In an interview with Yahoo News, a Kiwi cabinet minister has responded to accusations he has gone “full Trump” and declared “war” on the environment after he made several controversial statements in parliament on Tuesday.
During an address as resources minister, New Zealand First’s Shane Jones raised eyebrows by calling for more fossil fuel exploration, saying there has been “hysteria” about climate change. But surprisingly it was his comments about frogs that appeared to trigger the biggest uproar.
“We most certainly need those rare earth minerals. In those areas called the Department of Conservation (DOC) estate… if there is a mineral, if there is a mining opportunity and it’s impeded by a blind frog, goodbye, Freddy,” he said.
Those comments were specifically in relation to the 2.7 million hectares of stewardship land (9 per cent of the country) that’s controlled by DOC and managed for its natural and historic grounds.
Speaking with Yahoo on Thursday, Jones said he has a “track record of deploying rhetoric” and his “figurative reference to the frog” was to remind the public that decisions on the nation’s resources must be made using “economic rationalism and science”.
“My whole approach will place an accent on growing the economic resilience, the infrastructure, the jobs and the wealth for the people who voted for me,” he said.
Jones explains thinking behind controversial frog quotes
Jones’ comments closely align with a tweet from across the ditch by National’s MP Barnaby Joyce in 2017, who famously declared “People before possums” when he advocated for conservation status of the critically endangered Leadbeater’s possum to be downgraded, so logging could occur in its home range.
People before possums. There’s 21,000 forestry families who will lose their jobs because of Victorian Labor. We… https://t.co/VQhstNZmqj
— Barnaby Joyce (@Barnaby_Joyce) March 26, 2017
Although Jones once played rugby with Joyce, he said was unaware of his possum comments.
“If you’re asking, am I a politician who stands for families before frogs, well, I stand for economic development that does not compromise the ability of our communities to not only reside, but to prosper,” he said.
“New Zealand is at an inflection point. We have allowed too many stakeholders to weaponise our law and undermine the ability of the country to deliver an economic dividend. And the people who voted for me were families, not frogs.”
But it’s not just the mining industry that Jones believes is being unfairly impacted by native species, he argues the cost of creating infrastructure projects is being “inordinately increased” by catering to the rights of beetles and frogs.
“There’s no shortage of options for the relocation of animals, we’ve done this for other projects,” he said.
“If we aren’t going as a society, to be held hostage to by a frog, then society deserves to enjoy a referendum on what is most important. It’s not just my decision. It’s what is the direction of travel for New Zealand society.”
Key frog facts
Around 80 per cent of the world’s amphibians are threatened with extinction
New Zealand is home to just three native frog species
It’s unique species aren’t blind but they have no ear drums and don’t regularly croak
Frogs are sensitive to disease, pollution, environmental changes and pollution
New Zealand’s new government announces controversial changes
After making his speech in the House, Jones was accused of having “declared war on conservation land, biodiversity, and climate science” by a local conservation group, NewsHub reported.
But he told Yahoo his comments were designed to support his voters and the country’s new prime minister Christopher Luxon, who has advocated for a doubling of export revenue.
Jones argues special interest groups have been allowed to influence government decisions for too long, and he wants to provide better opportunities for people in regional communities so they don’t feel the need to leave for New Zealand cities or Australia.
The newly-elected government, which ended six years of Labor rule, has been described in the New York Times as the most conservative government to rule the country in decades. The coalition is led by the National party, and supported in coalition by the libertarian Act party and the popularist New Zealand First.
Since coming to power the government has controversially announced a plan to axe the nation’s world-leading plan to ban future generations from smoking, to create revenue to provide tax cuts.
With Maori smoking rates higher than the rest of the population, the country’s leading indigenous health organisation called the decision “catastrophic”. Prior to the government’s announcement to kill the legislation, it inspired a similar bill in UK.
Since the government’s election, thousands have protested the government’s plans to re-interpret the nation’s founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi, roll back the use of Maori language, and review affirmative action policies.
The government has also indicated it wants to reverse a ban on offshore gas and oil exploration, and give landlords a tax break that unions have warned could blow the budget out by $1 billion.
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