1985 USS Buchanan refused entry to NZ

The New Zealand Labour government refused the USS Buchanan entry on the grounds that the United States would neither confirm nor deny that the warship had nuclear capability. David Lange’s government, elected in July 1984, had made clear its intention to pursue policies that would establish New Zealand as a nuclear-free country. This was a popular stand, and by the end of the year nearly 40 towns and boroughs had declared themselves nuclear-free. Labour announced its decision to ban ships that were either nuclear-powered or -armed. The US maintained its position and a stalemate was reached.

The US decided to test the new government’s resolve. In late 1984 it requested a visit by the guided missile destroyer USS Buchanan. The Buchanan was an older ship, and the Americans hoped that the likelihood it was not nuclear-armed would allow it to slip under the political radar. ‘Near-uncertainty was not now enough for us,’ Lange recalled. ‘Whatever the truth of its armaments, its arrival in New Zealand would be seen as a surrender by the government.’ He hoped that the Americans would offer to send something less ambiguous, but it was the Buchanan or nothing.

On 4 February 1985 the government said no. Within days Washington severed visible intelligence and military ties with New Zealand and downgraded political and diplomatic exchanges. US Secretary of State George Schultz confirmed that the United States would no longer maintain its security guarantee to New Zealand, although the ANZUS treaty structure remained in place.

Image: USS Buchanan anti-nuclear cartoon