Guide to the Records of Greenpeace Australia

Collection Summary

Creator

Greenpeace Australia

Title

Records of Greenpeace Australia

Date Range

1986 - 1994

Collection Number

MS 9472

Extent

2.4 metres (16 MS Boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Repository

NLA

Introduction

Scope and Contents

The records of the GPA Head Office, in Sydney, include files on a range of administrative and policy matters reflecting the organisation's internal operations, its campaign activities, legal issues as well as its relationship with Greenpeace International.

The correspondence in the collection derives principally from files maintained in the Office of the Chief Executive Officer. Correspondents include the Sydney Rainforest Action Group, the Sydney Water Board, the Public Health Association of Australia, the Forest Rescue Coalition, the Australian Science and Technology Council and various animal welfare groups. There are also letters from Greenpeace supporters and members of the public interested in environmental issues. Ministerial correspondents include Graham Richardson, John Fahey, Gareth Evans and Wayne Goss.

There are several files of papers for meetings of the GPA Board that include the Chief Executive's Reports to the Board, discussion papers, data on membership and renewals and the results of Board Finance Committee meetings. There are also papers documenting the Annual General Meetings held in 1992 and 1993, which include the Chairperson's and Executive Director's Reports, applications for membership, appointments of proxies, membership votes, ballot papers for the election of members of the General Assembly (voting membership), and financial statements.

Correspondence between the Company Secretary and various organisations covers a range of business and legal matters: work experience under the Australian Traineeship System; a proposed Japanese study team visit to the GPA Head Office; banking arrangements with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia; amendments to the Articles of Association, restructuring of the membership of Greenpeace and amendments to the Constitution; the conduct of merchandising and the implementation of the licensing agreement. Documents pertaining to the salary and benefit review process which began in 1989 include internal memoranda, newspaper cuttings and 1990 staff lists. The collection also includes correspondence from the Chairperson and Horwath and Horwath dealing with the taxability of Greenpeace funds and the organisation's status as a non-profit company.

Other matters documented by the collection include the 1993 GPI Board decision to dismiss Paul Gilding as the International Executive Director, the agreement that existed between GPA and the Oceanic Research Foundation, and the proposed new Industrial Policy and Personnel Policy. Between 25 January and 25 April 1993 the Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior undertook an Australian tour to test coastal waters and to launch a range of green solutions to environmental problems. The Rainbow Warrior 'Cities and Coasts' Tour records include a letter from the Aboriginal Government of Australia, guidelines for an ecological Olympic Village design, a proposal for the sewerage campaign, drafts of the 'Cities and Coasts' booklet, funding proposals, a media schedule and a Tour evaluation report. Files on GPA fundraising include attrition tables, draft contingency options, a proposal for a new structure for fundraising, the Report of the GPI Canvass Meeting (28 February-2 March 1994) and internal memoranda on staffing changes in the GPA Fundraising Division.

The work of the Community Action Division (CAD) is documented in the collection through internal memoranda regarding the position of National Community Campaign Co-ordinator, the 'Melbourne Greenspeak Report' and a report on CAD's activities. GPA State Office records include the 1994 Community Campaigners Skillshare and State Offices Planning Day agendas.

Greenpeace International

The collection incorporates agenda and other papers for the Stichting Greenpeace Council (SGC) Annual General Meetings held in 1990, 1992 and 1993. These papers include campaign proposals, spending proposals, summary financial papers, operational reviews, information of the status of national offices, internal correspondence from the SGC to the Trustees, and minutes. Similar records document the SGC Regional Trustees Meeting held in 1993, as well as the 'Southeast Asia regional report' and other Regional reports. Greenpeace International is also represented in the collection through its 'Statement of purpose' and the 'Report to the Board of the Strategic Plan Matching Team', both issued in 1993.

Conditions Governing Access

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1965760).

Conditions Governing Use

Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.

Preferred Citation

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Records of Greenpeace Australia, National Library of Australia, MS 9472, [box number and series and/or file number]'.

Provenance

The records of Greenpeace Australia (GPA) were transferred to the National Library from the Noel Butlin Archives Centre at the Australian National University in 1999.

Related Materials

The records of the Greenpeace Australia Antarctic Campaign are held at MS 9432.

Arrangement

The file arrangement used by the GPA Head Office has been retained by the National Library.