$15m Grant Fails to Address Chatham Islands' Dependency Cycle

The Chatham Islands, a remote community in New Zealand, has received a $15 million grant from the government to support its struggling economy. However, the islanders had been seeking a more sustainable solution - the transfer of a $60 million scampi quota that would have provided them with a producing asset and ended their reliance on grants.

The council's 2025/26 plan projects revenue of just $10.76 million, down from $11.76 million the year before, against a Crown appropriation of $4.2 million that has not been adjusted for inflation. The islanders describe the transfer of the quota as 'confiscation' and point to the fact that when the quota management system arrived in the 1980s, only 3,000 tonnes was set aside for the Chathams.

Regional Development Minister Shane Jones has argued that grants are unsustainable, but instead of transferring the quota, he has chosen to continue providing ad hoc grants. The government has also approved loans worth $17.2 million for Air Chathams in April 2026, further perpetuating the dependency cycle.