Selwyn Manning delivers his New Zealand Report to Australia’s radio FiveAA.com.au. This week it is 30 years since France attacked the Greenpeace ship the Rainbow Warrior exploding two bombs attached to the vessel’s hull as it was berthed at Marsden Wharf in Auckland Harbour. But France will not be discussing the attack anytime soon. ITEM ONE: Tonight (Friday July 10) is 30 years since French DGSE officers detonated two bombs on the hull of the Rainbow Warrior ship while it was tied up at Marsden Wharf in Auckland harbour. The Rainbow Warrior was destroyed and, Fernando Pereira, a photographer onboard the vessel, was trapped by the blast and drowned when the ship partially sank. The military-styled attack came out of the blue, it sparked a police investigation that culminated in the conviction of two French military intelligence officers for manslaughter. Captains Alain Mafart and Dominique Prieur were moved to Hao Atoll where they were to serve out their sentence. France promoted them and repatriated them back to Paris long before their sentences were completed. Other members of the covert strike team escaped from New Zealand shortly after the attack, onboard a yacht called the Ovea. They made a rendezvous in the Pacific with a French submarine, and were transported back to France. Thirty years on, the French embassy in Wellington still refuses to comment or apologise for the attack. The Rainbow Warrior now lies beneath the waters of Matauri Bay in New Zealand’s Bay of Islands. ITEM TWO: A couple from Austria, who moved to Taranaki, New Zealand, in 2009 love their life running the local pub. And they insist the old Stony River Hotel hosts quite a fine spirit, and insist it isn’t of the drinkable kind. Their story made national news on Fairfax’s Stuff.co.nz news site. According to the proprietors, Renate and Heimo, unexplained events have become commonplace. They say doors open and shut on their own, pictures hanging on walls move by themselves even though they are fixed, lights switch on in rooms and when they go into the room the lights switch off. If true, it would be enough to give anyone the creeps. But Renate and Heimo love the place and say it has a good vibe! Then there’s a photo taken in the kitchen which seems to show an oval shaped glow. Renate and Heimo, insist it’s the ghost of a 35 year old woman. Skeptics say the glow is simply light bouncing off glass doors. The skeptics are probably right, but it does add up to being a darn good yarn. New Zealand Report broadcasts live weekly on FiveAA.com.au and webcasts on EveningReport.nz, LiveNews.co.nz, and ForeignAffairs.co.nz. –]]>
