Forty-one years ago today, state-sponsored terrorism shattered the quiet of Auckland Harbour.
On July 10, 1985, French secret service agents detonated two bombs beneath the hull of our flagship, the Rainbow Warrior. They killed our crewmate and photographer, Fernando Pereira. They sank our ship. But they couldn’t sink our spirit.
The Rainbow Warrior was docked in Aotearoa because she was preparing to sail to Moruroa Atoll to protest French nuclear testing, in the fight with our allies for a nuclear-free and independent Pacific. We were part of a massive, historic groundswell here at home too: everyday New Zealanders standing up to global superpowers and declaring Aotearoa a nuclear-weapons-free zone.
When the French bombed our ship, and when the United States stripped Aotearoa of its ally status for refusing their nuclear warships, we didn’t bow down. We stood tall. We forged an independent foreign policy rooted in peace.
It’s appropriate that this year the anniversary of the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior falls on Matariki, a time for remembrance and honouring who and what has gone before.
We pause to remember Fernando Pereira, who lost his life, and honor the movement that stood up for a nuclear-free and Independent Pacific. We also remember and honour those who have passed this year who dedicated their lives to activism, and protecting our environment. We carry them with us, and we draw on their strength when it feels hard.
The bombing of the Rainbow Warrior was moment that shocked our nation, but it also solidified our fierce commitment to peace, independence, and standing up to defend nature. Today, that proud legacy is under threat. The war machine is back, and the Luxon government is getting ready to open the door.
From Nuclear Free to War Minerals
Right now, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is moving to sign a covert “critical minerals” deal with the Trump administration. Trump is pressuring US allies to sign up to the deal or face trade tariffs, so that the US can stockpile minerals.
The White House and the Beehive call these minerals “critical.” Let’s call them what they actually are: war minerals.
The US military machine is hungry for resources, and they are sizing up our backyards to feed it. They’re looking for vanadium (the mineral that TTR proposed to mine from the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight), and antimony.
These minerals are critical for building military hardware, including ballistic missiles and fighter jet engines. If Luxon signs this deal, New Zealand’s environment could be put at risk in order to fuel Trump’s illegal wars and devastation across the globe.
The New War on Nature
To be able to pull off this corporate mining boom, the government has systematically dismantled our environmental laws. They are tearing up decades of legal protections, proposing to rip up our most precious wild places, and making New Zealand complicit in global conflict.
As their most recent and egregious assault in their War on Nature, they are trying to gut the Conservation Act and make it easier to commercially exploit or mine public conservation land.
But the whenua and moana are not the Government’s bargaining chips.
Making more bombs cannot buy peace, and destroying the earth cannot heal our planet. We must fight just as previous generations did to keep Aotearoa independent, green, and peaceful. And, as history shows, when we stand together, we win.
