Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I in no way rise to endorse New South Wales Labor. They have been an abject failure. I rise on a matter of importance to us all and which we can all support, and that Australia's efforts to contain whaling. We have gone to the International Court to constrain Japan as they rapaciously follow the whales across our seas. A young man in my electorate, Coen Wightly, is very concerned about these matters. He wrote to me in 2013 and said, 'What can I do?' He gathered a petition of over 100 students from the Hills Grammar School supporting our effort and arguing for whaling to be contained. What I found impressive was that in his lunchtimes at school, he has—as I encouraged him to do—been speaking to the junior students and the senior school students about the importance of protecting the whales, and he has clearly been successful.

He has not presented this petition in a form that is appropriate for the parliament—because I think usually it only includes the first name—but I have here the 400 signatures of students at Hills Grammar School urging support for the Australian government's efforts in the International Court to contain whaling. I seek leave to table the petition.

Leave granted.

I am delighted to table the petition, and I will inform Coen that you sought that it be tabled, Madam Deputy Speaker.