{"id":7475,"date":"2019-12-17T13:06:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-17T00:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/new-zealand\/?p=7475"},"modified":"2024-07-12T12:45:08","modified_gmt":"2024-07-12T00:45:08","slug":"people-vs-oil-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/people-vs-oil-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Systematically disrupting business as usual for OMV in 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

2019 will go down in history as the year that together we took on Austrian oil giant OMV. <\/p>\n\n

From scaling their office building in Wellington to occupying their henchboat: we\u2019ve made it hard for OMV to ignore the fact that Kiwis don\u2019t want their dirty oil drilling in our waters. We\u2019re in the midst of a climate emergency and it\u2019s clear that this is no time to be drilling for new oil and gas. <\/p>\n\n

Here\u2019s a closer look at how we disrupted business as usual for OMV in 2019:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

January – November:<\/strong> We knew we couldn\u2019t do it alone, so we put out a call for people to join us. In major cities across New Zealand, people from all walks of life join Greenpeace for a series of peaceful civil disobedience trainings,<\/a> learning the history of non-violent protest in Aotearoa and around the world.<\/p>\n\n

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Everyone’s welcome!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
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23rd July:<\/strong> Two bold climbers scale the Majestic Centre in Wellington, home of Austrian oil giant OMV\u2019s Wellington offices.The climb to OMV\u2019s 21 floor HQ took them 10 hours but they delivered a clear message, and and invitation for New Zealanders to join us there again to Evict OMV. OMV promptly shut their blinds, no doubt hoping we\u2019d go away.<\/p>\n\n

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Greenpeace climbers scale the Majestic Centre, the tallest building in Wellington, to reach the headquarters of Austrian oil giant, OMV. The two activists began the unusual ascent at dawn and the climb is expected to take all day. If they can make it to OMV\u2019s offices on the 20th floor, they will deliver a message. They deploy banners along the way. One of them reads “It’s a Climate Emergency”.\nFollowing the departure of oil majors Chevron and Equinor (formerly Statoil) this month, OMV is the last remaining international oil giant operating in New Zealand.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
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14th August:<\/strong> Those same climbers, joined by dozens of Wellingtonians, confront OMV again with brightly coloured signs and the signatures of over 30,000 people calling for OMV to quit oil drilling in Aotearoa\u2019s waters. <\/p>\n\n

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Almost 100 people gather outside Austrian oil giant OMV’s New Zealand headquarters to serve an eviction notice signed by more than 30,000 people on Wednesday the 14th of August 2019. Photo by Greenpeace \/ Marty Melville<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

October 2019: <\/strong>Activists in Austria stood in solidarity with New Zealand, constructing a giant whale sculpture outside OMV\u2019s Austrian office and calling on OMV to give up their permits to drill in Aotearoa\u2019s waters.<\/p>\n\n

Maori activists Hinekaa Mako and Mike Smith joined them and announced legal proceedings<\/a> in the International Criminal Court against Rainer Seele, OMV\u2019s CEO, saying oil company executives deserve to stand trial for climate crimes impacting indigenous communities now and in the future.<\/p>\n\n

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Greenpeace Austria activists stage a symbolic oil spill with giant whale sculptures outside the headquarters of Austrian oil and gas giant, OMV. \nThe protest, joined by a M\u0101ori Indigenous leader, aims to show the risks of oil drilling activities, scheduled to take place in the next few weeks off New Zealand\u2019s coast, that threaten whales and critically endangered dolphins and go against the Paris climate agreement.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
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November: <\/strong>Local groups across New Zealand took action on beaches near them, calling on OMV to leave Aotearoa\u2019s waters and showing their peaceful resistance across our land. <\/p>\n\n

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People from all over Aotearoa are standing up against oil drilling company OMV. Clean energy now! #EndOil<\/a> #ClimateEmergency<\/a> #MakeOilHistory<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/s2cyFNuWPd<\/a><\/p>— Oil Free Te Whanganui-a-Tara (@OilFreeWelly) November 24, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote>