Shane Jones: Resources Minister on the need to boost our natural gas resources

A focus on boosting our gas supply in the short-term from the Resources Minister. 

New Zealand's gas reserves have dropped by 27% over the past year.  

Last month, the Government committed $200 million to new gas projects following removal of a ban on offshore oil and gas exploration last year.  

Shane Jones told Mike Hosking there's a lot of interest in the South Island, but new projects need to be well-thought out. 

He says so if people make a commitment, their investment is protected from the return of unicorn, fairy-head ideas. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
As we've been discussing so far this morning, as winter
closes and we worry yet again about whether the lights
go on. So the news the gas productions even worse
than we thought. Production will fall below one hundred peg
of Jules next year. Previously they thought that wouldn't happen
till twenty twenty nine. Reserves are down twenty seven percent
compared with this time last year. Resources Minister Shane Jones
is with us. Good morning to you, Good morning. Without

(00:20):
re litigating history, you were part of that calamitous collaboration
that decided to stop looking for gas in the first place,
when you sat around the cabinet table and mister Dern
thought this was the future. Did you, guys honestly believe
that the renewable story would somehow be so far advanced
that you could do what you did or were you

(00:40):
making it up as you went along?

Speaker 2 (00:43):
Well, I want to be very clear here. When Jasinda
and Megan Woods made that decision, that was a decision
as a captain's call, and a lot of backfilling hap
them after that, and many respects, I have to take
some responsibility. I stood there and was at no time
aware of any paperwork reflecting the long term consequences. It

(01:07):
was a captain's call, reflective of the soft headed, vacuous
nature of Jasinda's entire leadership. Styff.

Speaker 1 (01:15):
So you haven't read a book, then.

Speaker 2 (01:18):
There will be a thousand things that happened before I'm
put in the ground, and reading that book will not
be one of them.

Speaker 1 (01:24):
As far as solving our problem goes, the money you
put aside on the budget to take a stake in
whoever wants to go and explore. Is anyone going to explore?
Is that going to work? Do you think?

Speaker 2 (01:34):
Yeah? I'm off to Singapore at the invitation of a
variety of people attending a large assembly next week where
the investors are getting together, meeting with a couple of
people who have said informally that they're keen to come
and do several things, not only charge on and look
for new opportunities, but work with us to create an

(01:57):
import facility. Now it may sound common tractory, but we've
got to do something in the short term because I
know that it's going to take several years before we
open up new visitas. And indeed a number of people
are keen to come back and have a crackdown on
the South Island. But it's such a fundamental decision. I
want to make sure that I don't mystery present anything
on behalf of our society or government. And if people

(02:18):
make a commitment that their investments are protected and they
can never be squandered by the return of unicorn kissing
fairy head ideas that somehow New Zealand by closing down
industry is going to save the planet.

Speaker 1 (02:32):
Good stuff, all right, I appreciate it. Go well, Shane Jones,
Resources Minister. I will check them next time I get
some of it on the program and check out whereas
LNG idea was. Remember last winter when we went through
that they were going to start importing Ellen Jo, I
don't know what happened to all of that. For more
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