September 09, 2020
Green wounds self-inflicted says Jones
Regional Economic Growth Minister Shane Jones says the Greens are suffering self-inflicted wounds over the green school project in Taranaki.
He says backers of the scheme to build a private fee-paying school at Oakura made an application to the Provincial Growth Fund last year which was rejected by advisors.
They applied again for shovel ready infrastructure funding, and Greens co-leader James Shaw insisted it be included on the list.
Mr Jones says it was a loan to build infrastructure for an area which has been badly affected by the Government’s decision to stop issuing oil and gas licenses.
"The Green Party turned it into a larger wound than it was ever designed to be for anyone. It was infrastructure, it was commercial and there are many commercial loans associated with shovel ready. Sadly, once they spilled out into the public and started disemboweling each other in the pursuit of ideology it was only going to end bad for the Greens," he says.
Mr Jones says New Zealand First’s championing of investment into the regions has set an example for future Governments to follow.
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