Sir Robert Edward Jones (born 24 November 1939) is a property investor, author and former politician in New Zealand.
Jones explicitly stated his disgust that the supposedly pro-free-enterprise New Zealand National Party had implemented socialist policies like price and wage freezes, and a top tax rate of 66%.
Templeton distributed a speech to journalists, which included the statement "Mr Jones despises... bureaucrats, civil servants, politicians, women, Jews and professionals...".
Jones, incensed at the intrusion when the helicopter landed on the adjacent bank, famously punched TVNZ reporter Rod Vaughan, with the whole incident recorded on tape.
[15] In 2015, Jones was removed from an Air New Zealand flight by security staff for failing to follow crew instructions.
[17] In 2018 Jones sued filmmaker Renae Maihi for defamation after she presented a petition to NZ Parliament calling for his knighthood to be revoked.
Jones was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 1989 Queen's Birthday Honours, for services to business management and the community.