Hon Shane Jones is a New Zealand politician currently serving as Minister for Resources [48], Minister for Oceans and Fisheries [45], and Minister for Regional Development [46], and is affiliated with New Zealand First [60][61].
Jones attended St Stephens College according to a single reputable secondary source [18], and is confirmed to have studied at Harvard University [15]. He also attended institutions in Wellington and Western Australia according to single reputable secondary sources [23][24]. A Harkness Fellowship is recorded as having been awarded to him in 1991, according to a single reputable secondary source [58].
Before entering Parliament, Jones held a number of public sector and advisory roles. According to single reputable secondary sources, from 1988 he worked at the Ministry for the Environment, where he was involved in establishing a Māori Policy Unit [8], and subsequently headed that unit [1]. He also worked as an adviser on Treaty of Waitangi issues [4] and lectured in Māori studies at Victoria University in the 1990s, according to a single reputable secondary source [9]. From 1992, he is recorded as a member of the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission / Te Ohu Kaimoana [11], and according to single reputable secondary sources he later served as its chair from around 2000 [36][37]. A directorship at Sealord Fisheries is also noted in a single reputable secondary source [14].
Jones entered Parliament in 2005 as a list MP for the Labour Party [42][62]. During the Labour-led government, he held a range of ministerial roles including Associate Minister of Finance [34], and according to single reputable secondary sources, Associate Minister for Immigration [30], Associate Minister for Trade [31], Associate Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations [32], and Minister for Building and Construction from 2007 [44].
Following a period outside Parliament, Jones is recorded in a single reputable secondary source as having served as Pacific Economic Ambassador from 2014 [3]. He subsequently joined New Zealand First [61] and returned to Parliament, serving as Minister for Regional Economic Development [46][47] and Minister of Forestry [51] from 2017 in the NZ First–Labour coalition government [56]. He is also recorded as Deputy Leader of New Zealand First from 2023, according to a single reputable secondary source [39]. As of 2025, a directorship at Atamai Services Limited, described as a consultancy, is noted in a single reputable secondary source [13].