Shane Jones targets kiwifruit industry, regional councils and India trade deal in wide-ranging speech

New Zealand First deputy leader Shane Jones has accused the Bay of Plenty kiwifruit industry of 'medieval slave practices' and called for a review of the laws governing Zespri, the company that holds a legal monopoly over kiwifruit exports from New Zealand.

Speaking to about 130 people at the Victory Christian Centre in Lower Hutt on 30 August 2026, Jones said the industry was losing what is known as its 'social licence' — the informal public acceptance that a business operates ethically. He said the next government should review the legislation that gives Zespri its export monopoly (RNZ).

Jones told the audience that state agencies should adopt the anti-corruption approach used by Casey Costello to investigate alleged slave labour in the kiwifruit industry. He said anyone linked to such cases should be deported under what is known as a '501' — a provision that allows New Zealand to deport people on character grounds (RNZ).

The broader context is not entirely new. In July, Trade Minister Todd McClay rejected United States administration claims of 'forced labour' in New Zealand, after Washington reimposed 12.5 percent tariffs on that basis (RNZ). Domestically, the NZ Herald reported last May that an illegal migrant was allegedly exploited as a 'money mule' to move more than $3 million through bank accounts in an alleged kiwifruit tax-evasion scam (NZ Herald).

Jones's Lower Hutt speech went well beyond the kiwifruit sector. He promised that New Zealand First will campaign on abolishing regional councils — the bodies responsible for environmental management, flood control and regional planning. He also criticised National's approach to regional reorganisation, saying it never had New Zealand First's backing and its mandate should be tested at the election (RNZ).

He also attacked the proposed India–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, calling it a 'butter chicken tsunami'. Jones first used that phrase in April 2026 and defended it at the time, saying colleagues had told him to tone down his language but that he gets 'cut-through on debates by deploying hyperbole' (Stuff). He has previously expressed concern that the India free trade deal will lead to a large influx of migrants and put pressure on infrastructure (Stuff).

In his latest remarks, Jones linked that migration concern to what he called 'blockchain migration' (RNZ).

The broader picture here is that Jones's speech draws sharp lines on several policy fronts at once. On kiwifruit, he is proposing a legislative review of a statutory export monopoly. On local government, he is committing New Zealand First to abolishing regional councils, which is a significant departure from National's approach. On trade, the 'butter chicken tsunami' rhetoric signals that New Zealand First intends to make the India free trade deal an election issue, framing it through migration and infrastructure pressure rather than purely commercial terms.

Each of these positions has the effect of separating New Zealand First from its coalition partner, National. Whether the claims about the kiwifruit industry gain traction with the public may depend on how the existing allegations, reported last May, are pursued by authorities. What is clear is that Jones intends to make Zespri's monopoly, regional council abolition and the India free trade agreement central to New Zealand First's campaign platform.