Latest news with #RainbowWarrior
Scoop
5 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Alliance Renews Call For Bottom Trawling Ban In Hauraki Gulf
Press Release – Greenpeace Members of the Hauraki Gulf Alliance have deployed a massive 'Ban Bottom Trawling' banner on the deck of the Rainbow Warrior, demanding an end to destructive bottom trawling in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. The Alliance, which includes Forest & Bird, LegaSea and Greenpeace, has a long-running campaign to remove trawling from Hauraki Gulf and the renewed call comes as bottom trawling faces increased public scrutiny. Speaking from the Rainbow Warrior, in the Gulf, 'Heal the Hauraki' documentary producer Mandy Kupenga says: 'For too long, the practice of bottom trawling has bulldozed the rich and fragile ecosystems beneath the surface of the Hauraki Gulf. Entire ocean communities have been devastated. What happens beneath the waves doesn't stay there-when we lose biodiversity in the sea, we lose part of what sustains life on land as well. 'We cannot continue turning a blind eye. It's time to restore the mauri-the life force-of the Gulf, and honour our responsibility to future generations. Ending bottom trawling in and around the Hauraki Gulf isn't just a conservation decision. It's a moral one.' Gulf advocate Shaun Lee says the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries 'needs to listen to 97.2% of 8,909 submitters who have asked for a full ban on bottom impact fishing in the Gulf'. LegaSea spokesperson Benn Winlove says he is disappointed the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries is willing to ignore such strong public sentiment against bottom trawling. 'Public opposition to environmental destruction is growing and it's incredible that a Minister in charge of ensuring sustainability of fish populations and their habitat is willing to let bottom trawling continue in the Gulf, let alone in the Marine Park.' Bianca Ranson, campaigner from Forest & Bird, says: '97% of submitters have called for a complete ban of bottom impact fishing in the Hauraki Gulf yet the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, Shane Jones, mocks Tīkapa Moana calling it 'just a mud-stained bottom'. That is an insult to every living thing that depends on this ocean and to future generations who deserve thriving ecosystems abundant with life. Trawling rips up the seafloor turning vibrant thriving ecosystems into lifeless mud. Every year, massive weighted nets are dragged across the seafloor of Tīkapa Moana, killing all life in its path, destroying nurseries for fish, and choking the seabed in suffocating plumes of sedimentation. It's time to end bottom trawling.' Bottom trawling is a fishing method that involves dragging heavy nets over the seafloor to catch fish, stirring up sediment, releasing carbon and indiscriminately killing marine life. This is not the first time the massive banner has been used. Hundreds of people turned out to a flotilla in Auckland in 2023 to call for an end to trawling in the Gulf, while that same year a petition calling for a ban signed by nearly 37,000 people was handed into parliament.
Scoop
5 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Alliance Renews Call For Bottom Trawling Ban In Hauraki Gulf
Members of the Hauraki Gulf Alliance have deployed a massive 'Ban Bottom Trawling' banner on the deck of the Rainbow Warrior, demanding an end to destructive bottom trawling in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. The Alliance, which includes Forest & Bird, LegaSea and Greenpeace, has a long-running campaign to remove trawling from Hauraki Gulf and the renewed call comes as bottom trawling faces increased public scrutiny. Speaking from the Rainbow Warrior, in the Gulf, "Heal the Hauraki" documentary producer Mandy Kupenga says: "For too long, the practice of bottom trawling has bulldozed the rich and fragile ecosystems beneath the surface of the Hauraki Gulf. Entire ocean communities have been devastated. What happens beneath the waves doesn't stay there-when we lose biodiversity in the sea, we lose part of what sustains life on land as well. "We cannot continue turning a blind eye. It's time to restore the mauri-the life force-of the Gulf, and honour our responsibility to future generations. Ending bottom trawling in and around the Hauraki Gulf isn't just a conservation decision. It's a moral one." Gulf advocate Shaun Lee says the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries "needs to listen to 97.2% of 8,909 submitters who have asked for a full ban on bottom impact fishing in the Gulf". LegaSea spokesperson Benn Winlove says he is disappointed the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries is willing to ignore such strong public sentiment against bottom trawling. "Public opposition to environmental destruction is growing and it's incredible that a Minister in charge of ensuring sustainability of fish populations and their habitat is willing to let bottom trawling continue in the Gulf, let alone in the Marine Park." Bianca Ranson, campaigner from Forest & Bird, says: "97% of submitters have called for a complete ban of bottom impact fishing in the Hauraki Gulf yet the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, Shane Jones, mocks Tīkapa Moana calling it 'just a mud-stained bottom'. That is an insult to every living thing that depends on this ocean and to future generations who deserve thriving ecosystems abundant with life. Trawling rips up the seafloor turning vibrant thriving ecosystems into lifeless mud. Every year, massive weighted nets are dragged across the seafloor of Tīkapa Moana, killing all life in its path, destroying nurseries for fish, and choking the seabed in suffocating plumes of sedimentation. It's time to end bottom trawling." Bottom trawling is a fishing method that involves dragging heavy nets over the seafloor to catch fish, stirring up sediment, releasing carbon and indiscriminately killing marine life. This is not the first time the massive banner has been used. Hundreds of people turned out to a flotilla in Auckland in 2023 to call for an end to trawling in the Gulf, while that same year a petition calling for a ban signed by nearly 37,000 people was handed into parliament.
NZ Herald
5 days ago
- NZ Herald
Why French spies' getaway nuclear sub plan collapsed – Rainbow Warrior: A Forgotten History
New Zealand police caught up with the crew at Australia's Norfolk Island but had to let them go for lack of evidence. The crew then disappeared and were picked up by a French nuclear submarine, the Ruby, and whisked away back to France – or so the popular legend goes. In fact, the Ruby evacuation never happened because of political game-playing in the higher levels of French bureaucracy, according to the man who planted the bombs on the Rainbow Warrior, Jean Luc Kister. The former DGSE (Directorate-General for External Security) combat diver, who spoke to the podcast at length about the details and planning of the operation, said the nuclear sub could have been a getaway option for the spies. The Ruby was in the Pacific at the time and the divers were used to working with submarines, he said. The Ruby could have waited in international waters about 20km offshore and sent a Zodiac dinghy to collect the crew from a beach. But the plan collapsed because senior DGSE staff didn't want the Navy to know anything about their secret mission in New Zealand and the crew had to use a boat instead. 'They say, 'No, we don't want to involve the Navy in that'. And so it was abandoned.' French agents brought bombs into New Zealand on the yacht Ouvea. Photo / Maurice Whitham Kister explodes another longstanding myth about the Rainbow Warrior operation – a mysterious secret agent called Francois Verlet, who allegedly visited the Rainbow Warrior posing as a tourist on the evening of July 10, asked questions of the crew and then flew out to Tahiti. After the bombing, everyone assumed he was a DGSE agent doing last-minute reconnaissance. New Zealand authorities dismissed his vehement denials as lies – perhaps not surprisingly, as by this stage they had several captured French spies spinning similar cover stories – and Verlet even appears in a declassified SIS document as the mission co-ordinator. But Kister said he had never heard of Verlet and he knew everyone involved in the mission. 'This guy, he was just there – and he was French, unfortunately.' The podcast also examines the role the SIS played in the police investigation, including an 'embedded' officer Jamie Mercer (not his real name) who earned an international reputation for turning spies to the West. Mercer was a close colleague of John Daniell's stepfather 'Jim' and Daniell still has a photo of Mercer teaching him to shoot a slug gun at the age of 10 in Mercer's back yard. 'I remember saying to him, 'Are we allowed to be shooting guns here? Like, what about the police?' 'And he said, 'Oh, I work with the police quite a lot, I think it'll be okay.'' Former SIS officer "Jamie Mercer" teaches a 10-year-old John Daniell to fire a slug gun in his Christchurch back yard. Photo / Bird of Paradise Productions Rainbow Warrior: A Forgotten History is a six-episode true crime series. Follow the series on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are released on Thursdays. The series is hosted and produced by John Daniell and Noelle McCarthy of Bird of Paradise Productions in co-production with the New Zealand Herald. Rainbow Warrior: A Forgotten History is supported by New Zealand on Air.
Scoop
5 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Nuclear-Free Exhibition Opened By Hon. Phil Twyford In Auckland; Calls For Inspired Peace And Regionalism
Press Release – Asia Pacific Media Network Asia Pacific Report A former Minister and current opposition Labour Party MP has paid tribute to the Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific (NFIP) movement. Hon. Phil Twyford, Member of Parliament for Te Atatu and spokesperson on disarmament, said Aotearoa New Zealand must maintain its own independence, embrace stronger regionalism, and be a 'voice for peace and de-militarisation'. Speaking at the opening of the week-long 'Legends of the Pacific: Stories of a Nuclear-Free Moana 1975-1995' exhibition at the Ellen Melville Centre, Twyford referred to the 40th anniversary of the Rainbow Warrior bombing by French secret agents on 10 July 2025. 'Much has been made in the years since of what a turning point this was, and how it crystallised in New Zealanders a commitment to the anti-nuclear cause,' he said. However, he said he wanted to talk about the 'bigger regional phenomenon' that shaped activism, public attitudes and official policies across the region, and what it could 'teach us today about New Zealand's place in the world'. 'I am talking about the Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific movement.' Legends of the Pacific: Stories of a Nuclear-Free Moana 1975-1995 exhibition Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific Where: Ellen Melville Centre, 2 Freyberg Place, Paddy Walker Room, Auckland Central When: Daily, 10am to 4pm, until Friday 18 July 2025
Scoop
5 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Nuclear-Free Exhibition Opened By Hon. Phil Twyford In Auckland; Calls For Inspired Peace And Regionalism
Press Release – Asia Pacific Media Network Twyford praises NFIP lead, calls for inspired peace and regionalism. Asia Pacific Report A former Minister and current opposition Labour Party MP has paid tribute to the Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific (NFIP) movement. Hon. Phil Twyford, Member of Parliament for Te Atatu and spokesperson on disarmament, said Aotearoa New Zealand must maintain its own independence, embrace stronger regionalism, and be a 'voice for peace and de-militarisation'. Speaking at the opening of the week-long 'Legends of the Pacific: Stories of a Nuclear-Free Moana 1975-1995' exhibition at the Ellen Melville Centre, Twyford referred to the 40th anniversary of the Rainbow Warrior bombing by French secret agents on 10 July 2025. 'Much has been made in the years since of what a turning point this was, and how it crystallised in New Zealanders a commitment to the anti-nuclear cause,' he said. However, he said he wanted to talk about the 'bigger regional phenomenon' that shaped activism, public attitudes and official policies across the region, and what it could 'teach us today about New Zealand's place in the world'. 'I am talking about the Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific movement.' Legends of the Pacific: Stories of a Nuclear-Free Moana 1975-1995 exhibition Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific Where: Ellen Melville Centre, 2 Freyberg Place, Paddy Walker Room, Auckland Central When: Daily, 10am to 4pm, until Friday 18 July 2025
