Greenpeace Australia Pacific

Greenpeace Australia Pacific (GPAP) is the regional office of Greenpeace serving Australia and the Pacific. It is an environmental campaigning organisation rather than a conventional commercial brand, and is known for combining public campaigning, research, lobbying, peaceful protest and non-violent direct action. Its work focuses on climate change, fossil-fuel development, forests, oceans, the Great Barrier Reef, Pacific Island communities and Antarctic protection. The organisation's Australian history reaches back to the 1970s. In 1974, Rolf Heimann sailed the 30-foot Tahiti ketch La Flor from Melbourne toward Mururoa, via New Zealand, to protest French atmospheric nuclear testing. Although the voyage arrived after that year's final test, it helped establish an early Australian connection with the wider Greenpeace movement. In 1977, the Whale and Dolphin Coalition invited Greenpeace co-founder and former president Bob Hunter and his wife Bobbi Hunter to Australia. Greenpeace's first direct action in Australia followed on 28 August 1977 at Albany in Western Australia, where activists used inflatable boats to place themselves between whale-chaser vessels and sperm whales operating near Australia's last whaling station. Greenpeace Australia and Greenpeace Pacific joined together in early 1998 to form Greenpeace Australia Pacific. From its Sydney base, GPAP has operated across Australia and the Pacific, while remaining part of the broader Greenpeace network. Greenpeace organisations generally describe themselves as financially independent from governments and corporations, relying primarily on individual supporters, fundraising, major gifts and bequests. This independence is central to the organisation's public identity and allows it to campaign against governments, banks, mining companies, energy companies and other institutions when it considers their activities environmentally damaging. GPAP's campaigning model typically begins with investigation and public communication, followed by supporter mobilisation, community organising, political advocacy and, where appropriate, peaceful direct action. The organisation has opposed new coal and oil developments, challenged financial institutions that support fossil-fuel projects, and promoted renewable energy as an alternative to continued fossil-fuel expansion. It has also worked with local and regional alliances, artists and grassroots groups to broaden public attention. Among its prominent Australian campaigns have been opposition to oil exploration in the Great Australian Bight, participation in the Stop Adani movement against the Carmichael coal mine and associated infrastructure, pressure on the Commonwealth Bank to stop financing new coal projects, and efforts to protect the Great Barrier Reef from climate-driven damage and the effects of expanded coal exports. GPAP has also identified forests, oceans, Pacific Island communities and Antarctica as continuing priorities. Its campaigns frequently connect local environmental issues with global climate policy, Indigenous and community concerns, biodiversity protection and the transition to renewable energy. The organisation remains active as a regional Greenpeace office. Its present role combines public-interest advocacy with research, communications, fundraising and supporter-led campaigning. Because GPAP is an advocacy organisation, its flagship offerings are campaigns, reports and public actions rather than physical products or paid consumer services.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific developed from Australian environmental activism associated with the early Greenpeace movement. One formative episode occurred in 1974, when Rolf Heimann skippered the 30-foot ketch La Flor from Melbourne toward Mururoa, travelling through New Zealand, to protest French atmospheric nuclear testing. The voyage reached its destination after the final nuclear test of that year, but it represented an early attempt to connect Australian activists with international environmental and anti-nuclear campaigning. A more direct organisational presence emerged in 1977. The Whale and Dolphin Coalition invited Greenpeace co-founder Bob Hunter and his wife Bobbi Hunter to Australia. On 28 August 1977, activists conducted Greenpeace's first direct action in Australia at Albany, Western Australia, near the country's last whaling station. Using inflatable Zodiacs, they positioned themselves between whale-chaser vessels and sperm whales over a period of several weeks. The action established a pattern that would remain important to Greenpeace: highly visible, non-violent intervention intended to document an environmental conflict and generate public and political pressure. The Australian and Pacific operations were brought together in early 1998, when Greenpeace Australia and Greenpeace Pacific formed Greenpeace Australia Pacific. The combined regional office established its headquarters in Sydney and continued to work across Australia and Pacific Island countries. Its regional focus enabled campaigns to address both domestic projects, such as coal mines and offshore petroleum exploration, and broader Pacific concerns involving climate change, ocean protection and the vulnerability of island communities. GPAP's method is based on non-violent direct action, investigative work, public reports, communications and lobbying. The organisation uses what Greenpeace calls bearing witness: placing campaigners, journalists, supporters or visual communications close to an environmental issue in order to make its effects visible. Direct action is generally combined with policy advocacy, community partnerships, public mobilisation and pressure on corporate or government decision-makers. During the 2010s, GPAP made the connection between Australian fossil-fuel expansion and climate impacts on the Great Barrier Reef a central campaigning theme. It opposed the development of coal resources in Queensland's Galilee Basin and publicised the possible implications of additional mining, rail transport and coal-export infrastructure. Its reports Boom Goes the Reef and Exporting Climate Change: Killing the Reef presented the organisation's analysis of the relationship between coal expansion, global emissions and reef damage. Severe coral bleaching during the Australian summers of 2016 and 2017 strengthened the organisation's advocacy for renewable energy and against new coal development. GPAP also became an active participant in the Stop Adani campaign. The campaign sought to prevent the Carmichael coal mine and related infrastructure from proceeding by challenging possible public financing, building community opposition and pressuring political leaders. GPAP's 2016 Off Track report questioned whether the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility could provide suitable support for the proposed rail project. In late 2017, the Queensland government said it would veto federal facility funding for a Galilee Basin rail line, reducing the prospect of public support for Adani's proposed rail infrastructure. Aurizon later withdrew its loan application in February 2018. Although the mine received environmental approval in 2019, opposition continued, including a large Brisbane demonstration in July that year. Another important campaign concerned the Great Australian Bight. When Statoil became operator and sole equity holder of two exploration permits in June 2017, GPAP and the Great Australian Bight Alliance argued that oil exploration presented unacceptable spill risks to marine environments, coastal economies and local communities. Campaign activity promoted renewable energy investment in South Australia, raised awareness of possible environmental consequences and supported grassroots opposition. GPAP has also targeted the role of financial institutions in fossil-fuel development. In 2017 it campaigned against the Commonwealth Bank, arguing that the bank had funded more pollution from fossil-fuel projects than any other Australian bank since the 2015 Paris Agreement. The campaign used supporter mobilisation and public actions to demand that the bank stop financing new coal projects. In August 2017 the bank ruled out financing the Adani mine, and in November its chair said that the bank's exposure to coal would decline. The organisation's continuing priorities include forests, oceans, Pacific Island communities, the Great Barrier Reef, the end of the oil age, a coal-free future and Antarctic conservation. It funds its work through supporter donations and other philanthropic sources rather than government or corporate sponsorship, reflecting Greenpeace's longstanding independence principle. GPAP continues to operate as an active regional Greenpeace office headquartered in Sydney.

• 2019

  Large Brisbane Stop Adani protest

  [1]Greenpeace Australia Pacificen.wikipedia.org

  More than 500 people demonstrated in Brisbane against the Carmichael project and called for its approval to be withdrawn.

• 2017

  Great Australian Bight oil campaign intensifies

  [1]Greenpeace Australia Pacificen.wikipedia.org

  GPAP opposed Statoil's exploration plans in the Great Australian Bight and promoted renewable energy and grassroots resistance.

• 2017

  Commonwealth Bank rejects Adani mine financing

  [1]Greenpeace Australia Pacificen.wikipedia.org

  The bank ruled out financing the proposed Adani coal mine after sustained public campaigning.

• 2016

  Off Track report challenges public financing for Adani rail infrastructure

  [1]Greenpeace Australia Pacificen.wikipedia.org

  GPAP published research questioning whether the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility could approve support for the Carmichael rail project.

• 2011

  Galilee Basin and Great Barrier Reef campaigning expands

  [1]Greenpeace Australia Pacificen.wikipedia.org

  GPAP began publicly challenging proposed Galilee Basin coal development because of its possible climate and reef consequences.

• 1998

  Greenpeace Australia Pacific is formed

  [1]Greenpeace Australia Pacificen.wikipedia.org

  Greenpeace Australia and Greenpeace Pacific combined to create the regional Greenpeace office now known as Greenpeace Australia Pacific.

• 1977

  First Greenpeace direct action in Australia

  [1]Greenpeace Australia Pacificen.wikipedia.org

  Activists conducted a whale-protection action at Albany, Western Australia, using Zodiacs to intervene between whale chasers and sperm whales.

• 1974

  La Flor anti-nuclear protest voyage

  [1]Greenpeace Australia Pacificen.wikipedia.org

  Rolf Heimann sailed from Melbourne toward Mururoa aboard La Flor to protest French atmospheric nuclear testing.

An independent, campaign-led environmental organisation using peaceful protest, research, creative communications and public mobilisation to challenge activities it considers harmful to climate, ecosystems and communities.

• Research and advocacy

  Campaign reports

  GPAP publishes investigative and policy-oriented reports to document environmental risks and support campaigns. Examples include Off Track, which examined public financing questions around the proposed Carmichael rail project, and reports connecting Galilee Basin coal expansion with climate change and Great Barrier Reef damage.

• Public-interest advocacy

  Environmental campaigns

  The organisation runs campaigns on coal, oil, forests, oceans, Pacific climate impacts, the Great Barrier Reef and Antarctica. Campaigns generally combine research, communications, grassroots organising, supporter actions and political or corporate pressure rather than offering a conventional commercial product.

• Non-violent protest · 1977

  Peaceful direct action

  Visible, non-violent interventions are a longstanding part of GPAP's campaigning repertoire. The Australian tradition dates to the 1977 Albany whale-protection action and is used to draw attention to environmental conflicts, communicate a demand and encourage wider public engagement.

• 2017Great Australian Bight protection

  Australia

  GPAP worked with the Great Australian Bight Alliance to oppose offshore oil exploration, highlighting potential spill risks to marine ecosystems, coastal communities and regional livelihoods while promoting renewable energy investment.

  Outcome. Ongoing public and grassroots opposition; no definitive outcome stated in the reference material.

  Source
• 2017Commonwealth Bank coal-finance campaign

  Australia

  GPAP pressured the Commonwealth Bank to stop financing new coal projects. The campaign used supporter mobilisation and actions around Australia and connected bank financing decisions with climate and reef protection.

  Outcome. The bank ruled out financing Adani's coal mine and later stated that its coal exposure would decline.

  Source
• 2016Stop Adani

  Australia

  GPAP joined the movement opposing Adani's proposed Carmichael coal mine, rail line and port terminal. Its tactics included research, public mobilisation and pressure on governments, financiers and infrastructure companies. The campaign contributed to opposition to public financing, while the mine later received environmental approval.

  Outcome. Queensland indicated that it would veto federal infrastructure-facility funding for a Galilee Basin rail line; Aurizon withdrew its loan application in 2018. The mine itself received environmental approval in 2019.

  Source
• 2011Save the Great Barrier Reef

  Australia

  GPAP has campaigned against coal expansion in Queensland's Galilee Basin, arguing that additional mining and exports would increase climate risks to the Great Barrier Reef. After severe coral bleaching in 2016 and 2017, the campaign placed stronger emphasis on renewable energy and a coal-free future.

  Outcome. Ongoing advocacy; no definitive campaign outcome stated.

  Source
• 1977Albany whale-protection action

  Australia

  Greenpeace activists used small inflatable boats to place themselves between whale-chaser ships and sperm whales near Albany, Western Australia, in a major early Australian direct action.

  Outcome. Established Greenpeace's Australian presence and its use of non-violent direct action.

  Source

• 2017

  Escalate the coal-free future campaignStrategy

  Background

  Coal expansion in Queensland was linked by GPAP to climate change and growing damage to the Great Barrier Reef.

  Action taken

  GPAP combined Stop Adani campaigning with pressure on banks, governments and infrastructure companies to prevent new coal development and financing.

  Aftermath

  The Commonwealth Bank ruled out financing the Adani mine, while public opposition to the broader Carmichael project continued.

  Source

• 1998

  Unify Australian and Pacific operationsStrategy

  Background

  Greenpeace maintained related operations in Australia and the Pacific before consolidating them into a single regional office.

  Action taken

  Greenpeace Australia and Greenpeace Pacific combined to form Greenpeace Australia Pacific, headquartered in Sydney.

  Aftermath

  The combined office became the Greenpeace network's regional campaigning base for Australia and the Pacific.

  Source

1. 1Greenpeace Australia Pacificen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Greenpeace Australia Pacific official websitegreenpeace.org.au