Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to table a petition calling on the Howard government to take action on Japanese plans to kill whales in Australian territorial waters.

Leave granted.

This is a major issue of concern within my electorate. Many people have signed this petition and have raised this issue with me on numerous occasions. The people of my electorate want the Prime Minister to know that whaling is unacceptable and that, as a nation, we cannot stand by and allow these precious and defenceless animals to be slaughtered.

Also of concern in relation to whaling is the effect that it will have upon whale watching season. Whale watching season is just about to start again this year. In my electorate, particularly around Tweed Heads and Byron Bay, it is a major tourism industry. Every year we see thousands of people come to the area to watch the whales pass by. The Japanese plan will have a huge impact on the number of whales passing by—and we have just seen those numbers build up.

This petition calls on the Howard government to take immediate steps to prosecute boats detected slaughtering whales within Australian territorial waters. It calls on the foreign minister to apply diplomatic pressure on Japan to stop expanding its whale killing activity. It also calls on the Howard government to take immediate action to ensure that Australia’s opposition to the proposed expansion of whale killing is clearly conveyed to all members of the International Whaling Commission and on the government to reaffirm its commitment to the establishment of a South Pacific whale sanctuary. (Time expired)