Latest news with #NgātiWhātuaŌrākei
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).
NZ Herald
07-07-2025
- General
- NZ Herald
Auckland Council reviewing court ruling on Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei dominance at Westhaven
Auckland Council is reviewing the Environment Court decision that affirmed Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei has dominance over 18 other iwi at Westhaven, Tāmaki Makaurau. In a decision released on Friday, the Environment Court said it recognised the ancestral and cultural links that Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei has to the Auckland whenua (land)
Scoop
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
A Dawn Service To Commemorate The Bombing Of The Rainbow Warrior In Auckland
'You can't sink a rainbow.' The iconic Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior will sail into Auckland today to mark the 40th anniversary of the bombing of the original Rainbow Warrior on 10 July 1985. A dawn ceremony of remembrance will be hosted by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei on board the Rainbow Warrior from 7am on 10 July 2025 at Halsey Street Wharf in the Viaduct. Speakers include: Russel Norman, Greenpeace Aotearoa executive directorTui Warmenhoven, Ngati Porou, Greenpeace Aotearoa board chair Sharon Hawke, Ngāti Whātua ŌrākeiCarmen Gravatt, Greenpeace International programme director Stephanie Mills, former Greenpeace nuclear campaigner The Rainbow Warrior comes fresh from confronting bottom trawlers off the East Coast of New Zealand on the Chatham Rise, a biodiversity hotspot under threat from the destructive fishing practice of bottom trawling. Activists from the Rainbow Warrior painted the words Ocean Killer on a Talley's bottom trawling vessel and then again on a Sealord vessel. In response to the painting in June. Russel Norman says, 'The Rainbow Warrior's return to Aotearoa comes at a pivotal moment as the fight to protect our planet's fragile life-support systems has never been more urgent. 'On a planetary scale, climate change, ecosystem collapse, and accelerating species extinction pose an existential threat to us all, while here in Aotearoa, our Government is waging an all-out war on nature. 'As we remember the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior and the murder of Fernando Pereira onboard that night 40 years ago, it's important to remember why the French Government committed such an extreme act of violence. 'They targeted our ship because Greenpeace and the campaign to stop nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific were so effective. We posed a threat to the French Government's military programme and colonial power in the Pacific. 'And it's critical to remember that they failed to stop us. They failed to intimidate us, and they failed to silence us. 'We showed that you can't sink a rainbow. We showed that courage is contagious. Greenpeace only grew stronger and continued the successful campaign against nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific. 'That lesson is important because now, forty years on, we are just as effective, and it is the fossil fuel industry and the billionaire oligarchs who try to stop us. This time, not with bombs but with armies of lawyers and legal attacks of the kind that right now could threaten the very existence of Greenpeace in the US and beyond. 'But just like in 1985 when the French bombed our ship, now too in 2025, we are showing that we can not be intimidated, we will not back down, and we will not be silenced. 'The Rainbow Warrior has sailed ever since as a symbol of resistance in action. And we cannot be silenced because we are a movement of people committed to peace and to protecting Earth's ability to sustain life, protecting the blue oceans, the forests and the life we share this planet with,' says Norman. Following the anniversary, the Rainbow Warrior will be open to the public for tours and talks with the crew on the weekends of 12 July and 19th July. A multi-billion-dollar US-based oil pipeline company, Energy Transfer, has brought two back-to-back SLAPP suits against Greenpeace International and Greenpeace in the US, after Greenpeace US showed solidarity with the 2016 peaceful Indigenous-led protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline. The first case was dismissed, but the Greenpeace organisations continue to defend against the second case, which is ongoing after a North Dakota jury recently awarded over 660 million USD in damages to the pipeline giant.
Scoop
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
A Dawn Service To Commemorate The Bombing Of The Rainbow Warrior In Auckland
"You can't sink a rainbow." The iconic Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior will sail into Auckland today to mark the 40th anniversary of the bombing of the original Rainbow Warrior on 10 July 1985. A dawn ceremony of remembrance will be hosted by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei on board the Rainbow Warrior from 7am on 10 July 2025 at Halsey Street Wharf in the Viaduct. Speakers include: Russel Norman, Greenpeace Aotearoa executive directorTui Warmenhoven, Ngati Porou, Greenpeace Aotearoa board chair Sharon Hawke, Ngāti Whātua ŌrākeiCarmen Gravatt, Greenpeace International programme director Stephanie Mills, former Greenpeace nuclear campaigner The Rainbow Warrior comes fresh from confronting bottom trawlers off the East Coast of New Zealand on the Chatham Rise, a biodiversity hotspot under threat from the destructive fishing practice of bottom trawling. Activists from the Rainbow Warrior painted the words Ocean Killer on a Talley's bottom trawling vessel and then again on a Sealord vessel. In response to the painting in June. Russel Norman says,"The Rainbow Warrior's return to Aotearoa comes at a pivotal moment as the fight to protect our planet's fragile life-support systems has never been more urgent. "On a planetary scale, climate change, ecosystem collapse, and accelerating species extinction pose an existential threat to us all, while here in Aotearoa, our Government is waging an all-out war on nature. "As we remember the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior and the murder of Fernando Pereira onboard that night 40 years ago, it's important to remember why the French Government committed such an extreme act of violence. "They targeted our ship because Greenpeace and the campaign to stop nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific were so effective. We posed a threat to the French Government's military programme and colonial power in the Pacific. "And it's critical to remember that they failed to stop us. They failed to intimidate us, and they failed to silence us. "We showed that you can't sink a rainbow. We showed that courage is contagious. Greenpeace only grew stronger and continued the successful campaign against nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific. "That lesson is important because now, forty years on, we are just as effective, and it is the fossil fuel industry and the billionaire oligarchs who try to stop us. This time, not with bombs but with armies of lawyers and legal attacks of the kind that right now could threaten the very existence of Greenpeace in the US and beyond. "But just like in 1985 when the French bombed our ship, now too in 2025, we are showing that we can not be intimidated, we will not back down, and we will not be silenced. "The Rainbow Warrior has sailed ever since as a symbol of resistance in action. And we cannot be silenced because we are a movement of people committed to peace and to protecting Earth's ability to sustain life, protecting the blue oceans, the forests and the life we share this planet with," says Norman. Following the anniversary, the Rainbow Warrior will be open to the public for tours and talks with the crew on the weekends of 12 July and 19th July. A multi-billion-dollar US-based oil pipeline company, Energy Transfer, has brought two back-to-back SLAPP suits against Greenpeace International and Greenpeace in the US, after Greenpeace US showed solidarity with the 2016 peaceful Indigenous-led protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline. The first case was dismissed, but the Greenpeace organisations continue to defend against the second case, which is ongoing after a North Dakota jury recently awarded over 660 million USD in damages to the pipeline giant.
