His comments came as he lashed out against "eco-babble, green tape and those dwarfish aspirations that are hobbling industry in New Zealand".
One councillor yesterday called his comments "deeply concerning", while another said they were "truly refreshing".
The council is awaiting word from Environment Minister Penny Simmonds after reporting to her last month the costs and benefits of rejecting her advice regarding its freshwater planning.
Now, when extolling the virtues of a Bill moving through Parliament that would roll over resource consents for marine farms by up to 20 years, Mr Jones singled out Otago’s council as acting against the aims of the government and the democratic will of New Zealand voters.
The government had identified the growth of the aquaculture sector as a priority, but present regulatory and policy settings went against "the clear vision of economic rehabilitation shared on this side of the house", Mr Jones said.
"Of course, the government understands the importance of balance.
"Can they cope with the vagaries of weather?
"Can they cope with the changing circumstances, both of weather [and] of communities?
"For those reasons regional councils will be able to address whether farms have egregious historical conditions, but they must do it at their own cost.
"No more sneaking around of regional council bureaucrats.
"They can only make that decision with the concurrence, the acquiescence, of the director-general of MPI [Ministry for Primary Industries].
"That’s to ensure that regional councils are not captured, as is the case in Otago, by a small group who continue to frustrate the ambitions, democratically mandated, of our government."
Cr Gary Kelliher, who has been in the minority on those votes, said he was delighted to see Otago’s case being noted in the House.
He hoped it would follow with direction from Ms Simmonds "to be more respectful of the hardworking ratepayers across our region".
Cr Kevin Malcolm said Mr Jones’ speech in the House was "truly refreshing".
"It will be up to ORC to ensure it has a robust, cost-effective and non-invasive monitoring system to proactively promote consent condition compliance," he said.
"Let’s do our job, support our community and reflect what we state as our commitment on our website — implement central government directions in a regional context."
Council chairwoman Cr Gretchen Robertson said there were no aquaculture consents within Otago’s coastal marine area and the council had not formed a view on the proposed amendments.
"We respect that Minister Jones has views on Otago and other regional councils.
"We support economic growth and the broader aspirations of our community and government balanced with the need to protect Otago’s outstanding environment."
Cr Elliot Weir said at face value Mr Jones’ comments were "equal parts deeply concerning and completely meaningless".
The minister seemed to forget councillors also held a democratic mandate for the region, Cr Weir said.
"Like the Fast-track Approvals Bill and many others, the government is rushing this marine farms extension Bill under urgency with no justification, limiting how much say the public has and making an unprecedented mockery of our democratic process."
