Hon Shane Jones is a New Zealand First List MP based in Kerikeri, and as a Cabinet Minister in the Labour-New Zealand First Coalition Government holds the portfolios of Forestry, Infrastructure, Regional Economic Development, Associate Finance, Associate State Owned Enterprises, and Associate Transport. He is responsible for overseeing both the Government’s ambitious one billion trees planting programme and the Provincial Growth Fund, which will see one billion dollars spent per annum on economic development opportunities in the regions. He was previously the Ambassador for Pacific Economic Development, with a particular focus on fisheries, agriculture and tourism, given the significance of these resources to enhancing economic development in the region.  Mr Jones was also a Member of Parliament from 2005 – 2014, during which he held positions including Minister of Building and Construction, Associate Minister of Immigration, Associate Minister of Trade, Associate Minister in Charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, and Chair of the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee. Mr Jones has a long history of involvement in the fisheries sector and New Zealand’s Māori fisheries settlement. Mr Jones was Chair of Te Ohu Kaimoana (the Māori Fisheries Commission); Chairperson of Sealord Products Limited, and has held a number of senior positions more broadly in the public and private sector. Shane Jones was born in Awanui, Northland, New Zealand, and is of Te Aupōuri and Ngāi Takoto descent. He has a Masters of Public Administration (MPA) from Harvard University earned on a Harkness Fellowship.