A defining moment that sparked increasing protest was the
sinking of the Rainbow Warrior in 1985. Although in hindsight it is justified
to say that the climax of the protest was coming to a close, with the beginnings
of the anti-nuclear policy, which would eventuate to the legislation of 1987,
already brought into place, the sinking of this iconic ship reminded New
Zealanders that the struggle wasn’t finished. The Greenpeace vessel, Rainbow
Warrior, was an iconic ship that represented the anti-nuclear crusade against
the nuclear testing in the Pacific. Whilst it was docked in the Auckland
harbour it was blown up by two French agents. Such action was instrumental in
bringing about increased protest despite the fact that the movement initially
began in the early 1970s. The outrage at the unprovoked sinking of this ship
resulted in more voyages to the nuclear testing sites in Moruroa and increased
the resent towards the French and their actions. The aftermath of the sinking
of the Rainbow Warrior was that it strengthened the call for a nuclear-free
policy as it was essentially New Zealand’s action against the French desire to
use nuclear weapons that caused this unprovoked bombing. The protest towards
the testing at Muroroa would continue up until 1996, when the Comprehensive
Test Treaty Ban (CTBT) was signed in New York.