liver toy with changing the
government because my colleagues on parliamentary colleagues on the other
side of the house, they had these heretical views that
we don't need roads, which suggest to me they've yet
to catch up with a discovery of the wheel. But

(03:00):
going to have a fall lane highway game north as well,
it'll be told. I think a trick was missed when
John Key refused to toll the Golden Golden Triangle four
lane highway down and around Hamilton and Cambridge. And yet
the one we've got going into Northland. Sadly it requires
you to pay a toll every time you go backwards,

(03:20):
and Fords and I suspect a similar thing. We'll be
visited upon toad owner as well.

Speaker 1 (03:24):
Mind you, if you're going to get there more quickly
and more cheaply in terms of fuel and all that
sort of stuff. Why not pay a toll se the
only way to find roading?

Speaker 2 (03:33):
Yeah, I mean exactly, it's a trade off. We're either
going to continue to put taxes up and don't like
that idea all We're going to go to an electronic
system of extending how we pay for diesel miles. At
the moment, that's got some trickiness to it, which is why,
no doubt Chris Bishop is taking his time to perfect

(03:54):
that system. But no, no, no, I improved highways, improved roads,
improved infrastructure. I mean, look, I don't want to live
in any pygmy economy. Now, we're going to keep the
people of New Zealand comfortable and secures to grow our economy,
and whether it's from mining, fishing, growing things, farming, we
should be messly expanding the size of our economic footprint.

(04:17):
That's why I break up every morning hoping to achieve.

Speaker 1 (04:19):
Well, you are the Minister of digging it up and
damning it up. Karen Williams from Irrigation New Zealand was
on the show yesterday and she was hinting that you
had some I mean, you've talked about a couple of
water storage projects, Shane Jones, but she was hinting that
you had something big. Come on, tell me you're going
to build a kick us dam somewhere in this country.

Speaker 2 (04:37):
Hawk's Bay is uppermost in our mind. It's in the
fast track. We've allocated some initial money. There are naysayers, however,
it's time for us over the naysayers, with harsh economic reality,
worth changing climate changing situations in terms of the distribution

(04:58):
of opportunity for turning Mother Nature's bounty into wealth. Is
going to need water to do that. However, it's going
to go through the fast track. I can tell you
we have the opportunity to govern again. We'll ensure that
the Crown helps deriff these water storage and irrigation plans
because we have got to exploit our natural advantages. Ensure

(05:19):
that it's not compromised by shrillness or hysteria to do
with some change.

Speaker 1 (05:25):
Well, you tell that to Chloe. And while you're talking
to Chloe, tell Julianne that you were going to build
some four lane highways. That'll get her excited. Hey, Shane Jones,
thanks for your time. Congratulations on a great evening and
to poke last Friday, giving freely of your time for
a great cause.

Speaker 2 (05:40):
See you guys. Bye,