Shane Jones backs NZ First's controversial New Plymouth candidate selection

New Zealand First deputy leader Shane Jones is backing the party's controversial candidate selection for the New Plymouth electorate.Murray Chong has served 13 years on the district council and is one of three rotating deputy mayors.He's no stranger to the headlines.Chong was kicked out of the chamber last year, after describing council's procurement policy as "racist", because it had a goal to improve partnerships with iwi, hapū and Māori businesses.A vocal critic of Māori wards, he abstained in 2024, when council voted to retain its Māori ward, citing safety concerns.Chong had previously defended the flying of a Confederate flag, widely regarded as a symbol associated with slavery and racial oppression in the United States, at an American car rally.Jones was in New Plymouth on Friday, speaking to a campaign rally attended by about 300 supporters.He said Chong was a long-term supporter of New Zealand First and the core policies it represented."We all know that he's got strong opinions, but hey, Shane Jones and Winston Peters have got strong opinions. Lined up against us, he's in the third form in terms of being opinionated, if opinionated is a bad thing."He's a very valuable member, very loyal to to the core elements that make up our party's identity and how we want to take our country back."He said Chong's job would be to go out win votes based on the party's record and policies."I don't think people are going to totally make their decision on the basis of one or three colourful lapses."They're going to ask themselves how is this party going to contribute to a more cohesive nation, a better set of responses for cost of living and getting industry charged up again, and I can't think of a better person to be pro-industry in Taranaki than our candidate."Chong said many of the controversies were a long time ago."I've learned a lot and I'm a very well respected councillor, which I've proved.Murray Chong was named NZ First's candidate for New Plymouth.RNZ/Robin Martin"I had twice as many votes as any of the other candidates last election, and I've been the highest-polling councillor for the last two elections, so I mustn't be that bad."Chong stood for New Zealand First in 2017, before heading over to New Conservative in 2020.He was excited to be back."Oh, it's good," he said. "I mean, at the end of the day, they hold true to my values and I've always stood for the same values based on their policies, compared to any other party."Earlier, Jones apologised to the party's supporters for New Zealand First's role in the oil and gas exploration ban, which he said had "destroyed" the Taranaki economy."Bugger the climate, lets go for jobs," he said to loud applause.Jones explained New Zealand First's position on a proposed LNG terminal was that during the heat of an election campaign was no time to sign up to such as deal.His preference was the "re-emergence of indigenous gas", repeating his "drill, baby, drill" catchphrase, when pointing to recent government investment in exploration projects.Jones promised to cut "red and green tape" and not let any "frog, lizard or hitherto unknown bat" get in the way of legitimate projects.He wanted action on State Highway 3 at Awakino Gorge - which had been closed several times over the past year, due to weather events - indicating a complete new road similar to the Manawatū solution could be in order, but its expense would need to be kept in check.Immigration settings needed a rejink, where the focus was on migrants New Zealand needed, rather than those that needed New Zealand, Jones said.He labelled the India Free Trade deal as the "Indian free travel deal".The New Zealand First deputy steered away from the controversy over the failed bid to mine vanadium on the seabed off the South Taranaki coast during his speech."Winston has told me not to upset the good people of Taranaki."Following the meeting, Jones said mining the seafloor was still on its radar."I was disappointed that the panel seemed to take great glee in turning it down. The applicants obviously were unable to meet the threshold, but the party remains committed to the extraction and utilisation of seabed minerals as a policy plank of our party."People leaving the meeting enjoyed what they heard. Jay liked the commitment to try and reboot local industry."Oh look, I definitely agree with the oil and gas. That's pretty pivotal for our community."Stuart was impressed."I found it very inspiring and uplifting, mostly the getting rid of the woke nonsense that we've been subject to for the last several years."Jones' approached resonated with Chris."Just getting us all back on track. The common sense and pragmatism and, yeah, getting back to the values that we grew up with."Partner Roger also echoed her thoughts."The common sense, really. I mean, getting behind making some money, instead of all this bullshit that's going on."We've had years now of bullshit. Get back to making some money, get prosperous and most of those problems go away."