Australian newspapers have reported that Greenpeace Australia Pacific is in a major financial hole. Other legal and management woes are also confronting the group.
According to a report in Australia’s Fairfax newspapers, Greenpeace Australia-Pacific – which covers Australia as well as Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Melanesia – has been running at a loss for the past three years. Its financial statements indicate that it has been burning through its cash reserves at around AUD 1 million annually.
It was also reported that Greenpeace International has bailed out Greenpeace Asia Pacific. Forestry and Development presumes they therefore funded the recent campaign by Greenpeace’s ship “Esperenza” to whip up opposition to a Palm Oil plantation in PNG. As reported in the last issue, that campaign did not go so well – the ship was met with protests from several hundred people and stoning by angry locals.
Publicly – and unsurprisingly – the group has partly blamed the losses on banks for introducing new rules that have tightened up credit card payments.
Greenpeace Australia’s income peaked in 2007-2008 and has since declined. Its expenditures have dropped also, but not nearly enough to prevent losses.
Greenpeace’s financial woes are no different to any other business dealing with economic instability. When people have high disposable income, they will spend – and this includes donations. When times get tough, donations are less forthcoming.
Greenpeace will be loathe to admit it publicly, but its good fortune depends on capitalism.
The group is also facing other problems. Two of its supporters recently appeared before an Australian court following their destruction of an experimental wheat trial in Canberra. According to media reports, the pair is facing charges of property damage valued at $300,000, trespass and interference with genetically modified organisms.
It is unlike Greenpeace to expose itself in this way. Its stunts are headline-grabbing, but the risks they take are carefully assessed.
CEO Linda Selvey has departed Greenpeace after less than two years. Publicly she has stated this is for personal reasons.
Whatever it takes: Greenpeace's anti-forestry campaign in Papua New Guinea
Masalai i Tokaut and Rimbunan Hijau Watch: A political and deceptive campaign against Rimbunan Hijau
The Economic Contribution of Rimbunan Hijau's Forestry Operations in Papua New Guinea
The Economic Importance of the Forestry Industry to Papua New Guinea