Embargoed to 8am Monday, August 20

Greens start campaign against ANZ

Green Media Release August 20, 2007

The Green Party is urging New Zealanders to cut links to ANZ unless the banking group stops supporting a huge tropical rainforests logging company.
Greens Co-Leader Russel Norman says the party is starting a campaign outside selected ANZ branches with colourful protests highlighting the banking corporation’s links to Rimbunan Hijau and other firms destroying the last “paradise forests” of South East Asia and the Pacific.
The party has also set-up an “e-pledge” link on its website so anyone can join a list of names of people saying they will close their ANZ and National Bank accounts unless ANZ Banking Group cuts links to Rimbunan Hijau.

“Deforestation is one of the biggest issues of our time as it is thought to cause some 20 percent of human-made carbon emissions,” Dr Norman says. “In the case of tropical rainforests, the logging is doubly tragic as more than half of the world’s plant and animal species are believed to live in these places.”

The first protest runs from 8am to 9.30am today (Monday) outside the ANZ branch in lower Lambton Quay, Wellington, and features tropical trees, a “grim reaper”, an “orangutan”, bankers with giant chainsaws and “cheques” handed out to the public. The site was chosen as it has adjacent ANZ and National Bank branches; both New Zealand banks are owned by the ANZ Banking Group based in Australia.

“ANZ is full of talk about being a responsible corporation but its actions speak louder than words,” Dr Norman says. “It promised a Forests and Biodiversity Policy after pressure from the Australian Conservation Foundation and others last year, which was watered down to a Forests Policy that has yet to surface. Meanwhile it admits using New Zealand as a financial springboard to Asia where it is creating more connections to the loggers, not less.”

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