The extraordinary censure from the New Zealand First MP came during last Friday's announcement that the Government was stumping up $1.75 million towards the $4.75 million cost of building a new terminal at Bay of Islands Airport near Kerikeri.
Jones told the company’s regional affairs manager Ian Collier last week to stop “closing down regional air links”.
“And take that message to your supervisors.”
As a champion for the regions he said he was ''absolutely'' within his rights to challenge Air New Zealand, which was still Crown-owned to a significant degree, he said.
It was “irresponsible” for the airline to “degrade provincial connectivity”, he said.
“They’ve just ditched Kapiti, Kaitaia is gone with the wind ... It might ruffle a few governance feathers, but I’m not here to stroke the peacock. I’m here to get the mahi done.”
This morning, Ardern said there was nothing inappropriate about Jones, who is not the share-holding minister for Air New Zealand, expressing his opinion.
“Ministers, particularly with a regional focus, will have an opinion. That doesn’t mean we will have any ability or intent to take away the independent decision-making of a business like Air New Zealand.
“It is their decision. It remains their decision. He has expressed an opinion.”
Ardern said the Government had a role to play in infrastructure projects.
“It is not for us to make decisions that are ultimately commercial ones for Air New Zealand whilst we may, of course, have the opinion that we want things to improve, not get worse.”
The Government owns 53% of Air New Zealand, a formerly state-owned airline that was privatised and then bailed out by the Government in 2001 when it got into major financial trouble.
Grant Robertson is the share-holding minister.
Collier said he did not want to comment on Jones' reprimand straight away.
In 2015, Air New Zealand axed its twice-daily flights to Kaitaia and a number of other regional centres, but it has boosted aircraft size and flights to Kerikeri.
Earlier this month the airline announced it was also ending flights to the Kapiti Coast, prompting National’s Otaki MP Nathan Guy to launch a petition.
“Air NZ has made a short-sighted decision to end its Kapiti Coast to Auckland service on April 3. It’s profitable, well supported and it’s a shocking decision that gives the community little time to find an alternative,” Guy said.
National’s spokesperson for economic and regional development, Paul Goldsmith, said if Jones wanted to save regional flights, “good luck to him”.
“Parts of New Zealand should be well served by Air New Zealand. They have to work through whether particular regions stack up. I would hope, particularly in Kapiti, that they would think very carefully before they cut down anything in that area.”
He said it was up to Air New Zealand to make its own decisions, but “I want to see all our regions well served by our national airline”.
