Greenpeace ship returns to spiritual home

The Rainbow Warrior II has returned to Aotearoa, its “spiritual home”, and is welcoming the public aboard in downtown Auckland this weekend.

Plenty of children were among those taking a tour of the Greenpeace protest ship docked at Princes Wharf yesterday. Some got to take a seat in the captain’s chair while others, including April Wood, 3 (right), had a go at ringing the bell.

Greenpeace New Zealand senior campaign adviser Steve Abel said Kiwis had a special relationship to the Rainbow Warrior after the ship was bombed by French secret service agents — in an attempt to prevent future protests over nuclear testing in the Pacific — while docked in Auckland Harbour in 1985. Crew member Fernando Pereira died.

“We sort of think of New Zealand as the spiritual home of the Rainbow Warrior, even though it’s an international ship. [France] tried to stop the movement against nuclear weapons but it only deepened our resolve.”

Abel echoed Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in calling climate change “the nuclear-free issue of our generation”.

“We need to stand with similar resolve to ensure we deal with climate change and transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.” Watch the video at nzherald.co.nz

The visit celebrates those who helped stop offshore oil and gas exploration — Ardern announced in April the Government would issue no new exploration permits for offshore oil and gas fields. Greenpeace was also calling on the Government to back the clean energy transition by installing solar panels and batteries in half a million homes by 2030.

The Rainbow Warrior is open to the public again today and travels to Whangaparaoa Bay, East Cape tomorrow.