Minister of Resources Shane Jones is back from his trip to Singapore, where he spoke to more than 400 executives about New Zealand’s oil and gas investment opportunities at the Asia Pacific Energy Capital Assembly.
Speaking to Te Ao Māori News, he said that International investors had concerns about the National, Act, and New Zealand First coalition potentially losing in next year’s elections.
“E tokomaha noa atu, e mahara ana ki ērā mahi i oti i a tātou, nā, e rata mai ana te kāwanatanga ō reira ki a tātou. Ki konei, ki Aotearoa, engari māku tētahi kupu ki a tātou, he āwangawanga nō wētahi o rātou ki te tīnihia te kāwanatanga hei te paunga o te tau e haere ake nei, ka pēhea rānei ngā pūtea ki te whakangāwai e rātou kia hauhaketia, rapuhia haeretia ai te hinu me te haurehu, ka pēhea rānei wā rātou pūtea ki te tīnihia te kāwanatanga?
“Me māharahara anō tā rātou kei tinihia te kāwanatanga hei te painga o tērā tau ki te hoki anō ki te whakatau i puakina mai e Jacinda ka pēhea rānei ngā moni ka haria mai e rātou ki waenga tonu i a tāua.”
Before the trip, the latest RNZ-Reid Research poll showed Labour, Greens, and Te Pāti Māori could form a government if an election were held today.
The results came after the coalition’s second budget, which was the reason Jones was in Asia, to find investors for Aotearoa’s oil and gas sector.
In Budget 2025, the government put a tagged contingency of $200 million over four years for business case-approved co‑investment in new gas fields.
“Ko te rua rau miriona tāra, ko te tikanga o tērā pūtea kia kaua rawa atu te hunga o konei, o rāwāhi rānei e mataku ki te whakangao pūtea, tā te mea, ko te hoa haere, ko te karauna.
“Mō te pānuitanga i oti i a mātou i roto i te tahua pūtea ā-tau mō te rua rau miriona tāra, kia hoki mai te hunga nō rātou te pūtea pakanga haere ai kia puta mai he mea, he rerenga hinu, he rerenga haurehu, hei whakamahinga mā tāua. Kia iti ai te utu mō ngā raiti me te hiko,” Jones said.
If the polls swing red in next year’s general election, many international investors are growing wary about what will happen to the $200 million allocated in this year’s budget.
