Anti-nuclear petition grows

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34123, 8 April 1976, Page 18

Anti-nuclear petition grows

The president of the Federation of Labour (Sir Thomas Skinner), the Mayor of Auckland (Sir Dove-Myer Robinson), the secretary of the Canterbury Trades Council (Mr Wes Cameron), and “quite a few” passengers off the luxury cruise ship Mariposa are among about 2000 people who have signed since Monday a petition opposing nuclear power generation in New Zealand and the visit of nuclearpowered ships, according to Mr M. C. Renwick, president of Campaign for a Nuclear-free New Zealand, which has organised the petition.

He said yesterday that almost 1000 people had signed the petition in Cathedral Square on Monday, the day that Sir Thomas addressed the big union stop-work meeting. Members of C.A.N.N.Z. were also seeking signatures in other South Island centres, he said. C.A.N.N.Z. had been formed recently to channel the growing opposition to the National Government’s intention to allow United States nuclear-powered warships to use New Zealand ports, but it was also firmly against the trend in the Electricity Department towards considering the use of nuclear plants for future electricity generation.

C.A.N.N.Z. would be represented at a meeting early in May, called to formally set up the Canterbury AntiNuclear Action Committee, and Mr Renwick said that many who had signed the petition had expressed an interest in attending meetings and uniting to oppose the Government's plan.

“If Mr Muldoon thinks that New Zealanders are so apathetic that we wil sit back and watch while he exposes our population to the risk of a catastrophic accident so that he can ingratiate himself with his friends at the Pentagon, this popular resistance should show him that he is wrong.”