The Save Manapōuri petition
- When
- 1970–1972
- Where
- Lake Manapōuri · Manapōuri
- Reach
- Nationwide
A petition of more than 260,000 signatures against raising Lake Manapōuri for a power scheme became the largest in the country’s history to that point.
The plan was to raise the lake by up to thirty metres to drive turbines for an aluminium smelter. The campaign against it gathered 264,907 signatures, around one in ten New Zealanders, and turned conservation from a minority enthusiasm into an electoral force. The incoming Labour government of 1972 undertook not to raise the lake. It is generally treated as the beginning of the modern environmental movement here, and the point at which "the environment" became something governments lost elections over.
Regions affected
Sources
Written for this project from these references rather than copied from them. Follow a link to check the account against the original.
Related
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