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1News
10-07-2025
- Politics
- 1News
'So unexpected, so wrong': Investigators reflect on Rainbow Warrior bombing
News feature: On the 40th anniversary of the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, key members of the investigation team reflect to Police Ten One Magazine on their roles in the landmark events. Late on Wednesday July 10, 1985, two explosions sank the Rainbow Warrior, the Greenpeace flagship moored at Marsden Wharf, Auckland. Most of the crew escaped, but photographer Fernando Pereira drowned while trying to retrieve equipment from his cabin. What was then the New Zealand police's biggest investigation exposed a complex sabotage plot sanctioned by the French Government in the hope of scuppering Greenpeace's high-profile campaign against its nuclear testing in the Pacific. Dawn ceremony marks 40 years since the Rainbow Warrior was attacked, killing Pernando Pereira. (Source: 1News) ADVERTISEMENT It involved multiple teams of agents and months of planning. It was exposed because of diligent detective work, sharp-eyed members of the public and considerable luck. It sparked an international crisis and brought an eventual 'Oui, we did it' from France. The French defence minister resigned, France's spymaster was sacked, two agents were jailed and two children were left without a father. "With all the mayhem and awful things going on around the world, one wonders why the Rainbow Warrior still pops up as a major incident – and not only in New Zealand," says retired Assistant Commissioner Allan Galbraith, who led the inquiry as a detective superintendent. "I think it's because it was so unusual, so unexpected and so wrong on the part of the French. "It's amazing that they even contemplated it as a good idea. Why did they do it? Why did they think it would solve problems for them? "The other thing that stood out about it was that they had the cheek to think they could do this in New Zealand and get away with it. They obviously thought this was a bit of a backwater in the South Pacific." Fernando Pereira drowned when the French intelligence agency (DGSE) detonated a bomb aboard the Rainbow Warrior. (Source: Supplied) ADVERTISEMENT The players in the sabotage plot — melodramatically titled Opération Satanique — were agents of the French spy agency Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure (DGSE). They included a woman who infiltrated Greenpeace in Auckland; and the crew of the yacht Ouvéa — three French combat divers and a doctor specialised in diving injuries — which arrived in Northland carrying equipment including mines, an inflatable boat and an outboard motor. The best-known to Kiwis were Commander Alain Mafart – another combat diver – and Captain Dominique Prieur, posing as Swiss couple Alain and Sophie Turenge, in a rented camper van. Three days before the bombing, more DGSE divers arrived in Auckland and lay low in another camper van while their commander lived it up in the Hyatt Hotel. By the time the mines exploded on the Rainbow Warrior's hull at 11.38 and 11.45pm on July 10, the Ouvéa had already sailed for Norfolk Island. The sabotage team headed south, enjoying a skiing break at Mt Hutt before flying out. Their commander, Lieutenant Colonel Louis-Pierre Dillais, was photographed riding a tourist jet boat. He spotted the camera too late and in the photo does not look happy about it. Even less happy were Mafart and Prieur, who police took into custody two days after the attack. ADVERTISEMENT People gathered in Auckland this morning for a dawn service 40 years since the bombing of the Greenpeace vessel in 1985. (Source: Breakfast) A homicide investigation was launched on July 11 after Navy divers established the blasts were external – it was an attack, not something gone wrong inside the vessel. "We had some good luck, but we also had bad luck in terms of what might have been – but that's the name of the game," said Galbraith. "They didn't only underestimate how New Zealand police would respond, they underestimated how New Zealand people would respond. "The general public were strongly interested and actively looking for information to pass to us." An early breakthrough was a case in point: members of Auckland Outboard Boating Club in Hobson's Bay — on alert after a series of thefts from boats – had reported suspicious behaviour about three hours before the explosions. Someone was seen dragging an inflatable boat on to the shore, and a Newmans' rental camper van was standing by. Gear was transferred to the van. It looked like the aftermath of a burglary. ADVERTISEMENT The infamous Newmans van. (Source: TVNZ) The suspicious boaties had time to take the van's registration number. This led directly to Mafart and Prieur, who were picked up as they tried to return the vehicle at Newmans in Auckland's Mount Wellington, on July 12. As publicity grew, and more and more evidence pointed to a French connection, reports of camper vans and French people behaving strangely poured in. They included a remarkably good account from witnesses to the transfer of gear from an Avis rental Commodore station wagon, linked to the Ouvéa, to the Newmans camper van, days before the bombing. Suspicious forestry workers in Te Puni Forest, Northland, took down the Commodore's registration number after seeing what seems to have been an abortive transfer attempt, when the vehicles missed each other. They noted an outboard motor in the back of the station wagon and later identified an Ouvéa crew member as being in the vehicle. Then a couple in Kaiwaka saw the successful transfer. They were able to identify Alain Mafart as the driver of the camper van. The investigation was also helped by evidence left at the scene. ADVERTISEMENT The saboteurs' getaway went wrong. They changed the time of the attack with the intent of avoiding casualties on board, but the tide was lower than planned for and they had trouble finding a place to come ashore. They left in a panic, abandoning the Zodiac inflatable, its outboard motor – witnesses heard the splash as it was dumped, allowing it to be retrieved from the harbour by police divers – and two oxygen bottles. The French saboteurs dumped their Zodiac inflatable, outboard motor, and two oxygen bottles. (Source: TVNZ) "The French left so many clues," says Galbraith. "That outboard motor was one because we traced it back to a purchase in London by one of their team. The oxygen bottles recovered in the harbour had French markings on them. "It was amazing. Even the worst criminals manage to cover their tracks better than that. "Because things went wrong, that connection with the French became very obvious. ADVERTISEMENT "Their plan wasn't inherently poor, it's just that it went wrong – and when it went wrong they didn't have any recovery possibilities." The investigation team quickly grew, reaching 130 at its height. The case presented unique challenges, at home and overseas. "It was an unusual investigation with a very difficult scene," says Allan. "Usually a major investigation has a scene which is static and secure. In this case, of course, the scene was at the bottom of the sea. "A major part of it had to be taken away – the boat had to be dry-docked – before the usual search could take place. "One thing worth mentioning is the dedication of the police dive team who spent weeks looking for forensic evidence at the scene, on the boat and under the boat, in very difficult midwinter conditions. "Their persistence was amazing, the way they stuck with it." ADVERTISEMENT A less glamorous side of the investigation involved scrutiny of border paperwork – including arrival cards for the 66,000 people who came to New Zealand between March and July 1985. From these the team built a picture of suspects' comings and goings. Maurice Whitham, Allan Galbraith's second-in-command, had day-to-day management of the investigation. Even 40 years later his recall of the case is encyclopaedic. As the inquiry was getting under way on July 11, there were a number of milestones: confirmation of external explosions; the report from the boaties; and a Customs report about the activities of the Ouvéa. At its peak, there were 130 people on the investigation team. (Source: Supplied) The inquiry was soon "running at 100mph," says Whitham, who started the inquiry as a detective senior sergeant but was a detective inspector by the end. "I was doing something like 60-odd job sheets a day for enquiries to follow up the information coming in. "We had no computers like now, of course, no electronics. We had a card index system with the standard offender-victim-scene categories. ADVERTISEMENT "We had no way of collating one lot of information with another lot. You couldn't just put in there 'Newmans camper van' and get all the sightings. It was a real manual, laborious system." Exhibits were recorded on the Whanganui computer, with a second record held manually. Just in case. The Auckland team was supplemented by investigators from other districts. "We had this big team of probably 100 detectives working in different offices in Central and we became a great team. There was a lot of camaraderie." There was also a lot of resources. "Anything we wanted, we got it" – from a fax machine and public service cars to free meals in the canteen and the secondment of French-speaking staff. It was, Allan Galbraith says, probably the one investigation in his career where money was no object. "Ken Thompson, the Commissioner of the day, more or less said to me 'Go for it, don't worry about what this is going to cost – we need to get on and do this' and that's what we did. "We had support from the Air Force in terms of moving people around. We sent 23 staff to nine different countries. ADVERTISEMENT "It was all done very quickly, well organised at the drop of a hat with full cooperation from the Defence folks, Foreign Affairs and everyone else who needed to be involved." A team flew to Norfolk Island, with a 24-hour window under Australian law to interview the Ouvéa crew and search the yacht. What the search threw up put the yacht's involvement beyond doubt, but it was too late – they could not legally hold the crew. They sailed before evidence could be analysed and warrants could be obtained. The yacht was scuttled and the crew transferred to the French submarine Rubis. The yacht Ouvéa. (Source: TVNZ) A team went to France, where a high degree of cooperation from local police suddenly stopped as the political dimension of the affair grew. A team member who visited the Rainbow Warrior to gather intel on the day of the attack was interviewed in Papeete. The doctor from the Ouvéa was found in a Sydney cinema. In many cases, evidence came too late and suspects returned to France, where they were out of reach. The skiing sabotage team flew out of New Zealand and vanished. ADVERTISEMENT The ones that didn't get away, Mafart and Prieur, faced the music alone. They were picked up at the Newmans rental depot in Mount Wellington, Auckland, returning the camper van days earlier than they had arranged to return it in Wellington. Newmans had been put on alert. The Mount Wellington office called when the pair arrived and a team led by Detective Sergeant Terry Batchelor dashed to get there as the office staff used delaying tactics. The Turenges, as they called themselves, underwent extensive interviews as Batchelor and the suspects team chipped away at their story. Handsome, debonair Neil Morris interviewed Sophie, while Batchelor, built like the proverbial brick ablutions facility, interviewed Alain. Sometimes they put them together to see how they interacted. Their Swiss passports were proven to be faked. The investigators picked them up on inconsistencies in their accounts of their time in New Zealand. But they gave little away, says Batchelor. "When you're used to dealing with burglars, murderers and thieves, they were clearly a cut above that. ADVERTISEMENT "They were cool and calm. They gave implausible answers to some of our questions but they never really admitted anything." Commander Alain Mafart – another combat diver – and Captain Dominique Prieur, posed as Swiss couple Alain and Sophie Turenge (Source: 1News) Little things didn't add up. Why did Alain speak English with an American accent if, as he said, he had only visited there? Why did the scars on his face and torso look more like combat wounds than botched surgery as he claimed? The pair admitted being on the waterfront on July 10, and said they helped a fisherman get an inflatable out of the water, then gave him a lift. So why did they disagree about whether he sat in the front or back? "Neil wasn't getting much out of her, and neither was I with him," says Batchelor. "He was as cool as he could possibly be. He was wearing a scarf around his neck which he would often twist, but he was unemotional, and cooperative to an extent." Even when confronted over the fake Swiss passports, Alain responded with a classic Gallic shrug – palms up, shoulders raised, and 'Pfffft'. ADVERTISEMENT "If he did that once he did it a thousand times." One time the cool exterior slipped was after Batchelor had dangled the prospect that Sophie might be able to go home in return for an admission. "He wasn't exactly aggressive, but he became assertive. He actually told me off. He said 'Do not make promises to my wife that you do not intend to keep'. "I said to him 'My concern is for the life of the man who has died and the children who don't have a father'. "I had a pen. I said 'I don't care this much' – and I broke the pen and threw the pieces to either side – 'I don't care this much about the woman you call your wife'. "It was a bit melodramatic." Mafart and Priuer faced the music alone. (Source: TVNZ) ADVERTISEMENT There was a lightbulb moment when Mafart spilled a drink on his trousers. He was upset and took great pains to mop it up. "I don't think it would have affected most people like that. It occurred to me that it was the sort of reaction you might expect from a military person about to go on parade." Before being formally arrested, the pair were billeted in a bugged motel room. They still gave little away, though there was a phone call seeking advice from 'Uncle Emile' in France. They had been held on charges – as the Turenges – relating to their fake passports. Eventually the growing evidence was such that they were charged with murder and other offences under their real names, which had been confirmed in August by the French Government's Tricot Report into the affair. Batchelor was a regular visitor to Mafart at Paremoremo Prison. "He didn't admit his involvement but one peculiar thing he said was that if they had been apprehended in a wilder country they would have been told 'If you don't tell the truth we'll take you out and shoot you'. "He put his hands together like he'd been handcuffed and said 'I would go out and be shot'. "Anyone could say that but I thought he actually meant it. They were well aware they were in a friendly country and we didn't behave like that." ADVERTISEMENT Another time, Batchelor asked Prieur why they had taken the van back to Newmans instead of dumping it and getting on a flight. "She said 'You would have blocked the airport'. I said 'We didn't even know who you were'. "That gave her quite a shock – I think she suddenly realised they had made a bad mistake." The trial was over before it began when Mafart and Prieur pleaded guilty to manslaughter and were sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment in November 1985. Infamously, under a UN-brokered deal, they were deported to the French Polynesian Hao Atoll to serve their sentences. Soon they were back in France, free and feted as heroes. Having been with Mafart and Prieur at the start of their involvement with police, Batchelor was also there at the end as one of two officers – with Detective Robin Borrie – escorting Prieur to Hao in 1986. He does not share the general anger about the deal which let the agents slip out of New Zealand custody, and questions the value of keeping them in prison for 10 years at Kiwi taxpayers' expense. ADVERTISEMENT "I can't speak for everyone, but I think the main victory was New Zealand exposing the French as being the perpetrators… and that they had to eventually admit to it." From left: Nick Hall, Peter Burridge, Glenda Hughes (obscured), Bert White, Terry Batchelor, Peter Williams, the late Cushla Watson, Maurice Witham, the late Dr Margaret Lawton, Chris Martin, Allan Galbraith, John Birmingham and Harry Hilditch. (Source: Supplied) Members of the Rainbow Warrior investigation team are meeting on Saturday for a reunion, as they have on a number of significant anniversaries. Some have contributed to documentaries, podcasts and news articles over the years, with a slew of new ones being prepared to mark this anniversary. If there is frustration that most of the agents got away, there is satisfaction at an extremely difficult job, done very well. "I think we were the only civil police organisation in the world to capture active DGSE agents on the job," says Maurice Witham, who today attended a commemoration in Auckland on board Greenpeace's new Rainbow Warrior vessel. "It's a pretty significant milestone for a small country like New Zealand to capture these guys, put them through the court and get a conviction. ADVERTISEMENT "Looking back 40 years, I don't think there's ever been anything bigger than this – one country vs another country, a 'friendly' country doing an act of what they call now terrorism. "In those days, the word terrorism wasn't used. We didn't consider it to be terrorism; to us we were investigating the murder of a man, Fernando Pereira, by blowing up of ship." — Police Ten One Magazine.
Scoop
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Greenpeace Holds Dawn Commemoration Of 40 Years Since Rainbow Warrior Bombing, Death Of Photographer Fernando Pereira
Press Release – Greenpeace Greenpeace Aotearoa says today is a moment to reflect on the past, and remember the life of Fernando Pereira, the photographer who was killed in the bombing. Greenpeace Aotearoa held a dawn ceremony on board the Rainbow Warrior this morning to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the bombing of the original Rainbow Warrior and the death of photographer Fernando Pereira. The ceremony was hosted by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and attended by over a 150 people. Greenpeace Aotearoa Executive Director Dr Russel Norman, speaking from the deck of the Rainbow Warrior says, 'French government agents came from the other side of the planet not only to kill our friend and colleague, and to kill our ship, but most of all they came here to try to kill our dream of a nuclear free Pacific. 'And it is true that they killed Fernando, and it is true that they sank the first Rainbow Warrior, now resting in the north of Aotearoa under the watchful eye of Ngāti Kura at Matauri Bay. 'But it is not true that they killed our dream of a nuclear-free Pacific. In fact, their act of violence was a catalyst for the further growth of the nuclear-free movement here and around the world.' At the time of the bombing in 1985, the Rainbow Warrior was preparing to lead a flotilla to Mororoa to protest French nuclear testing. Greenpeace International Programme Director Carmen Gravitt, also speaking from the Rainbow Warrior, said, 'The French government tried to silence these voices with violence, fear, and intimidation. But they miscalculated. Instead of breaking our movement, they amplified it. They blew wind into our sails.' 'We built a new Rainbow Warrior and sailed to Moruroa. The peoples of the Pacific rose. And the world joined them. Together, we did not stop – not until we won and France halted its nuclear testing. 'Every right we have today was won by people who dared to fight for it. People who demanded the vote even when it was dangerous, workers who demanded dignity even when it cost them everything, indigenous peoples and frontline communities who demanded justice even when no one thought they could win. Today, we also honour them. And humbly seek to carry their legacy forward.' In the wake of the bombing of the first Rainbow Warrior, protests and international pressure against nuclear weapons testing continued to build. Greenpeace mounted three further protest expeditions to Mururoa in 1990, 1992 and 1995 on board the second Rainbow Warrior. In 1995, the Rainbow Warrior sailed into the test zone, defying exclusion orders and attempting to disrupt the tests, drawing global media attention and support. French forces seized the ship and arrested the crew, sparking widespread international condemnation. Although six tests went ahead, the intense backlash contributed to France announcing a permanent end to nuclear testing in 1996. Greenpeace Aotearoa says today is a moment to reflect on the past, and remember the life of Fernando Pereira, the photographer who was killed in the bombing. But the organisation also says it is a moment to look to the future and to challenge current attacks on environmental protest. 'There's no doubt that we're facing challenging times. Nature is under attack. Peace and democracy are under attack too. The world feels more unstable than ever,' says Norman. 'But when the environment and democracy are threatened, we all have to step up and get braver. The bravery of the nuclear-free activists – who sailed into a test zone and put themselves at enormous risk – is an inspiration for the courage we need to find now in the face of the climate and biodiversity crisis.'
Scoop
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Greenpeace Holds Dawn Commemoration Of 40 Years Since Rainbow Warrior Bombing, Death Of Photographer Fernando Pereira
Greenpeace Aotearoa held a dawn ceremony on board the Rainbow Warrior this morning to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the bombing of the original Rainbow Warrior and the death of photographer Fernando Pereira. The ceremony was hosted by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and attended by over a 150 people. Greenpeace Aotearoa Executive Director Dr Russel Norman, speaking from the deck of the Rainbow Warrior says, "French government agents came from the other side of the planet not only to kill our friend and colleague, and to kill our ship, but most of all they came here to try to kill our dream of a nuclear free Pacific. "And it is true that they killed Fernando, and it is true that they sank the first Rainbow Warrior, now resting in the north of Aotearoa under the watchful eye of Ngāti Kura at Matauri Bay. "But it is not true that they killed our dream of a nuclear-free Pacific. In fact, their act of violence was a catalyst for the further growth of the nuclear-free movement here and around the world." At the time of the bombing in 1985, the Rainbow Warrior was preparing to lead a flotilla to Mororoa to protest French nuclear testing. Greenpeace International Programme Director Carmen Gravitt, also speaking from the Rainbow Warrior, said, "The French government tried to silence these voices with violence, fear, and intimidation. But they miscalculated. Instead of breaking our movement, they amplified it. They blew wind into our sails." "We built a new Rainbow Warrior and sailed to Moruroa. The peoples of the Pacific rose. And the world joined them. Together, we did not stop - not until we won and France halted its nuclear testing. "Every right we have today was won by people who dared to fight for it. People who demanded the vote even when it was dangerous, workers who demanded dignity even when it cost them everything, indigenous peoples and frontline communities who demanded justice even when no one thought they could win. Today, we also honour them. And humbly seek to carry their legacy forward." In the wake of the bombing of the first Rainbow Warrior, protests and international pressure against nuclear weapons testing continued to build. Greenpeace mounted three further protest expeditions to Mururoa in 1990, 1992 and 1995 on board the second Rainbow Warrior. In 1995, the Rainbow Warrior sailed into the test zone, defying exclusion orders and attempting to disrupt the tests, drawing global media attention and support. French forces seized the ship and arrested the crew, sparking widespread international condemnation. Although six tests went ahead, the intense backlash contributed to France announcing a permanent end to nuclear testing in 1996. Greenpeace Aotearoa says today is a moment to reflect on the past, and remember the life of Fernando Pereira, the photographer who was killed in the bombing. But the organisation also says it is a moment to look to the future and to challenge current attacks on environmental protest. "There's no doubt that we're facing challenging times. Nature is under attack. Peace and democracy are under attack too. The world feels more unstable than ever," says Norman. "But when the environment and democracy are threatened, we all have to step up and get braver. The bravery of the nuclear-free activists - who sailed into a test zone and put themselves at enormous risk - is an inspiration for the courage we need to find now in the face of the climate and biodiversity crisis." The Rainbow Warrior will be open for tours of the ship for the next two weekends (the 12th-13th July, and the 19th-20th July).
RNZ News
09-07-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Rainbow Warrior bombing 40th anniversary: Advocates warn of expanding nuclearism in Pacific
The Rainbow Warrior was bombed in Auckland Harbour, New Zealand, in July 1985. Photo: Greenpeace / John Miller As Thursday marks 40 years since the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior, anti-nuclear advocates warn the Pacific region is facing expanding nuclearism through developments like the AUKUS pact. On 10 July 1985, French agents bombed the Greenpeace protest ship while it was moored at Marsden Wharf in Tāmaki Makaurau. Crew member and photographer Fernando Pereira was killed. At the time, the ship was preparing to confront French nuclear testing in French Polynesia's Moruroa atoll. Hilda Halkyard-Harawira, one of Aotearoa's leading anti-nuclear advocates in the1980s, was on board the Rainbow Warrior a day before it was bombed. "Ngāti Whātua [and] Joe Hawke invited my mother-in-law and myself to go on board to welcome the Rainbow Warrior into the harbour in Tāmaki. "They took us around and showed us and I can remember thinking: 'Wow, these fellas have got automatic washing machines and … dryers on their on their boat'." The next day, while driving up north, Halkyard-Harawira heard news of the overnight bombing. "We were just stunned really. "It really was a statement about the impact that Greenpeace had on shaming France over the nuclear testing in the Pacific." Listen: The attack thrust the region's Nuclear-Free and Independent movement into headlines around the world. It also proved pivotal for Halkyard-Harawira and other advocates in Aotearoa because it turned public sentiment against nuclear regimes, particularly those of the US and France which were testing nuclear weapons in the Pacific. "I think that the best thing was that the New Zealand government exposed it ... [because] you know, that was an international terrorist attack on Aotearoa. "And I think the really good thing was the stamina of Greenpeace and other activists to get back up and carry on." Two years later, New Zealand cemented its nuclear-free stance through the 1987 Nuclear-Free Zone, Disarmament and Arms Control Act. The policy was implemented against the wishes of the US and the UK, which were both nuclear weapon states. Now, these countries, alongside Australia, have formed the AUKUS security pact. The pact was set up in 2021 to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines. Currently, the New Zealand government is considering whether to participate in "pillar two" of the pact. It has said this aspect of the pact is an "advanced technology-sharing partnership" that has nothing to do with nuclear weapons. Pacific historian Marco de Jong from AUT's law school said AUKUS - pillar one and two - was a prime example of developments that undermined Aotearoa and the wider region's nuclear-free stance. "There's a question as to the extent in which the two pillars can be disentangled. And certainly we see AUKUS set a number of nuclear-proliferation precedents - the first by which Australia, a non-nuclear weapon state, is set to receive highly-enriched uranium. "Beyond … pillar one and two, the joint-interoperability implications of the de-facto stationing and more permanent rotation of US and UK nuclear-capable assets [bomber planes] through the north and west of Australia has implications for the Treaty of Rarotonga," de Jong said. The 1985 Treaty of Rarotonga established the South Pacific as a nuclear-free zone. Thirteen Pacific nations signed it, including Australia and New Zealand. De Jong and Greenpeace Aotearoa said New Zealand's interest in pillar two of AUKUS went against the spirit of the Treaty. Specifically, de Jong said it added to a "new nuclearism" facing the region. "We should be clear that nuclear powers have exposed affected communities in places like Australia, Kiribati, Māo'hi Nui [French Polynesia], the Marshall Islands to the harmful effects of ionising radiation . "Now, a new generation has to contend with what I would term a new nuclearism in the Pacific. "We're confronted by emergent threats like the Fukushima discharge and AUKUS, and they really risk compounding unaddressed legacies of nuclear harm." Russel Norman, executive director of Greenpeace Aotearoa, said New Zealand's participation in AUKUS, even under pillar two, was incompatible with being nuclear-free. Greenpeace Aotearoa executive director Russel Norman. Photo: Greenpeace "At its heart are nuclear-propelled submarines with cruise missiles on board that can be nuclear-armed ... and for the New Zealand government to sign up to any part of that, I think, is certainly in breach with the spirit of nuclear-free New Zealand, if not a technical breach," Norman said. A spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters disagreed. He said in a statement that both pillars of AUKUS had nothing to do with nuclear weapons. "AUKUS pillar two is an advanced technology-sharing partnership. It is not an offensive defence agreement or treaty. "AUKUS pillar one, involving the UK, US and Australia … relates to nuclear-powered submarines, not precluded by the Treaty of Rarotonga." The spokesman also highlighted two "pre-conditions" for New Zealand's participation in pillar two of AUKUS. "First, New Zealand would have to be invited. "Second, the New Zealand government would then have to weigh up the costs of pillar two and decide whether participating in AUKUS pillar two is consistent with, and advances, our national interests." A dawn service was being held by Greenpeace in Auckland on Thursday to commemorate the Rainbow Warrior bombing. 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NZ Herald
09-07-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Rainbow Warrior: 40 years on – why France sank Greenpeace flagship in Auckland harbour
Forty years ago, two bombs went off in Auckland's harbour under the cover of darkness. By morning, the destruction of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior – used to protest nuclear testing in the Pacific – was plain for all to see. Many New Zealanders still find it hard to believe, but for those involved in planting the bombs on behalf of the French Government, the attack on July 10, 1985, was intended only as a blunt warning to the protesters. Then the death of Fernando Pereira changed everything. What followed in the days and weeks afterwards was a tale of lies, spies and political manoeuvring, as New Zealand authorities fought to catch those responsible, and their French counterparts tried to cover their tracks. In a new six-part series from the NZ Herald and Bird of Paradise Productions, Rainbow Warrior: A Forgotten History re-examines the events leading up to the terror attack and the subsequent fallout on either side of the world. We explore the real reasons behind France's attack, hear from those involved in all parts of the story, and examine if, four decades later, the world has learned anything about nuclear weapons.
