Prime Minister Norman Kirk comments on the resumption by the French of atmospheric nuclear testing in the South Pacific. He says the tests will have been greeted with profound dismay around the world. The tests are in defiance of the order of the International Court of Justice and take place in the face of unprecedented opposition and protest around the world. The device that was tested at 6.00am was exploded some 2,000 feet above Mururoa. The cloud rose to 20,000 feet and the force of the explosion was five and a half kilotonnes. The New Zealand government has made a protest to President Pompidou about the continuation of the tests. Kirk says New Zealand is determined to continue the silent vigil of the HMNZS Otago stationed near the site, soon to be relieved by the HMNZS Canterbury.
This is followed by an unedited report by New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation reporter Shaun Brown, on board the HMNZS Otago. He reads an introduction, then delivers a voice report. He reports the protest yacht, Fri, has been boarded by fifteen French sailors in international waters, and apprehended and towed away. [The actuality inserts of the radio operator and skipper of the Fri that Brown refers to, are not on this recording.]
The next excerpt begins with an unidentified female journalist interviewing a man, also unidentified, who says that if France were to intercept any of the protest vessels leaving New Zealand, it could be seen as aggravation. This is disputed by John Marshall, Leader of the Opposition. He explains his views opposing sending a naval vessel to Mururoa, after New Zealand had accepted jurisdiction from the International Court at the Hague. New Zealand had followed diplomatic and legal steps but he believes sending the Navy into the area could be viewed as taking military action.
This is followed by comments from the Director of the National Radiation Laboratory in Christchurch, who talks about the risks of radiation fallout from the French nuclear tests to New Zealand and the protest ships. He says it would only be slight, as long as it didn't rain, but it is difficult to assess.