{"id":75774,"date":"2026-02-19T20:13:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T07:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/?p=75774"},"modified":"2026-02-19T20:13:56","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T07:13:56","slug":"govt-announces-critical-mineral-slush-fund-as-ttr-flees-the-fast-track","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/govt-announces-critical-mineral-slush-fund-as-ttr-flees-the-fast-track\/","title":{"rendered":"Govt announces critical mineral \u2018slush fund\u2019 as TTR flees the fast track"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Today, as seabed miners <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fasttrack.govt.nz\/projects\/taranaki-vtm\">Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) withdrew<\/a> from their failing Fast Track bid, the NZ government has announced a<a href=\"https:\/\/www.beehive.govt.nz\/release\/80m-rif-funding-critical-minerals-projects\">$80 million dollar \u2018critical minerals slush fund.<\/a>\u2019 Greenpeace is questioning if this signals an invitation for TTR to\u00a0 have another bite at the cherry.<\/p>\n\n<p>It comes just weeks after it was revealed the NZ government has been in <a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.co.nz\/2026\/02\/09\/us-nz-deal-on-critical-minerals-could-be-limited-by-fast-track-denial\/\">backroom talks with the US Trump<\/a> administration over a minerals deal, which includes vanadium, found at TTR\u2019s desired mining site off Taranaki.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>&#8220;They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result,&#8221; says Greenpeace Aotearoa\u2019s Juressa Lee.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>&#8220;The courts have said no, iwi have said no, thousands of New Zealanders have said no, and now even the Government&#8217;s own Fast-Track panel has declined it.&nbsp; Yet here is Shane Jones, doubling down with $80 million of taxpayer money to try to breathe this destructive, failed industry back to life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<p>In 2024, TTR withdrew from the EPA process right before new Fast Track legislation was announced by the government, allowing them to apply.<\/p>\n\n<p>\u201cIn the same moment that TTR realises their Fast Track dreams are over, we\u2019ve got the NZ government desperately finding a way to make their project a reality,\u201d says Lee.<\/p>\n\n<p>\u201cWe have to ask: is TTR\u2019s withdrawal today a genuine exit, or just a tactical retreat knowing the government is orchestrating a 6th bite at the cherry?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>\u201cIs it planning to re-apply to the now amended and \u201ceven more favourable\u201d Fast-Track, hoping the Government will appoint a more obedient panel next time, while the government uses its new slush fund to pave their way with infrastructure?<\/p>\n\n<p>\u201cIt seems as though the Government is actively coaching mining companies on how to bypass the very processes that are meant to vet them.\u201d<br><br>\u201cIf this is the case, we certainly hope TTR submits a new application rather than the same one it has flogged for a decade and we\u2019ve beaten down at every step of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<p>On Thursday, TTR released news that they had officially withdrawn from the Fast Track process, after they were given a draft rejection decision earlier in February. The Panel ruled that seabed mining in Taranaki could harm threatened species like pygmy blue whales and penguins, and could not be safely managed, and that economic benefits don\u2019t outweigh the risks.<\/p>\n\n<p>On the same day, Shane Jones and Winston Peters announced $80 million dollars earmarked for critical minerals projects in the Regional Infrastructure Fund.<\/p>\n\n<p>\u201cBy funneling $80 million into these projects, Shane Jones and Christopher Luxon are laying the red carpet for overseas mining giants to treat New Zealand as a low-standard extraction zone that services US interests,\u201d says Lee.<\/p>\n\n<p>\u201cThis $80 million belongs to the people of Aotearoa for real infrastructure, like renewable energy, not as a consolation prize for mining companies who can&#8217;t get their projects past a basic environmental assessment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<p>\u201cSo who are these mining projects for? It sounds as though they are designed to pander to the wants of the Trump administration, and are not in the best interests of New Zealanders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<p>\u201cIwi, environmentalists, community groups, and ocean protectors have been fighting for decades. Any attempt to start seabed mining in Aotearoa &#8211; whatever avenues or work around mining companies try to use &#8211; they will face strong resistance.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\t\t\t<section\n\t\t\tclass=\"boxout post-16190 \"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\tdata-ga-category=\"Take Action Boxout\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-ga-action=\"Image\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-ga-label=\"n\/a\"\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"cover-card-overlay\"\n\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/petition\/petition-ban-seabed-mining\/\" \n\t\t\t><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsrc=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/04\/64cce2ab-whale-tail-tonga-bg-1024x677.jpg\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsrcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/04\/64cce2ab-whale-tail-tonga-bg-600x397.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/04\/64cce2ab-whale-tail-tonga-bg-1024x677.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/04\/64cce2ab-whale-tail-tonga-bg-768x508.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/04\/64cce2ab-whale-tail-tonga-bg-510x337.jpg 510w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/04\/64cce2ab-whale-tail-tonga-bg.jpg 1200w\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 358px, (min-width: 780px) 313px, 88px\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\talt=\"\" title=\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\/>\n            \t\t\t<div class=\"boxout-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"boxout-heading medium\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-ga-category=\"Take Action Boxout\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-ga-action=\"Title\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-ga-label=\"n\/a\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/petition\/petition-ban-seabed-mining\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPETITION: Ban seabed mining in Aotearoa\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"boxout-excerpt\">Seabed mining is a new threat to the oceans. Now is our chance to prevent the destruction before it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t                                    <a\n                        class=\"btn btn-primary\"\n                        data-ga-category=\"Take Action Boxout\"\n                        data-ga-action=\"Call to Action\"\n                        data-ga-label=\"n\/a\"\n                        href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/petition\/petition-ban-seabed-mining\/\"\n                        \n                    >\n                        Add my name\n                    <\/a>\n                \t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today, as seabed miners Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) withdrew from their failing Fast Track bid, the NZ government has announced a$80 million dollar \u2018critical minerals slush fund.\u2019 Greenpeace is questioning if this signals an invitation for TTR to\u00a0 have another bite at the cherry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":66144,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_planet4_optimize_post_is_variant":false,"_planet4_optimize_experiment_name":"","_planet4_optimize_variant_name":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[109],"p4-page-type":[6],"class_list":["post-75774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-greenpeace","tag-seabed-mining","p4-page-type-story"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.8 (Yoast SEO v26.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Govt announces critical mineral \u2018slush fund\u2019 as TTR flees the fast track<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/govt-announces-critical-mineral-slush-fund-as-ttr-flees-the-fast-track\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Govt announces critical mineral \u2018slush fund\u2019 as TTR flees the fast track\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today, as seabed miners Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) withdrew from their failing Fast Track bid, the NZ government has announced a$80 million dollar \u2018critical minerals slush fund.\u2019 Greenpeace is questioning if this signals an invitation for TTR to\u00a0 have another bite at the cherry.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/govt-announces-critical-mineral-slush-fund-as-ttr-flees-the-fast-track\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Greenpeace Aotearoa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/greenpeace.nz\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-19T07:13:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-19T07:13:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2024\/09\/ccca5b38-240924undersea_action36-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"534\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Juressa Lee\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@GreenpeaceNZ\" \/>\n<meta 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A banner on the building reads No Seabed Mining.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/govt-announces-critical-mineral-slush-fund-as-ttr-flees-the-fast-track\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Govt announces critical mineral \u2018slush fund\u2019 as TTR flees the fast track\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/\",\"name\":\"Greenpeace Aotearoa\",\"description\":\"Our mission is to ensure Earth\u2019s ability to nurture life in all its diversity.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#\/schema\/person\/8ad94ace6af16f4f2b07156cbdc74182\",\"name\":\"Juressa Lee\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/294cdee467eed7a8d88f1c8edc1435e36aba63dc27597743729d4b320fe53023?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/294cdee467eed7a8d88f1c8edc1435e36aba63dc27597743729d4b320fe53023?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Juressa Lee\"},\"description\":\"Juressa Lee (Te Rarawa, Ng\u0101puhi, Rarotonga) is the seabed mining campaigner at Greenpeace Aotearoa, working to stop seabed mining in Aotearoa, protecting marine wildlife and the delicate ecosystems of the deep sea, move NZ away from destructive extractivism and towards a circular economy. The whakapapa of my wh\u0101nau is a journey through Te Moana Nui a Kiwa. From the Whangape Harbour to Rawhiti via Ngawha, down to Tauranga Moana, over to Tupapa and Ngatangiia in Rarotonga, and north again to Tahiti. My tamariki, through their p\u0101p\u0101, also whakapapa to Toi village in Niue. I was raised by a frugal mother who was always mindful of her impact on the planet, and navigated it accordingly. My dad has always enjoyed nature and instilled in us that there were responsibilities we had to be able to keep enjoying it. This was my very first influence. When I became an adult and then a mother myself, decolonising my life became a priority to raise my tamariki with an unapologetic, Indigenous worldview. Along the way and without realising, my whakaaro around kaitiakitanga began to shift, or rather, return. I felt more responsible, but also more empowered. I connect the dots between 160+ years of colonisation, extractivism, social and environmental harms and injustices and a worldview that sees the environment as separate to people. That people are somehow entitled to take, own, throw away, destroy and degrade. We are witnessing the impacts from living in a system rooted in colonialism and racism and extractive industries are devastating the planet and furthering the climate crisis. Now, wannabe miners are eyeing up the seabed in the South Taranaki Bight, and also seeking to plunder the deep seas. This problem is colossal, but so is our fight to protect te taiao. There are solutions to these issues. 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A banner on the building reads No Seabed Mining."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/govt-announces-critical-mineral-slush-fund-as-ttr-flees-the-fast-track\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Govt announces critical mineral \u2018slush fund\u2019 as TTR flees the fast track"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/","name":"Greenpeace Aotearoa","description":"Our mission is to ensure Earth\u2019s ability to nurture life in all its diversity.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#\/schema\/person\/8ad94ace6af16f4f2b07156cbdc74182","name":"Juressa Lee","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/294cdee467eed7a8d88f1c8edc1435e36aba63dc27597743729d4b320fe53023?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/294cdee467eed7a8d88f1c8edc1435e36aba63dc27597743729d4b320fe53023?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Juressa Lee"},"description":"Juressa Lee (Te Rarawa, Ng\u0101puhi, Rarotonga) is the seabed mining campaigner at Greenpeace Aotearoa, working to stop seabed mining in Aotearoa, protecting marine wildlife and the delicate ecosystems of the deep sea, move NZ away from destructive extractivism and towards a circular economy. The whakapapa of my wh\u0101nau is a journey through Te Moana Nui a Kiwa. From the Whangape Harbour to Rawhiti via Ngawha, down to Tauranga Moana, over to Tupapa and Ngatangiia in Rarotonga, and north again to Tahiti. My tamariki, through their p\u0101p\u0101, also whakapapa to Toi village in Niue. I was raised by a frugal mother who was always mindful of her impact on the planet, and navigated it accordingly. My dad has always enjoyed nature and instilled in us that there were responsibilities we had to be able to keep enjoying it. This was my very first influence. When I became an adult and then a mother myself, decolonising my life became a priority to raise my tamariki with an unapologetic, Indigenous worldview. Along the way and without realising, my whakaaro around kaitiakitanga began to shift, or rather, return. I felt more responsible, but also more empowered. I connect the dots between 160+ years of colonisation, extractivism, social and environmental harms and injustices and a worldview that sees the environment as separate to people. That people are somehow entitled to take, own, throw away, destroy and degrade. We are witnessing the impacts from living in a system rooted in colonialism and racism and extractive industries are devastating the planet and furthering the climate crisis. Now, wannabe miners are eyeing up the seabed in the South Taranaki Bight, and also seeking to plunder the deep seas. This problem is colossal, but so is our fight to protect te taiao. There are solutions to these issues. We must stop seabed mining before it starts.","url":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/author\/juressa\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/72"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75774"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75774\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75775,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75774\/revisions\/75775"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75774"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=75774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}