Open Letter to Hon Shane Jones: Request for Equal Treatment Under Your Generous Royalty Logic

BY NIGEL GRAY INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATOR 31 AUGUST 2026

NOTE: In response to my Official Information Act letter asking for a logical explanation to NZ’s minimal royalty charges to Australian Companies stripping NZ Gold Assets, I received a letter from Shane Jones. I feel he is a generous man, and well, that made me feel he would be happy to hear from me again, and so I have written:

 

 

Dear Minister Jones,

Thank you for your recent letter explaining the remarkable generosity of New Zealand’s minerals royalty regime. I must say, I had no idea the Crown was capable of such kindness. Your willingness to part with New Zealand’s gold at 1%, 2%, or 10% — depending on which decade the permit was issued — is truly heart‑warming.

It has inspired me to write with a simple request:

I would like my personal tax rate adjusted to match the royalty rates you apply to foreign mining companies.

After all, your letter makes it clear that low rates are justified when an entity has:

substantial upfront capital investment,

operating costs over many decades, and

a need for stable and predictable arrangements.

Minister, I too have made substantial upfront capital investments.
For example:

I purchased a car.

I purchased a home.

I purchased tools, equipment, and clothing required for work.

I invested decades into developing skills that benefit New Zealand.

Under your logic, these should entitle me to a 1% personal tax rate, or perhaps 2% AVR, or even 10% APR if I’m feeling particularly profitable that year.

I am currently paying far more than 10% — and I am not even exporting gold.

Request #1: Adjust my personal tax rate to 1–2% AVR

Given your stated commitment to “stable and predictable arrangements,” I would appreciate my PAYE being recalculated under the same generosity extended to Tier 2 gold permits.

If mining companies can extract Crown‑owned minerals at 1%, surely I can extract my own wages at the same rate.

Request #2: Recalculate my car registration

Your letter emphasises that low royalties are justified because mining operations involve “substantial upfront capital investment” and “operate over many decades.”

My car also involved substantial upfront capital investment.
It also operates over many decades (or at least until the WOF inspector says otherwise).

Therefore, I request my annual registration fee be reduced to reflect the same generosity you extend to gold miners. A 1% registration fee seems appropriate.

Request #3: Apply Deloitte’s ‘government take’ logic to my household

You cite Deloitte’s finding that the government’s total take from mining is “35–51% of profits” once company tax is included.

This is fascinating, because:

Company tax is not a royalty.

Company tax is paid by every business.

Including it in royalty calculations is like including GST in the price of milk and calling it a dairy levy.

Nevertheless, if Deloitte’s logic is now official government policy, I request that my household tax burden also be recalculated using this new accounting method.

For example:

If I pay income tax, GST, fuel tax, ACC, and council rates, can I now claim that my “overall government take” is 35–51% and therefore “broadly fair”?

And if so, may I also request a Deloitte review of my personal finances to confirm that I am being treated comparably to multinational mining companies?

Request #4: Legacy permit treatment

You note that some mines continue to operate under earlier royalty regimes that result in lower payments, and that this is simply the way things are.

I too have legacy arrangements:

My mortgage was signed under earlier interest rates.

My insurance premiums were set under earlier risk models.

My wages were negotiated under earlier cost‑of‑living conditions.

Therefore, I request that all my legacy financial arrangements also be honoured indefinitely, regardless of how unfair they may now be.

If mining companies can keep their sweetheart deals forever, I would like mine too.

In closing

Minister, I appreciate your generosity toward foreign mining companies.
I simply request equal treatment.

If New Zealand’s gold can leave the country at 1%, I would like my wages, my car registration, and my household tax burden treated with the same kindness.

Please advise when I can expect my new tax rate to be applied.
I look forward to enjoying the same “stable and predictable arrangements” that mining companies have enjoyed for decades.

Yours sincerely,
Nigel Gray
A New Zealander seeking parity with gold miners