Jennie George (Throsby, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Environment and Heritage) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Recently I had the privilege of meeting an impressive and courageous young man, Shane Rattenbury. Shane was Greenpeace’s expedition leader in their recent campaign against the slaughter of whales in the Southern Ocean. Two Greenpeace vessels, the Arctic Sunrise and the Esperanza, spent 28 days in the rugged seas documenting and intervening in the barbaric slaughter of whales by the Japanese whaling fleet. Dramatic images of the confrontation on the high seas were beamed across the globe, bringing these wanton acts of cruelty to the attention of the world and placing Japan under an uncomfortable spotlight. Without the courage and commitment of the crews of these two vessels, the slaughter would have been undertaken in secret and without public scrutiny. I want to place on the public record my congratulations to Shane and Greenpeace for their endeavours.

To date, international diplomacy and efforts to halt vote buying at the International Whaling Commission have failed to stop the Japanese government’s continued support of whaling. Indeed, we are now faced with an expansion of their so-called ‘scientific’ whaling program. In the 2005-06 whaling season the Japanese have actually doubled their quota of minke whales to 935 and there are plans to add 50 endangered fin and humpback whales in the next two years.

Greenpeace are now appealing to the Australian community to assist them in applying further pressure on the Japanese fishing companies to cease this so-called scientific program. Their ongoing campaign is now focusing on the three Japanese fishing companies whose funds underpin the whaling operations. Nissui is one of those companies and it has a 50 per cent stake in Sealord, which markets products here in Australia. Sealord’s frozen and canned products are sold in our supermarkets, fast food outlets and restaurants. Though Sealord has publicly stated their opposition to commercial whaling, the reality is that 50 per cent of their profits go to Nissui, a company whose business it is to slaughter whales. Greenpeace are urging consumers to contact Sealord, based in Nelson, New Zealand, to outline their concerns about this company’s involvement in these barbaric practices.

In my view, diplomacy in itself is not the solution to this major problem. Diplomacy has to be coupled with strong legal action. The Howard government must take Japan to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to stop the slaughter of whales once and for all. Interestingly, after the IWC meeting in June last year, the Minister for the Environment and Heritage declared somewhat prematurely:

Australia and pro-conservation nations have today won a massive victory for whale conservation. This is a fantastic outcome because it reinforces Australia’s determination to ensure all commercial and so-called ‘scientific’ whaling is consigned to the dustbin of history.

These statements were premature because tragically, as we know, whaling has not been consigned to the dustbin of history. There are now real fears that Japan is on the brink of winning the right to resume commercial whaling at the next IWC meeting scheduled for the Caribbean in June this year.

Yesterday I was interested to read the release from the environment minister which pointed to findings from research undertaken in the Antarctic showing the importance of whales to the ecosystem. The minister argued:

There is absolutely no scientific basis for the slaughter of whales.

It seems to me that the minister’s comments were stating the obvious. Beyond that, I have very little faith that the research undertaken will deter the Japanese and other whaling nations at the next scheduled meeting of the commission.

The government wants to give the impression that it is being tough on the Japanese but, were it not for the actions of Greenpeace, the world would not have known what is occurring in the Australian Whale Sanctuary, because the government refuses to monitor the slaughter and refuses to enforce its own laws in its own territories. The government recently opposed the attempt by the Humane Society International to enforce Australian laws to stop the slaughter of whales in our waters, arguing that it would be likely to give rise to an international disagreement with Japan. Too right it would. We have a profound disagreement with Japan on this issue. (Time expired)