Here's some of the more interesting and insightful initial tweets in reaction to Shane Jones' announced retirement from parliamentary politics.
I was hoping @matuashane would go independent. Be great to have a New Zealander like him inside the Whare
Quick, someone draw a cartoon of Kelvin Davis in Shane's shoes, Parekura's shearing singlet, and Dover's Hat
Martyn Bradbury @CitizenBomber
Dear Murray McCully - please give Trevor Mallard a job as well
Can't help thinking that @matuashane may have been set up here. No deal done yet? Premature announcement?
Also, this is a chance to shed the waitakere man once and for all! No Tamihere, no Jones, next stop: O'Connor
As well as a front bench reshuffle, Labour should quit their list ranking strategy of demanding good Māori candidates retake a Māori seat.
It appears Shane Jones has gone from being Labour's mongrel to being Murray McCullys' bitch- quite the career move.
It is possible to look at the circumumstances and timing for Shane Jones departure as disloyal
Meanwhile, Labours talentless deadwood is holding on for dear life.
Countdown Supermarkets fearful that @CarolBeaumontMP will take over @matuashane's caucus responsibilities.
The strongest indication in favour of Shane Jones is that Young Labour all hate him.
I wonder if Labour can create a job for John Key?
Right Wing Fat Cat @rightwingfatcat
Murray McCully has performed the #GoT equivalent of getting Walder Frey to throw@nzlabour a wedding reception.... #nzpol
Time to buy a new suit and air the old ones that i didn't give to the Sallies. Does the smell of moth balls ever fade?
@NgatiBird Look forward to seeing you back in the House mate. Sorry to see @matuashanego, but getting you back will be awesome.
Good luck @matuashane you've made the right call.
Can you imagine what would happen to Labour if Grant Robertson was to resign.
As that Gordon Campbell column shows, Jones and Labour were a poor fit. Maybe he's done the honourable thing and given Kelvin Davis time.
shane and tau should have swapped parties years ago...
CherylBernstein @CherylBernstein
I'm finding it hard to work out whether we're witnessing the death throes of certain political parties or more generally of party politics.
The more I think about tonight, the more I think a 3-year sabbatical might be the best thing for Labour - in a very positive way.
Kia ora all.The 3 News report came as a shock. I'm very sad that Shane is leaving. He has been a great friend inside and out of parliament.
@NgatiBird @publicaddress So he didn't tell you in advance of TV3 story that he was quitting?
@hamishpricenz @publicaddress I had absolutely no idea. Heard it along with everyone else.
It's possible to recognise that, while Jones' departure is good for some aspects of Labour's game, it reveals deep problems within the party
@LewSOS And it's possible to recognise an act of craven self interest at the expense of your lifetime's work as just that.
It's possible to realise that a broad-church party needs to be more internally tolerant than a niche-emergent party like the Greens, right?
@LewSOS National is also a 'broad church', seems to get by without pro-union MPs that hate corporations and farmers
It's possible to recognise that Jones was a buffoon who alienated lots of people & still regret the loss of Labour's strongest link to Māori
Matt McCartenCOS @MattMcCartenCOS 31m
Wonderful news. The more people we exclude from the party, the more pure our revolution will become. Rejoice! Rejoice in purity!
Jason Ede almost pulled off an Urquhart, but Shane Jones failed to win Labour leadership race. #BetterLuckNextTime
Matthew Beveridge @matthewjpb
The question of the night is, did the @nzlabour whips know about Shane talking with MFAT?
Jones leaving the final nail for labour? Just seven@months ago he could have been leader and now gone - #thatsgottahurt
Crap timing for @matuashane to quit. Could have left at end of parliamentary term.
i have a hunch that the endless flow of damaging & undermining Labour caucus leaks will dry up with @matuashane's departure- just a hunch.
So McCully/Key obviously offered @matuashane the option of imagining himself a new job he would really fancy. #BaublesOfBetrayal
Govt MPs will mention this every day between now & September 20 and Jones will know this full well. Selfish at best, sabotage at worst. #rpt
What the hell was in that thousand dollar donation, a makutu?
@felixmarwick Uusally doesn't end well for Pakeha ones with same tag either. Anderton/ Dalziel / English / McLay / Maharey
If Cunliffe doesn't reshuffle his shadow cabinet, Māori MPs will be #9, #16 & #18 plus their last four. Go on, tell me that's not a problem
Morgan Godfery @MorganGodfery
@LewSOS National: #7, #9 and #18 plus their last four and the Maori Party ministers. Interesting comparison.
Philip Nannestad @philipsophy
Remember all those times when we said @matuashane may as well be in the National party? That wasn't meant to be taken as career advice!
Lauraine Jacobs @LauraineJacobs
Who will be next? Two of the most interesting characters gone from Govt. @matuashane and@tauhenare. NZ politics will be boring.
Hats off @matuashane why hang around in the playground when you can make a real contribution in life #shanejones
Judith Collins @JudithCollinsMP
@BreakfastonOne Didn't I tell you that @matuashane wanted to come to us at National? Happy for Shane to leave a toxic environment
Why is it that every time a Maori politician is tagged as being a future PM it always seems to end poorly for them?
Astounded by the selfishness of Shane Jones' timing. Struggling 2 think of parallels; eg Maharey as VC, Dalziel as Mayor quite different IMO
Gutted that @matuashane is quitting. Was looking forward to him working with@russelnorman in incoming Lab Govt.
Cunliffe and Jones having dinner together tonight. Love to be a fly on the wall@CampbellLiveNZ
McCluskey @JordanMcCluskey Protected Tweets
Interesting to see how losing the best performer will affect performance during #nzqt
Labour needed to rejuvenate but I thought the retirements might be the MPs who entered Parliament in 1981, not 2005!
Shane Jones quits Labour? The mighty teeterer has fallen.
Morgan Godfery @MorganGodfery
Lots of replies on Jones. I'm genuinely interested: if Jones isn't the best performing Labour MP this year, who is and why?
Govt to create new role as Cycling Ambassador for Mallard #dreamsarefree
Annabelle Lee-Harris @n8tvaffairs
I wonder if the National Party will take care of @tauhenare the same way they're taking care of @matuashane. Interesting.
Emma Espiner @emmawehipeihana
Jeeeeesus. Hard to think of an ex MP who more deserves to return than @NgatiBird though.
Philip Nannestad @philipsophy
Labour party without Jones is a better electoral prospect. More cohesive, unified & willing to work with allies. This leaves them stronger.
On an unrelated matter, Cunlffe's leadership now seems safer.
Jack Georgieff @JackGeorgieff
Ah shit. Very sad to hear @matuashane is leaving #NZpolitics. We're all the poorer for it#sadface
Tax Players Union @TaxPlayersUnion
New fisheries role $350k. Travel allowance $200k. Staffing $150k. Getting rid of the only threatening opposition MP....priceless.
I'm more surprised by Jones sticking around after the leadership snub than I am by him eventually leaving, no matter where.
Kerry @plateaunz Protected Tweets
And while I'm at it the poor member for Dunedin South the disloyal Clare Curran. She should hold hands with Prasad and plank it too.
Some interesting revisionism going on; Shane Jones as the youthful and impressive hope for Labour. Lol.
My timeline tells me that a whole lot of Green party supporters are stoked that Shane Jones has left Labour
Kerry @plateaunz Protected Tweets
Goff Mallard and King should have walked the plank.
Damn, I was aiming for that sweet fisheries job. Got anything else available Murray?
McCluskey @JordanMcCluskey Protected Tweets
Push the last centrist of the Labour waka, when elections are won in the centre. #strategy#tactics
Morgan Godfery @MorganGodfery
But hey, Kelvin Davis! There's an upside. He was a gem last term.
Matthew Beveridge @matthewjpb
@MorganGodfery is that like pinning your hopes on winning on @RaymondHuo winning a massive amount of the Asian vote?
Morgan Godfery @MorganGodfery
This isn't a McCully masterstroke, it's a Labour cock up. The party drove away its best performing MP, National didn't lure him.
@MorganGodfery Best-performing MP? Seriously? He really isn’t.
@n8tvaffairs @MorganGodfery And that weird speech about Asian students. He’s always been a mixed blessing.
Morgan Godfery @MorganGodfery
But I guess this is a win for the majority of the party who despised him, despite his strong performance this year. No else was stepping up.
@MorganGodfery He was unpopular in the party on account of his frequent outbursts of dickishness, attitude to women, etc.
Hey Nats! Two more positions for Goff and Mallard? Sports? Something?
In typical Labour style, the party is rejuvenating by getting rid of one of its younger, more effective MPs.
@LewSOS He turns 55 this year. He’s hardly a youngster.
Also opening up spokesperson roles within the party: Maori Affairs, forestry, economic dev, & building
A man who was a lion in the house a couple of weeks ago is now a government lamb. We deserve to know the workings of how this happened.
If Shane Jones (@matuashane) is quitting Parliament to work in a Government role, this is some House of Cards-level action from Key.
Opening up: seats on Finance & Expenditure, Primary Production select cttees. Plus flow-on changes #MovesOnChessboard
Morgan Godfery @MorganGodfery
Maybe Tariana was right and Labour doesn't deserve the Maori vote. They're trying so very hard to lose it.
@MorganGodfery What exactly would you say Labour has done to Shane Jones to drive him out?
Morgan Godfery @MorganGodfery
A strange way to court the Maori vote, though. Driving away your best performing MP and best connection to the Maori electorate.
National working high and low to undermine Labour. Must be a bit worried... After Shane Jones, who will be next target?
Right Wing Fat Cat @rightwingfatcat
@BeeFaerie @Ellipsister that's like saying the Iceberg was worried about the Titanic because some rats were jumping ship....
With Jones exiting politics who will lead NZ First once @winstonpeters kicks the bucket???
Imperator Fish @ImperatorFish
Is this Labour's version of renewal?
Let's not romanticise Shane Jones' performance as an MP. Sure, some people loved him, some loathed. But he's just not a team player.
How did @nzlabour not try harder to keep @matuashane. Absolutely mind boggling. No other Labour MP has done anything to swing votes #dumb
Jarrod Gilbert @JarrodGilbertNZ
I'd argue we need more like Shane Jones not less.
Annabelle Lee-Harris @n8tvaffairs
Another one bites the dust on the #NativeAffairs political debates. First @tauhenare now@matuashane #wherehavealltheflowersgone?
( @matuashane has done great work on Countdown recently, but its the highlight of a lacklustre career. Up or out)
Here's hoping for Goff/Mallard/King successive retirement announcements #nzpol (with greatest respect to their various accomplishments)
Welcome aboard HMNZS National @matuashane
Right Wing Fat Cat @rightwingfatcat
Cue wailing and gnashing of teeth from the people within labour who still harbored hopes of actually winning in September #nzpol
Expecting the valedictory to be rather entertaining, almost certainly Wed 7 May (Members Day) #NoInsideKnowledge
Wira Gardiner happy with return on his donation #nzpol
Astonishing news on @matuashane - travelled Pacific with him: no more insightful that the average tourist - now to be a eco diplomat? wow
wallacechapman @wallacelchapman
Pacific Economic Ambassador. Gotta say, that's genuis. Look fwd to Aus&Fiji media, also China reaction on that also
Labour folk excited about talented @NgatiBird returning but have they thought it through? A win in TTT takes out @HoneManaMP & @KimDotcom..
Wow is Wira Gardiner the new DotCom when it comes to claiming political scalps? Let's hope his next political victim is his wife
The last MP focused on jobs and growth in @nzlabour is hitting the road.
I trust the Taxpayers Union will be all over this plum job McCully has invented for Shane Jones.
McCluskey @JordanMcCluskey Protected Tweets
R.I.P The Labour Right, and its last remaining connection to Waitakere Man.
Oh, good.
Fran O'Sullivan @FranOSullivan
Unlike Don Brash, Shane Jones @matuashane is a man of principle who knows which side his toast is buttered on. Congrats Murray McCully.
Imperator Fish @ImperatorFish
I imagine @GarethMP is popping the champagne corks about now.
McCluskey @JordanMcCluskey Protected Tweets
But seriously, 2013, serious leadership contender, mana restored, 2014 fucks right off and decides to work for my mob. WTF.
Judith Collins @JudithCollinsMP
Labour has now well and truly lost any hope of getting back Waitakere Man. They're now a fringe party of interest groups who hate each other
Jones will fulfill his role as 'Pacific Ambassador' by declaring war on all Melanesia and building a closer relationship with Iceland
McCluskey @JordanMcCluskey Protected Tweets
How do you go from wanting to lead your party to leaving them less than a year later?!?!?#jonesy #shanejones
Shane Jones to leave Labour. Banning Nigella the last straw #ColdDeadHands
We'll always have the porn, the supermarket scandals, the colourful phrasing.
Judith Collins @JudithCollinsMP
@matuashane Labour has just lost its biggest asset. Is this enough to get David Cunliffe back from holiday?
Shane Jones quitting Labour to go work for the National Government !!!
Bryce Edwards
Wed, 23 Apr 2014
Wed, 23 Apr 2014
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Top tweets about Shane Jones resigning as a Labour MP
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