Greenpeace Aotearoa New Zealand

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Greenpeace Aotearoa New Zealand

Type	Non-Governmental Organisation
Founded	1974, Auckland
Headquarters	Auckland, New Zealand
Key people	[[]], [[]]
Industry	environmentalism
Products	Lobbying, research, consultancy.
Revenue	$3.5 Million NZD (2005)
Employees	40?
Slogan	n/a.
Website	www.greenpeace.org.nz/

Greenpeace Aotearoa New Zealand (GPNZ) is one of New Zealand's largest environmental organisations, and is a member organisation of the Greenpeace international network.

Greenpeace Aotearoa New Zealand was founded in 1974, two years after the original Greenpeace, to protect the natural environment. It gained national prominence in the 1970s and 1980s for its action against nuclear testing in French Polynesia, and gathered huge public sympathy after the French bombing of the Greenpeace ship the Rainbow Warrior in Auckland Harbour in 1985. The campaign against whaling was also very successful, and the issue has had the full support of the New Zealand Government since the mid 1980s.

Greenpeace Aotearoa New Zealand emerged from an amalgam of 1960’s and 1970’s NZ peace groups and activists, who had for a decade been actively promoting their opposition to the Vietnam War and nuclear testing. In particular, NZ Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament who were nationally campaigning against French nuclear testing in French Polynesia since 1961, culminating in a 80,238 signed petition presented to the New Zealand Government in 1962 demanding they took punitive action against the French to enforce a nuclear test ban in the pacific, [1] and the NZ Peace Media, NZ Friends of the Earth, the Auckland Peace Squadron and Project Jonah. ^[1]

The organisation also campaigns against nuclear weapons and nuclear power, deforestation, the release of genetically engineered organisms into the natural environment, climate change, and toxics. It uses tactics of non-violent direct action to draw attention to what it considers significant threats to the environment, and then lobbies for solutions.

Greenpeace mission statement

To maintain its independence, Greenpeace does not solicit or accept funding from governments,

Early anti nuclear campaign at Nambassa 1978

corporations or political parties.

Greenpeace does not seek or accept donations that could compromise its independence, aims, objectives or integrity.

Greenpeace relies on grant-support from foundations and the voluntary donations of individual supporters.

Greenpeace is committed to the principles of non-violence, political independence and internationalism.

Greenpeace is non-party political, it does not align itself with any political party. In exposing threats to the environment and in working to find solutions, Greenpeace claims that it has no permanent allies or enemies.