Jennie George (Throsby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I extend my personal congratulations to add to the others that have been extended in this question time. I think yours was a well-deserved elevation to the position of Speaker of the House. My question is to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts. Can the minister inform the House of actions taken by the government in response to commercial whaling activities in the Southern Ocean?

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Urban Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

How long did it take the Oceanic Viking to get down there?

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Flinders is on very thin ice.

Peter Garrett (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Throsby for that question. I know that she has a keen interest in the government’s commitment to ending commercial whaling in the Southern Ocean, as do the majority of Australians. I want to assure the House that the Australian government is resolutely opposed to commercial whaling in whatever guise, even under the guise of science. The government has an increased range of measures that it has identified and undertaken. They include a serious and careful assessment of international legal options, a reinvigorated approach to the International Whaling Commission and, importantly and critically, in an unprecedented act, close, first time monitoring of the Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean.

We respect the important, long-term cultural and trade ties that we have with Japan, but we do want to say clearly that that relationship is strong enough to withstand disagreement around this particular specific issue. On 21 December we led a demarche—a strong diplomatic protest—to the Japanese. It was the largest of its kind, involving some 30 or more nations, including the European Commission. I have written to Japan’s minister for agriculture, forestry and fisheries to voice my concerns. My colleagues the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Trade have also represented Australia’s views at the highest levels and, at the same time, we are bringing proposals to modernise the International Whaling Commission. I have also asked my department to commission a report on the global conservation status of whales and dolphins and, importantly, the economic benefits of living cetaceans—including whale watching, which is an important industry here in Australia, and people on the coast will, I think, know that.

The Australian government’s action, for the first time, to directly monitor the Antarctic whaling fleet using Australia’s Customs ship, the Oceanic Viking, enables us to collect information which could be used in the event of possible legal action in the future. These are the commitments that we took to the last election and they are commitments that we are delivering on. Notwithstanding the fact that there is strong Australian support for clear action against commercial whaling, I cannot help noticing that the member for Flinders has been out and about saying that the government is not serious about this issue. He has been talking about ghost ships and ghost planes and delays in monitoring the fleet. Let us be very clear about it: there has been a delay in monitoring the Japanese whaling fleets in waters to our south. It has been an 11 year delay and it is a delay that was underway with this government.

The member for Flinders was at it again last night talking about patterns of deception. I want to make it perfectly clear to the member that the prime purpose of Australia’s activities in the Southern Ocean is to ensure that we have the necessary and relevant information to consider the possibility of future legal actions, something which the previous government, of which he was a member, never had the confidence to take on board.

Can I say lastly to the House and to the people of Australia that this is a difficult issue, but it is not business as usual for the Rudd Labor government. This government is taking on the difficult issues. They are not going to go away, and our resolute opposition to commercial whaling in any guise means that we will continue to pursue this issue in a way which will bring confidence to the Australian people that we are serious about this matter.

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Urban Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I would ask that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts table the papers from which he was reading so extensively.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, were you reading from a document? Is the document confidential?

Peter Garrett (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes.