On the investment side, a US$8.5 billion pipeline for targeted financing and joint ownership of projects between Australia and the US would see US$1 billion invested by each country within six months, and Australia fast-tracking approvals. The framework seemingly lapsed with the end of the Biden administration, but the critical minerals project lives on in another form. At the same time, there is a current claim before the Waitangi Tribunal’s climate change inquiry challenging the government’s mining agenda as a breach of the Crown’s Treaty obligations.
Author: Jane Kelsey, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Published at: 2026-01-18 23:30:21
Still want to read the full version? Full article
