Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Winston Peters
(page 2)
In This Issue:
•• The Rise of Winston Peters - The Great White Hope
•• The Plains Club Talks Plain Rubbish in Plain TalK
•• Mooning with Muldoon
•• US Information Service Activities
.. USIA sells "Stars Wars" on US TV
�* Voice of America Survey
*� Note on Marshall Jreen
•• East-West Center Project
•• Poreign Military Aircraft in Australia
•• The Suspicious Case of the NYANG Ski-Hercules
*+ Waihopai in the Fall
•• Anti-Bases Campaign Material Available
2
When he visited New Zealand in 1336, ex-CIA agent, Ralph Mc]ehee, t�1c lS
that the CIA could play on the Western news media as if on a Wurlitzer. We
have seen repeated US manipulation of our media in NZ in recent years. )ur
files c ontinue to grow and will probably be the subject of an in-depth
analysis in a future issue. The most graphic example of media manipu13tlor ,
date, besides the periodic orchestrated reporting of Russian and Libyar scares
in the Pacific, has been the so-called Maori Loan Affair which we 'dE more
accurately call the Honolulu Loan Seam.
A Rising Star
This episode starred National M.P. Winston Peters. With recel't opineo
polls sho'wing him as the most popular National M.P • • Winston 's star is ")ow )C
the rise. His take-off really came with his attacks on the Jovernme�·t :;ver �'
imputed loan to the Maori Affairs Department being arranged tr:rough H .'r,: ia'
businessmen. Investigation by television journalists uncovered thE; f3Ct :h ,
certain of these businessmen had (past) links to the CIA, but this ,;ij 'lot
concern or stir the rest of the media. After brief mentio, of the 8IA, the
nedia turned their attention again to publicizing Peter's attacks on the
Jovernmen t.
Except for Owen Wilke's detailed analysis ('NZ Monthly Reviow', March
1937), there has beer: nothing in New Zealand in the way of further
investigative journalism to probe the roots of this whole mysterious afL ,ir .
And, of course, Wilkes is not a professional journalist but a
researcher/writer for Peace Movement Aotearoa. This is a serious ind:'.ctmenc
of the establishment media - serious that is if one takes at face value the
media's pretension to objectivity, to democratic freedom, and to truth. If,
on the other hand, one sees things in terms of the large built-in conservative
bias in the NZ media, its deference to US interests, and its multinatiolcal
,
ownership, then the media s performance in reporting the Honolulu loan seam is
not only explicable but quite predictable.
When the loan scam first broke, Winston and his National Party mates
conpared it to the loans affairs in Australia at the time of the Whitlam
]overnment. They gleefully predicted that it would bring down the NZ Labour
]overnment just as the Australian Labour Government had been brought down.
To be sure, there are many parallels between the NZ and Australian cases.
The most interesting parallel, of course, is that they have both been
demonstrated to have CIA connecticns. And if the affairs were CIA dirty
tricks operations the many other parallels between them are to be expected.
This is not ,lhat our media want to look at in any depth. It would be certab
to distress their American friends.
The exact role cf Peters in the murk of the Honolulu loan scam remains
unclear. Whether or not from the start he was aware of CIA � inks, he
certainly exploited the affair to his and the Natiornl Party s best advantage.
From a purely political perspective that might not be surprising. Ever Since
that episode, Peters, a Maori, has done more damage to Maori credibility in
Pakeha eyes than any other single politician. At the same time, he has
emerged as "'The Great White Hope'" t the white man's version of all th1
" t
leader should be. '-"
3
This was epitomized in an editorial page article on Peters by Oliver
Riddell in 'The Press' (7 May 1988). According to Riddell, Peters's
"Maoriness has led him into sweeping and savage attacks on :iovernment Maori
policies". Why? Well, Riddell says that Peters "deplores lesser standards of
accountability and competence applied to Maori affairs. He considers that �o
take their proper place in society, Maoris must be assumed to be as good as
anyone else (rather than being patronized by having lower standards �polied)
and then given what they need to achieve it".
This may sound reasonable unless you reflect upon the long and contLui ,g
repression of the Maor1, the socio-economic structures so loaded against Maori
youth today. The list of disadvantages to the Maori is long, 3S, for eX3mple,
the problems identified by the Royal Commission on Social Policy. Peter's
standc,rds of accountability and competence applied to Maori 3.f�3.irs elre "hite,
middle-class standards imposed from a pasl tion of power and ec:)nomic
dominance. Just because Peters has succeeded on Pakeha terms, dOBs this me3;':
he can no longer emphathise with the many M30ri who, for various reasons, have
not achieved or do not want to achieve the same status in Pakeha society? I-�
fact, this is exactly what the evidence reveals about Peters. His solution :"8
western technocr"Z\tic education � Peters S6ems to have become the clas�.;ic
#Uncle Tom�, the brown Pakeha, the Maori whom whites love to like because he
tells them "hat they love to hear about themselves. He blames Maoris, ;:,the,
than whites, for current racial problems 9
Peters has regularly attacked the handling of Mana Enterprises ·,nd Maori
Access schemes. According to Rlddell, this is because Peters is critic3.1 0:'
the management of these schemes. lIbecause they are not being done well
enoughlla
Riddell comments in his 'Press' article that "Peters is far from being a
buffoon", Certainly. Peters"s public statements seem cunningly designed.
he has used an issue embarrassing for Maoridom in such a wav
Time and ag-..:dn,
as to get maximum Pakeha sympathy and support for himself. His strategy is
obviously working wonderfully well both for him and for National.
As Riddell notes, Peters "has not been involved specially in the righting
of historic Maori grievances". Contrary to Riddell, however, Peters has also
been far from ensuring t1that Maori socio-economic grievances are identified �
4 and dealt w1 th properly". His solutions to Maorl/Pakeha problems are for
Maori youth to adapt to the present system, to conform to Pakeha
socio -e conomic demands and expectations as Mr Peters himself has done so ably.
As the indices of relative Maori and Pacific ISlander deprivation worsen, all
Peters has to offer is for more competitive, capitalist spirit to be shown by
Maori youth, alon� with temporary work and job creation schemes to mop up the
failures. Peters is trying to cultivate race relations as the big issue for
the next electicn by pandering to Pakeha prejudices.
Maori Bashing
Media Manipulators
How could the CIA exploit its work in the Honolulu loan seam? The way
surely would be to use opportunities to promote Maori-Pakeha conflict and
generally aggravate racial tensions.
Wins ton Peters wants to make race relations the major issue of the next
election. Other National M.P,'s have also been busily pushing this issue to
the fore in all sorts of ways. National knows full well that it is an issue
which: inflames Pakeha concern, Since election 1990 wiU be the 150th
anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, large-scale protest
activity is very likely. The Conmonwealth Games, scheduled for 1990 in
Auckland, are already a target cf opposition . Law and order problems will
inevitably arise unless the social climate has improved by this date; so the
scene will likely be set for confrontat ion. �
5
National 8eems to have a calculated agenda to deliberately provoke Pakeha
concern the motive force for an ugly white backlash to sweep them back into
'
po�er. Such Enoch Powell tactics raise deep and disturbing questions about
the motives of certain and about the shape of politics in the near
future§ An omi nouB prospect is a National Government� led perhaps even by
Peters (Riddell' 8 ' article is a 'puff-piece' for Peters as a future
Prime Minister) with Banks as Minister of Police, Richardson 38 Final'iCe
Minister J
and Meurant propelled to some front role §
The CIA would find National" s anti -Maori programrn8 right on line. Afts!'
the of the Honolulu loan seam the agency knows that it can rely on
the of the NZ media. It can Iso rely on the media to
play up or threatening issues: crime, gangs, social
problems, rac ia l conflict.... This is the kind of situation which it is
skilled in manipulating$ Anonymous �NZ Truth" stories (with almost entirely
anonymous sources) in June 1987 alleged the Russians and eVen NZ army ::,'adicals
were supplying Maori would-be revolutionaries and gangs with guns. Stories of
this kind reek of CIA psychological operations (see for example,
v"rious in Covert Acticn Information Bulletin' by Pred Landis).
us Surveys
There are various other indications of likely US/CIA covert activity with
r0ference to this type of destabilization. These indications include
situaticns which the CIA could manipulate. In January 1937 Mr John
NegrQPonte � US A[js.istant Secretary of State for Oceans and International
Environmental and Scientific Affair-s1 visited Christchurch and then flew to
Antarctica to inspect American facilities there ('The Star", 3 Jan. 1937). As
US Ambassador to Honduras, Negroponte coordinated President Reagan"s National
Security Council/CIA oper-ations, organizing 'contra' terrorism and incitement
of the indigenous Indians against the Nicaraguan :)overnment (�The Press·, 1J
Jan. 1937; CAIB, N?s. 13 and 22; "Newsweek-, 8 Nov. 1982). Here then was a
top US covert action ex.pert, with experience in generating eth'1ic conflict, on
familiarization trip to NZ under an obviously diplomatic cover.
Significantly, Negroponte was soon appointed the new US Deputy National
Security Adviser in November 1937 (CAIB, No. 29, p. 51).
American multinaticnals have long been used a s a cover by the CIA. Some,
like Bechtel and ITT, both operating here (the latter even in the US Antarctic
program) , have some nctcriety over the years owing to their CIA
connections. One can support \lIhakaari Developments Ltd. in its bid to
use computer for the benefit of Maoridoffi.
serious abcut their choice of business partner. (We expect to have
more to report on McDonnell Douglas in our next issue. MDIS seems to have
caught the attenticn of our agency and perhaps the Prime Minister.)
Future Contingencies
In 1982 the National Party abolished the Commission for the Future. This
was because the National Party, like indeed almost all politiCians, wants to
avoid constructive, positive thinking about alternatives to survive the
radically different future looming up on us all. One of the 'Future
Contingencies' series reports was on social problems. This particular report
was actually completed in draft form but never published. It pointed out
trends to polarization and racial/class conflict, mob violence and the rule of
fear. To quote from this report: "In some sections of the Maori population,
structural strain is fostering the belief that only violent Or revolutionary
actions will bring about equity, justice and autonomy for the Maori people".
Political commentator Colin James has criticized Labour for what he calls
, roaring on down the critical path' to Maori Affairs devolution ('National
Business Review', 13 May 1 938). He asked whether the government could not
take things a bit more slowly. There is certainly some truth in James's
criticisms cf Labour"s handling of Maori affairs. But what he fails to
acknowledge is that so many of Labour's current problems in this area stem
from the days of the Honolulu loans scam. It is disturbing that such a
commentator can approvingly quote Ross Meurant for seeing a rising white
backlash against Labour's policies. James notes that Meurant is dismissed by
liberals as rClcist. While James sees the awful spectre of race conflict
looming on us, he places blame primarily on Labour' s policies and not on
National's Maor! bashing. Sadly this sort of shallow analysis reflects so
much of Pake�� political commentary today.
fi''Ootnote:
The CIA links to the Honolulu loan scam are described in "The Press", 24 Jar
1987. fi'or discussion of typical editorial dismissal of such links see 'Peace
Researcher", No" 13, June 1987. It is ironic that one of the strands in the
}overnment"s public dismissal of CIA links was that the CIA would not be so
silly as to use people known to be connected to it in the past. Newspaper
editors appear to be unwilling or unable to accept demonstrated links to the
CIA despite the evidence published in their own pages; and for }overnment
officials the links are not to be believed because they are too obvious. The
established system in this country seems incapable of recognizing and publicly
acknowledging that a CIA operation could occur - in New Zealand, or for tha·
matter in fi'iji or elsewhere in the South Pacific.
For months we have been trying to get officially through the natio"31
library network a publication called "Plain Talk", the newsletter of the
pro-nuclear Plains Club. As Vie understand the law any publication with 10:0 Or
more subscribers is required to be deposited with the Legal Deposit section 0:
the National Library of NZ. "Peace Researcher" has been deposited regularly
for years.
Rent-a-Demo
The latest issue consists mostly of the lead article, a chronology and
purported analysis of about 20
years of left-wing activism in NZ entitled
"Rent-A-Demo: New Zealand"s longest playing soap opera". (And we thought
these guys had no sense of humour.) It names and talks about a number of
people in the peace movement including Murray Horton, Owen Wilkes, May Bass,
June Jregg, Nicky Hager, Maire Leadbeater, Bob Leonard, Larry Ross, Elsie
Locke and Jenny Easton. It focuses in particular on Murray and Owen as the
ringleaders of a dastardly Marxist plot to subvert New Zealand. Much of their
material seems to come from peace publications themselves, especially "Foreign
Control WatChdog" and "Peacelink"
}ood laughs can be had from reading the main text of the May issue. They
get names wrong, personal details wrong, and dream up farcical interpretations
of peace groups and their relationships. The contents of past issues of
"Plain Talk" are also full of unintentional humour and irony as well as the
usual right-wing paranoia. They feature such topics as:
(1) Connections between the NZ Labour Party and the Communist Party of the
Soviet Union,
(2) Larry Abraham, a US writer peddling the master conspiracy for a new world
order.
10
(3) Articles end interviews featuring Stanley Newman, President of the Plains
Club, and Principal Lecturer in Social Studies at Chch Teachers' College,
(5 )
"
(6) Articles b y O.e fellow-traveller 3eoff McDonald,
(7) Interview with Trovor Loudon, Zenith Applied Philosophy (ZAP) trainee
(1978-79) and founder and for 'Campaign for a Soviet "ree NZ'.
Other writers for P:ain Talk i,n lU-le BrizL'l Hil:, Allan Martin, and Nee
Haliburtcn.
Duped
The Plains Club and the Campaign for a Soviet "ree NZ are closely linked.
The origins of the former seem to be connected with a US-sponsored IV] trip
('The Star', 2 Dec 1986). The Plains Club came to public attention ill March
1986 when it placed pro-nuclear, pro-ANZUS adverts in several newspapers. Its
intent was to influence the Corner Committee (Defence Inquiry). The Campaign
for a Soviet Free NZ sprouted soon after and has engaged in personnel swapping
practices with the aforementioned Club. Terry O'Cain, an early Campaign
spokesman, switched to be spokesman for the Club ('The Star', 2 Dee 1986).
There are evidently close links between the Club, the Campaign and the
USIS. Mr O'Cain once denied that the Club had had any contact with the USIS
but could not say the Club supporters had not ('The Star', 2 Dec 1 98 6 ) - a
nice distinction indeed! 'Plain Talk' has been reproducing CIA/uSIS
propaganda, for example, on Nicaragua.
ZAP Bible
Abraham said that even Sir Robert Muldoon may have been drawn u"'Ni ttingl v
into the international conspiracy. Certainly from Mr Loudon's point of view
Mr Lange and Jim Bolger are both apparently involved in the internatio:1"l
conspiracy. A full-page advert in 'The Press' (27 June 1987) caricaturizes
these two pc1iticians as puppets controlled by a hand in the sky with a hurnar
eye superimposed on the back of the hand. The hand and eye symbclism
apparently refers to the 'Illuminati', the secret society which has supposedlv
controlled the course of modern history. This was a publicity item promoting
Abraham's visit and his book 'None Dare Call it Conspiracy'. The advert Vias
authorized by Mr Loudon as NZ coordinator.
As mentioned, the Plains Club and the Campaign group have been conducting
a witch hunt for communists. One of their early targets was Dunedin peace
activist Alan Cumming. In a Campaign media release dated 29 July 1935.
spokesman Terry 0"' Cai:l not only falsely accused Alan of being a CO!Jmunist but
wrongly identified him as president of the NZ Council for World Peace }s weL
as publisher of 'Peacelink'. The targeting of Alan obviously stemmed from the
work of an oddball and highly secretive group in DU'1edir, called the 'Senate',
These fa�se allegations were repeated by one of the National Party's duller
M.P.s Roger McLay ('Taupo Weekender'. 15 August 1986). McLay h�s close links
with the neo-fascist World Anti-Communist League.
The most well-publicized target of the Campaign, along with other groups,
has been Mike Moore. Loudon's group put out a leaflet called 'Reds Under the
Bed' (honest they did - they even had a picture on the cover of Loudon L' ki:1g
under a bed!) and distributed this in Mr Moore's electorate. Other leaflets
even more scurrilous were being distributed at the same time. Mr Moore and
his wife got into a fracas with one of the Campaign leaflet distributors.
Later on, as described earlier, poor Mr Moore was accused of staYing at the
Soviet consulate in Sydney ('Plain Talk', No. 3, September 1987). M.P.s like
Mr Moore and Mr Palmer have been special targets of the Club and the Campaign
due to their internationalism: for example, facilitating trade with Russia and
connections with P�rliamentarians for World Order.
No Co mrni es , No Russians
LaudoD obviously maintains contacts with some people who have been
involved with ZAP, For instance, he advised a Christchurch restauranteur, Mr
Ian Kerr, to alter his uNo Russians" sign to a HNo Communists" sign in order
t'O get ar'Ourd the Race Relations Act ('The Star'. 13 Jan 1987). Ian Kerr was
narred as a ZAP student in the 'NZ Times' (23 Dec 1984). He had been the
operator 'Of the iilestern Destiny Bookshop which peddled far-right literature.
The latest effort mounted by the Campaign was co protest against the
importation of Lada cars ('The Press' 20 June 1988).
The bizarre extremism of the Campaign" s propaganda hLlS not helped it get
its message tc the public, In 1986 'Truth- and other papers rejected an
anti-Russian advert for fear of possible violation of the Race Relations Act
('The Star'. 12 June 1986). Later. newspapers and television decided not to
rill} iterns based on in terviews I>Ji th Loudon (' The Star', 5 Nov 1386).
with the
Compared , the Plains Club is a less publicly visible
group. Its is rather secretive and defensive and this is even reflected
in the subscription cost of 'Plain Talk'. It shares with the Campaign the
paranoia, ineptness, and the lack of a popular support base. But, at the same
time, it is a bit mo re sophisticated than the Campaign and so avoids the
latter's public embarrassment, At the hearing before the Corner Committee, a
lavlyer, Mr S. Taylor, even appeared as counsel for the Club to testify on its
behalf ('The Press', 3 April 1985). In the context of the Inquiry and the way
other groups presented their testimony, such a contrived presentation was of
course rather strange.
Footno t e :
Concerned readers are advised to apply to the Legal Deposit L i bra : L:e: ,
Seria l s , National L i brary of NZ , P.O. Box 12340, We l l ington , for copies of
' P lain T a l k ' and the forthcoming ' New Z ea l ' These pub l i cations should oe
depos i t ed for pub l i c a c c e s s in the l i b ra ry system as required by l aw .
Mong e : CAT B , No , 18 , p 3; No . 20 , pp 2 8 , 37 ; No . 22 , p 29 ;
}EAI : CAIB 1 No . 27 � P 42 ;
Bolan : CAI B , No � 25 , P 33;
Coca Co l a : C AI B , No . 12 , p 19 .
[ NOTE : These references a l s o ap pe a re d in Peace R e s earcher No . 13, p.
7 ( bottom ) � but some of them are i n a more meaningful context in terms of
this media releas e �
See also � The Press � ? 17 1987 . J
Muldoon was reported as that his new job as chai rman of the JEAI
would take him out of NZ a number of t i me s over the next year . He said that
"
Hthe chaotic s tate of the po l i t i, ca l scene in NZ is such that I don t think lrl
the: n e x t 12 months re to miss my contribution " . He added : HMy
contribution to this ( the J.EAI ) rea l l y becomes much more importan t .
1 "' 1 1 be there i:1 1 990 to get rid of this government 8 " One may we l l suspect
that the forces behind the ::iEAI see a link between Muldoon " s part ic i pat i on i. n
the JEAI and. g e tting rid of thB governmen t . The 3EAI is ominous in
its combination of in te l l ig ence , and m i l i tary and economic
intE':rres ts .
Muldocm bas returned from New York where he took the chair of the
J EAI board for the first t i me ( " The Pre s s " . 28 June 1 9 3 8 ) . C la i ming l i nks to
both US political t the ineti tute i s pre p arin g econom i c policy papers
to be put before the new US president It i rmn ed ia t e ly after h i s inaugurat i.on ( in
November" ( s i. c ] � [ The election V/i l l be in No vembe r I the inaugura tion in
January 1 9 8 9 . Ed . J Links to the Unification C hurch were men t i oned in the
a rticle �
Our group hes focused quite a bit of attention on the US I nterna tional
Visitor Cl rant ( IVG) P rogramme . This prolilramme funds and arranges trips for NZ
opinion leaders /makers to the US , i.e., po l i t i c i ans , journa l i s t s , academ i c s ,
and the l i ke . For instance , 25 IVCl recipients for US
we obtained a l i s t of
Fiscal Year October 1 9 8 6 to October 1987 (see ' P eace Res earcher ' No . 17, Feb
1988) .
To quote again f rom the Jones l e t te r : " P rograms bringing New Zealanders
to the United States through the O f f i c e of Private Sector P rograms include the
Turner P a r l iamentary Program , Former Members of Congre s s , Free Trade Unio;;
Institut e , Pac i f ic Eccnomic Ccoperation Conferenc e , Pacific F o rum-Pac i f i c
Parliamentary Caucus , Pacific Forum -Pacific Caucus of P a r l iamentarian s , and
Uni ted states Youth Coun c i l Labor D e s k " .
A c l e a r examp l e of the kind of message the USI S would like r e turning New
Z e a l anders to convey to their people is s e e n in an interview with University
of Canterbury poll tical scientist Prof e s s o r K e i th Jackson by "The P re s s "
journa l i s t Chris Moore ( 12 April 1 98 8 ) . Jackson , who had just returned from a
v i s i t organized by the U SI S , spoke about a sympos ium he had attended on
As ia-Pac ific s e c urity organized by the US Na tional Defen s e University near
Washington , D.C. H e said that the ANZUS row meant NZ was " s t i l l not very
popular . . • Some people at the sympos ium s t i l l f e l t that the US had been let
down by a friend " .
This then i s the man who Prof Jackson says w i l l foster greater US
!
understanding of the probl ems of the South Pao i f i c region and , by implica ion,
cf New Zealand ! The USIS must indeed be wel l satisfied with Prof Jackson s
own expressed understanding of the politics of i t a l l . As for Bush, remember
that he 1 8 the Reaganite who i s on record as unequivocally endorsing the
concept of fighting and winning a nuclear war ( "With Enough Shovel s : R eagan ,
Bush and Nuclear War" by Hobert Scheer, pp . 29-30).
In our last issue ( ' PR ' , No . 18 , p . 10) we noted the USIS Country Plan
New Zealand observed that the academic and media communities have been v ery
supportive of a local USIS branch office . Given the messag e conveyed by this
'
repcrt of Prof Jackson s IV::: trip, no wonder the USIS considers its IV:> and
other programmes to be so successful.
UNITED STATES INFORMATION A3ENCY SELLS "STAR WARS " OVER TV AT TAXPAYER S '
EXPENSEu
The USIA is broadcasting around the world a 30 -minute commercial for SDI
made by the American Defense Preparedness Association (ADPA), a pro -weapons
lobby financed by defenee contractors . This s lick half -hour production i s
full of fal s e and misleading s tatements. I t i s a sales job and a snow j ob.
I f such tactics were used to s e l l automobiles or mouthwash, the adveri sers
would be in big trouble with the Federal Communications Commis s ion , and any
number of other government agencies . Yet this piece of fraud w i l l be
rebroadcsst at uS (Americans) and at others in Our name - at our expen s e .
What about " truth in advertising"? What about "equal time " ? They abolished
it.
* * from ' Space and Security News , Vol . IV, No . 3, Dec 1987 (published by the
Institute for Space and Security Studie s , 7633 C Street , Chesapeake Beach,
Maryland 20732, USA)
I t is likely that the whole US think tank network that has been seeking
such an opening in NZ academia is now due to come squirming in . The US-NZ
Coun c i l a sophisticated high-powered organization s e t up t o pressure NZ or
i
i t s nuc ear-free stand , i s c i t e d in Hawke s statement . :
Peter Watson , the
NZ -born right i s t , who is now this Coun c i l s director , is a l s o named a s 3
pos s ib l e member of an advisory board .
CORRECTION
Off Bae
fi'OREnN M I L I TARY AIRCRAF'T IN AUSTRALIA
(l) How many US Air F'orce planes have f l own into Aus tralia froit Harewo Jd
( Christchurch) in New Zealand in each of the years 1 982 , 1 983 , 1 934 , 1930 ,
1 33 S ?
Answer : The airf i e l d s used during this period were Sydney (Kings ford
Smi th ) I n ternationa l , M e l bourne Internationa l , Perth Internationa l , Alice
Springs and RAAF Bases Darwin , Fairba irn , Pearc e , R i chmo n d , Amberley and
Laverton .
Peace groups in the area of the R ichmond RAAF base outside Sydney have
reque s t e d and received f l ight data on USAF Starlifter movements in part of
1986 .
In " P eace Res earcher " No 1 7 we a l l eged that two New York Air Natior,, l
]uard ( tNAN� ) ski -equipped Hercules aircraft that v i s i ted Operation Oeep
'reeze in January of this year were here on m i l i tary busine s s . We addre s s e d
questicns about the v i s i t t o the Prime M i n i s t e r and to the U S National S c i or.ce
' o unda t i o r . A summary of their responses fol lows .
We asked Mr Lange about how the NZ government had been approached 'or
diplomati� c l earance f o r the H e rcu l e s , what the stated purpo s e of the v ' s i t
was , and what kind o f c l earance had been "lven . H e responded prompt ly , and i:
his second sentence said , some.,hat cryptica l ly , "You are mistaken " , with nc
further explan3tio n . Presumably he was referrin" to our a l legations "f
n i l itary mischief .
We asked who paid for the expedition . The answer : "The cost o f the
f l ights from the US to New Zealand and back a"ain were [sic] shared between
NSI" and the tNAN:l . NSF covered a l l costs from New Zealand to Antarctica md
11
back .
We wrote back to the NSI" saying we were reasonably sati s f i e d that the
NYAN3 Hercules s erved the Foundation in their January v i s i t , but questioned
the shared funding . Howeve r , �iven the information in the NSF letter one can
construct a scenario for future Antarctic us e of the NYAN:l Hercules that
raises s ignificant questio ns .
We won de r if the New York A i r Na t i ona l 8uard hds ful l Y thought out ch�
'T1 1!ld-boggl ing i mp l i ca t i on s of i t s agreement to back up the 8'oundat i on ir
An ta rc t i c a under m i d -winter conditions . And why d i d they pay h�'.< l f the cost
the U S -NZ -US fl in early 1 98 8 ? Will the m i l i tary c o n t i nue to p a,: such
os t c' even though the NSF i n s i s ts that ::hi s dubious scheme is pure l v tc o a e l'
the Ant;:L::� __. T i c progra:�me ? P e rhap s we a r e m i s s ing something - l i Ke the t ..;
le •
s t o ry ?
Nlar i e Lauf i s;) n f Te Wha n ,'{ u -' Matdri k : if1 Dun e d i : spe::.tkins; .J. t the M3Y W,, � i "\oY'"
Ac t i o n
21
The numbers at the women's camp had grown to over 40 during the
preceeding week. It was a ccld, wet week in the camp made more unpleasant by
a nasty confrontation between the women and the contractors early on the
Thursday morning. When they arrived on the job at about 7 am the workers were
greeted by a sit-in and decorated machinery . They were not pleased. Engines
were started ��d women who did not move from the machines were forced to
endure terrifying rides about the paddock or to dodge massive moving gears and
the like. Another protester who failed to budge from the ground was moved
wi th a front-end loader . The incident was more than any of the particj"pants
had bargained for. B'ortunately , it ended without serious injury. Three womer
were arrested.
On Friday , the 'mixed' camp , as it came to be known , was set up along the
Wairau Ri vel' as in February. Planning meetin"s were held on Saturday morning
with the main action beginning at the Waihopai station gate at 2pm.
Approxiw.ately 200 people assembled there to be briefed prior to entering
Defence Department land, which the si"ns on the paddock fence clearly
indicated.
The entrance, an access rcad with shiny new concrete stream culvert , the
building p;:;d and a security fence were all in various stages of construction
but no work was in progress. And all machinery had been moved far from the
site to avoid further damage by flowers and ribbons. Pclice presence was
•
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