PremiumOpinionOpinion byKate MacNamaraBusiness Journalist·NZ Herald·5 Jul, 2026 09:00 PM6 mins to readRegional Development Minister Shane Jones at the Chatham Islands Regional Growth Summit. The minister occasionally lets slip details of regional development loans, but otherwise they're typically kept secret. Photo / Cameron Pitney
The $1.2 billion Regional Infrastructure Fund is almost entirely spoken for, either ring-fenced for specific purposes such critical minerals mines, saving Oji Fibre’s Kinleith pulp mill and a Northland dry dock, or allocated and, in some cases, paid out to projects and
