Late last year, NZ First was caught trying to enrich itself from public office, with a dodgy forestry company linked to a number of NZ First figures sticking its hand out repeatedly for government money. Regional Economic Development Minister shane Jones' "explanations" were patently unconvincing, and his recusal from deciding on the issue came only after people had started asking questions about it. All throughout this, Jones maintained he didn't know anything about the company and had never met them. But now the company says he was lying:
A forestry company with close links to New Zealand First says it gave a presentation to Shane Jones about a project it was seeking a $15 million government loan for - months before Jones says he first heard of it.
When NZ Future Forest Products (NZFFP) applied for Provincial Growth Fund money on 8 April, 2019, the company was asked whether the project had been "previously discussed" with the government.
The application form shows NZFFP ticked the 'yes' box and said it had made a "presentation to the Minister" about its forestry and wood processing plans "including descriptions of the applicant".
[...]
[I]n an interview with RNZ, David Henry, who is [NZ First lawyer] Brian Henry's son and the NZFFP director who signed the application form, said the presentation was a 15-minute meeting he and Jones had in Wellington.
"We had a discussion with Shane. I think it was about a 15-minute chat. Whether you want to call it a briefing or a presentation - it was a short discussion generally about the New Zealand wood supply chain and what we personally believed."
Jones has denied that there was any meeting, but who has the incentive to lie here? Hint: its not NZ Future Forest Products' arse which is on the line.
But it gets worse. Because the documentary record obtained by RNZ clearly shows that Jones was briefed fully about the application and its NZ First connections in mid-June, and repeatedly received documents about it between then and October 14 - the date on which he told parliament he was informed about it and recused himself. In other words, he lied to Parliament, and repeatedly failed to recuse himself from an issue where any reasonable person would conclude he had a conflict of interest.
This is unacceptable. It is dishonest. And it looks corrupt. The Prime Minister needs to sack Shane Jones now, to prevent this disease from spreading.
