The QE2 covenant, the Mining Company and the donation to NZ First

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: - 18 comments
Categories: corruption, election 2023, elections, nz first, political parties, Politics

Radio New Zealand has broken the jaw dropping and astounding story that shows why the Fast Track Projects Bill is potentially so corrupting to the body politic and why there has to be electoral law reform to stop corporations from buying influence.

From Farah Hancock at RNZ:

A NZ First donor wants Fast Track legislation to free up permanently protected land for quarrying.

J Swap, a company involved in quarrying, wants land protected under QEII covenants to be available to quarry. It donated $11,000 to NZ First in December, after the coalition was formed.

It also gave $5000 to NZ First’s Shane Jones in August 2023 and $3000 to National’s David MacLeod in September 2023.

So lets put this in bulletpoints:

  • J Swap donated $5,000 Shane Jones
  • It also donated $3,000 to David Macleod he who forgot to declare $178,000 in electorate donations.
  • It gave NZ First $11,000 in December last year. And you have to wonder who would give a political party a significant sum of money three months AFTER the general election.
  • It lodges a submission saying that QEII land should be subject to the Fast Track Projects Bill.
  • It has been involved in litigation over an extended period of time attempting to remove a QEII covenant from land its owns so that it can quarry some pristine land.

If the bill is amended to cover QEII covenanted land there will be major questions to ask.

And while we are on the subject of donations NZ First has received a number of significant sums of money since the election. Like these:

  • DV Chiscolm who gave $50,000 during November.
  • Hero Ltd who gave $50,000 on December 12.
  • Cosgrove & Partners who gave $6,000 in December.
  • A Krukziener (this guy?) who gave $19,999 in December. I wonder why he could not make it a round $20,000?
  • The Houghton Family Trust who gave $10,000.69 on October 24.
  • Garry Robertson who gave $11,750 in November.
  • Scott Bright who gave $6,750 in December.
  • Or how about Business NZ who gave $6,000 in December.

These are donors who did not give before election day. It would be interesting to understand their motivation.

Clearly the Government is preparing a wind back. Changes to remove the power of Ministers to grant or change decisions would be a start. And at least a nodding acknowledgment that protection of the environment should be a consideration.

18 comments on “The QE2 covenant, the Mining Company and the donation to NZ First”

Comment numbers have changed to permanent references. Older quoted numbers may no longer identify the same comment.

  1. 1

    You are reading far too much into these facts. I'm sure there is a perfectly logical and reasonable explanation somewhere but it hasn't emerged yet.

    And anyway, all politicians on the Treasury benches are people of the highest integrity who act at all times in the best interests of the New Zealand people, instead of favouring commercial interests.

    I'll have to keep this comment short cos I'm having a lot of trouble with flying pigs in my neighbourhood.

  2. 2

    J Swap, a company involved in quarrying,

    They seem to be nice…

    /

    We are responsible

    We take responsibility for our actions and their impact on the environment, communities, and society, striving to minimise any negative effects and actively contribute to positive change.

    https://jswap.co.nz/culture-and-values/

    The J Swap contracting conglomerate has known for years that it was quarrying near an old pā site of significance to Māori, but even after part of the site collapsed, it kept blasting. National Correspondent Tony Wall and visual journalist Christel Yardley report. This story was first published in 2022.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/127604465/p-wars-blasting-at-quarry-blamed-for-partly-destroying-ancient-village

    1. 2.1

      actively contribute to positive change.

      https://jswap.co.nz/culture-and-values/

      fark… that photo could be the poster boys for Fast Track Positive Change ! : (

      Of course in their minds "positive change" IS about blasting old rubbish to extract money.

      I wonder who wrote that culture and values BS . In saying that, its pretty standard for a lot of companies. Just like Greenwashing….

  3. 3

    A Krukziener (this guy?) who gave $19,999 in December. I wonder why he could not make it a round $20,000?

    This is Andrew Krukziener. He lives in an $8m house, drives a top-of-the-range Audi, holidays with his family in Europe. And he's a bankrupt.

    After Krukziener was declared bankrupt last year owing $6.67 million in unpaid taxes, his wife Gitta Saidi became sole director of his companies and took over some of the household finances. She maintains the family in the manner to which it's accustomed.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/moneys-no-worry-for-krukziener/YQBQ6HR4T6NHW6H3IYAIMZ453U/

    Back in the day as a small sub contractor on some very large developments this kind of shit was common. And sadly…the scumbags were mostly untouchable. And still are.

    Certainly a lot of Tradies/creditors were fucked over.

    Looking at who is hitching their wagons to the NActFirst Fast Track…would give most decent people fear.

  4. 4

    If anyone thinks favours from Shane Jones can be 'bought' for $5,000 then front up with double the money and ask him to refuse the 'fast track' consent …..

      1. 4.1.1

        Not me who hints that such tiny amounts can 'buy' favours from Shane Jones …

        Hey! Even Nicola Willis fronted up with $1.2 BILLION! (and the previous incumbent $1.5 Billion …)

        1. 4.1.1.1

          We know that, from time-to-time, J Swap find themselves in various "kinds of binds".

          He [J Swap environment manager Dudley Clemens] said the company welcomed the Fast Track Bill, "which provides new and fresh ideas to disrupt these kinds of binds that we find ourselves in."

          So, how much money it would take for the Minister for Resources to ‘disrupt’ a particular ‘bind’ by adding some QEII covenant land to the Fast Track Bill?

          You're suggesting that $5,000 isn't enough, and I agree – that’s an absolute pittance, what with inflation and all. Jones will have a higher threshold – how high is a matter for speculation now, but time may tell.

          Quarry Company J Swap's Fast Track Plea After Donations To Shane Jones And NZ First [31 May 2024]
          J Swap, a company involved in quarrying, wants land protected under QEII covenants to be available to quarry. It donated $11,000 to NZ First in December, after the coalition was formed.

          It also gave $5000 to NZ First’s Shane Jones in August 2023 and $3000 to National’s David MacLeod in September 2023.
          …
          QEII Trust's Dan Coup said J Swap's request for land protected by a QEII covenant to be added to the Fast Track Bill was "far-fetched" and a continuation of its attempts to access the land.

          "It would be a pretty outrageous move to have ministers take decisions on behalf of an independent statutory body."
          …
          Greenpeace's Aotearoa executive director Russel Norman would like to see the Fast Track Bill rejected outright. He noted there were no anti-corruption provisions in it.

          He thinks ministers with connections to companies applying for fast-tracking, such as being a recipient of a donation, should be removed from decision making.

          "We now have an open door to corruption through this Fast Track Bill."

          He questioned the intent behind the J Swap donation to NZ First.

          "It is an incredible situation where a private company donates a large amount of money to a political party after an election," he said. "Hence, the question has to be asked: what was the purpose of the donation?"

          NZ First conference: Shane Jones rejects bias after donation precedes $9m PGF funding announcement [15 Oct 2022]

          "I [Jones] understand the Act Party has dredged this up and it's diaper politics, reflective of how scared they are that NZ First is coming back."

          Act Party leader David Seymour has asked the Auditor-General to investigate, saying he believes Jones has breached the Cabinet manual if he did not recuse himself from the decision to approve the funding.

          Ah, what a tangled web we weave…

          https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/02/shane-jones-concerned-new-zealand-first-donors-will-be-put-off-in-election-year.html

          https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/02/23/nz-first-fisheries-donations-laid-bare/

          https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/quarry-connected-to-55000-donation-to-nz-first-and-shane-jones-approached-over-fast-track/B4C5CLZGKBGJTDNFCTL4FB6CTE/

          https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/05/06/political-donations-people-power-no-match-for-big-business/

        2. 6.1.1.2

          Jones (and the deputy PM) are Luxon's headache now – it must be "Hell in there!"

          NZ First Minister Shane Jones says he doesn't know or care about tobacco industry transparency rules [7 March 2024]
          Jones is among government ministers whose links to the tobacco industry have been questioned, after New Zealand First gained concessions in its coalition agreement with National to repeal recent changes to tobacco laws.

          Philip Morris external relations director Api Dawson – a former NZ First staffer – attended Jones' swearing-in ceremony last year. And Jones has said Dawson was involved in "soundings" about the party's tobacco policy.

          New Zealand is a signatory to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. It includes a clause that obliges its parties to protect policy from tobacco industry influence and be completely transparent in its dealings with the industry.

          Asked on Wednesday if he believed he had complied with the convention, Jones said: "Unless it was the Cabinet Manual, I don't know anything about it and I'm not giving it one iota of attention."

          His position appears to be at odds with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. In a written statement issued before Jones' comments, a spokesman for Luxon said the government "was well aware of its obligations under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and is confident in the processes it has in place to ensure compliance".
          …
          Otago University public health professor Janet Hoek raised concerns with RNZ this week about ministers' interactions with the tobacco industry, saying it was "time that we start asking some really hard questions about this government's compliance with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control".
          …
          Hoek was also alarmed by comments Prime Minister Christopher Luxon made last month, when asked about possible influence from the tobacco lobby, that politicians "talk to a range of people from a range of sectors".

          "That is not code and that is not an excuse that the tobacco industry should be inputting deeply into your policy development," Luxon said.

          But that was "not what you do when you're complying with [the convention]", Hoek said.

          "You recognise that you engage with the industry only if you absolutely have to, and you make all dealings with the industry completely transparent."
          …
          Last week, another NZ First Minister Casey Costello led the passage of legislation repealing smokefree measures passed under the previous government.
          …
          Official documents said an average of 12 New Zealanders die from smoking every day. The smokefree law was predicted to save $5.25 billion in health spending and nearly $6b in increased productivity over the lifetimes of New Zealanders alive in 2020.

  7. 7

    Shane Jones's gungho attitude towards rules is studiously ignored by Luxon and National because they couldn't do anything about it even if they wanted to, and they probably don't. If they kick up a stink then Winston will start threatening to bring the government down and both he and Seymour know that the Nats will do almost anything to avoid that.

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