In 1951, New Zealand and Australia signed the ANZUS agreement which meant that they were under the protection of the Unites states. This protection was better known as the nuclear umbrella. This is because the United States military was well equipped with nuclear weaponry. Throughout the 1960s there were constant protests in New Zealand against nuclear weapons, but things started getting pretty heated in the 1970s. In this essay, I will be explaining the events of the anti-nuclear protests in New Zealand and will use evidence from the research internal done before hand.
During the 1960s, New Zealand began protesting against nuclear testing in the Pacific. In 1963, The Britain, America and the Soviet Union all agreed to cease all atmospheric tests and ban further testing. However, France was among the few countries that did not agree on this, and they began nuclear weapons testing in French Polynesia. In 1972, Greenpeace vessels sailed into the testing site and they observed the testing. In the following year, New Zealand and Australia took France to the international justice court to try and get them to stop testing in the Pacific . However, the court’s ruling to cease testing in the Pacific was ignored and France continued their testing. In the 80s, the protests became more common and then in 1983 the visit of the USS Texas caused a great number of protests as the vessel was nuclear powered.
In 1984, the government in New Zealand was run by National. However, the prime minister at the time, Robert Muldoon, only had a one seat advantage over labour. He decided to call a snap election on the 14 of July and due to the increasing support for anti-nuclear legislation, he lost to labour2. In 1985, French spies bombed the Greenpeace anti-nuclear ship called the rainbow warrior. This was a result of the antinuclear protests as the French had their heart set on nuclear testing in French Polynesia. However, this just pushed New Zealanders even further to get the legislation passed. In 1987, Labour passed the law that made New Zealand a nuclear free country. It banned the entry of nuclear-powered vessels and put an end to nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific. In response, the United States retaliated to New Zealand using the Bloomfield act, downgrading New Zealand from an ally to a friend.
One of the causes for the antinuclear protests is the cold war. After the cold war, New Zealand was concerned about the risk a third world war, and with all of the big super powers arming themselves with Nuclear weaponry, a third world war could lead to global destruction . New Zealand had seen the amount of destruction that had been caused by the cold war and they feared that with nuclear weapons, the consequences will be detrimental. In addition, New Zealand was such a small country and didn’t have the resources to protect itself if it came to it. As a result of the fear of the third world war, Anti-nuclear protests began in the 1950s.
Another cause for the anti-nuclear protests was the concern for the environment after the nuclear testing in the pacific. When the French were testing their nuclear weapons in French Polynesia, there were concerns about the effect this had on the environment. This led to protests and eventually, there was a bill passed which banned atmospheric testing which should help minimise the effect on the environment. However, the French ignored this bill and continued their testing anyway. Because New Zealand was not big enough to physically take France to task, peaceful protests began to stop the testing.
The bombing of the rainbow warrior in 1985 was a consequence of the antinuclear protests. However, this only pushed New Zealander’s more to get the legislation passed. When two of the assailants were apprehended, they were trialled and convicted. Although the French government initially denied any involvement, it was discovered that the two agents were acting on orders from the French Government. As a result, trade between the two countries suffered and New Zealand felt like it was an attack on their country. Therefore, protests started increasing and support for the antinuclear legislation also increased.
The protests and the new laws stopped the United states from entering New Zealand in a vessel that was carrying nuclear weaponry. This really frustrated the Americans and the French. The Americans responded by downgrading New Zealand from an ally to a friend. However, the French had a different approach. The French instead decided it was a better approach to bomb an antinuclear protest ship called the Rainbow warrior. The Rainbow warrior was a Green Peace vessel which was about to set off on anther voyage to protest nuclear weaponry and testing. However, it didn’t get to leave the dock as French spies with instructions from the French government bombed the ship. As a result, our relationship with France really fell through. New Zealand boycotted any French exports1, and France boycotted any of our resources. A year after the bombing of the rainbow warrior, the secretary of the United nations said that New Zealand will receive an apology from France and $13 million compensation.1
In addition to our relationship with France, our relations with both the US and the UK were damaged. This is because after the bombing of the Rainbow warrior, New Zealand felt that the two nations didn’t do enough to prevent it from happening, nor did they do enough to assist afterwards . This showed where the two stood as allies which resulted in a lack of trust between the allies. New Zealand’s refusal to allow entry into New Zealand for vessels who could neither confirm nor deny whether they were nuclear powered or carried nuclear arms didn’t help the relationship between the United States and New Zealand. The United States thought that it was New Zealand’s duty as part of ANZUS to allow their ships entry to New Zealand’s harbours without question. However, polls show that 58% of the country were against visits from US ships.
As a result of the nuclear free legislation, there were consequences such as the bombing of the rainbow warrior or the loss of allies. However, some of these consequences pushed New Zealander’s and made them want the legislation even more. The bombing of the rainbow warrior is a good example of this. It came as a result of the antinuclear protests and it caused even more protests. The US also thought that it was New Zealand’s duty to allow them entry into their harbours without question.
The antinuclear legislation was significant to New Zealand because New Zealand now views ourselves as the leader in the antinuclear movement as we were the first to introduce some form of antinuclear legislation . In addition to this, New Zealand saw the antinuclear legislation as a win because they beat the United States. The antinuclear legislation is still of great significance to this day. The legislation is often celebrated like it was in 2012 when there was the Auckland peace celebration. These events show us just how significant the legislation was to New Zealanders and how grateful they are for it.
The antinuclear legislation also allowed for New Zealand to distinguish itself from other countries such as Australia and the US. It also allowed for New Zealand to establish some independence from the UK and the US and they showed that New Zealand will stand up for what they believe in. It also showed that although New Zealand is a small country, they will fight for what they believe in.
New Zealand’s relationship with other countries has greatly improved since the antinuclear legislation. Our relationship with the United States greatly suffered and as a result we were downgraded from an ally to a friend. In today’s society, there is more antinuclear movements and New Zealand is seen as the leader of these. Our relationship with the US has been improved as has our relationship with the UK. Our relationship with France has also improved but not as much as it has with other countries, however it is still not fully recovered due to the bombing of the rainbow warrior.
In conclusion, the antinuclear protests were a very significant even to New Zealanders as it helped New Zealand to identify themselves as independent from other countries. This essay outlined the causes of the antinuclear protests in addition to showing the consequences of the antinuclear legislation. Furthermore, this essay has explained why these protests and the antinuclear legislation was significant to New Zealanders. Our relations with other countries are still not perfect after 30 years of the legislation being passed, but New Zealanders see this as a very significant event in shaping New Zealand’s history and it put New Zealand as a leader for antinuclear movements.