Shane Jones corporate welfare gravy train has left the station

The Taxpayers’ Union is slamming today’s announcement of further corporate welfare from Regional Development Minister Shane Jones who announced $20 million in handouts to iwi, hapū and Māori businesses.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“The $3.1 million for a visitor centre in Taranaki does nothing except shift funds to less productive areas of the economy while the bureaucracy clips the ticket along the way.

“We have already seen the failure of these kinds of projects with the Hundertwasser Art Centre in Whangārei that attracts just 40,000 visitors a year, compared with a promised 450,000. Ministers should not be gambling with taxpayer money.

“Handing out $600,000 to convert land into a kiwifruit orchard will leave a sour taste in the mouths of taxpayers. This is public money for private profit.

“The Government is rightly concerned about some of the barriers to investing and developing land faced by Māori entities. The answer is to reduce these regulatory and legislative barriers, not hand pick special interests to get a leg up over all other businesses.”