Grant Chapman (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I direct my question to the Minister for the Environment and Heritage. Will the minister update the Senate on the Australian government’s efforts to stop whaling in the latest context? In addition to that, has the government considered any alternative policies?

Ian Campbell (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment and Heritage) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Chapman for a question that I know most Australians—probably all Australians—have a deep interest in, as Australia has for many years led international efforts to try to bring an end to whaling. Clearly, we have had during the past few months a ramping up of the Japanese whaling effort in the Southern Ocean in waters off Antarctica. We have also heard an intention announced by the Norwegians to massively increase their whale harvest, though that has not received as much attention. I think that people who care about whaling should not always concentrate on the Japanese; we should focus our wrath equally on the Norwegians, because what they do is at least as reprehensible as what the Japanese do.

Over summer, we as a nation have witnessed the Greenpeace ship not only visiting the Southern Ocean and running a policy of harassment against the whalers but also, very constructively, sending photographic images of the whale slaughter by the Japanese in the Southern Ocean all around the world. I had the great pleasure of meeting Shane Rattenbury and the Greenpeace team in my office just before question time. I think other members and senators will have the chance to meet them. I must say that the work they did over the summer was in distinct contrast to the actions of Paul Watson on the Sea Shepherd, who I think set back the cause of whaling by unnecessarily taking potentially illegal action, causing collisions and potentially putting life at risk at sea. Compared to his activities, I think Greenpeace did the world a great favour. I commend the sensible approach that Shane took in handling a potentially explosive situation.

While they were at sea, Australia joined forces with countries like Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK in a demarche at the foreign service in Japan. That was one of the most substantial diplomatic protests ever seen on this issue or, should I say, on virtually any other issue.

There are alternative policies. Senator Chapman asked about them. Previously, Australia’s whaling policy has been bipartisan. The Keating government supported and continued the same policy that Australia runs now. We have had under the Beazley Labor Party a historic end to a bipartisan approach on whaling. They harp on, they carp and they whine and ask things like: ‘Why don’t we take legal action to stop the whaling?’ I cannot answer that question any more eloquently than Sir Geoffrey Palmer, a former Labour Prime Minister of New Zealand, who said:

We have been looking at the legal theories that are available against the Japanese for some months ...  and there is no legal theory that is available that can prevent, in our view, the Japanese from doing what they are doing.

Sir Geoffrey Palmer has been a great help to me, a great assistance to me and a great assistance to Australia. He is legally trained. He has a doctorate of law. He taught law in the United States. He has, in fact, been a judge on the International Court of Justice. If I am going to take advice on international legal action on whaling, if I have the choice of taking it from someone like Mr Albanese, whose closest qualification to give advice on this is working as a policy adviser to Bob Carr, or a distinguished former Labour Prime Minister of New Zealand with strong legal and international legal advice, I take advice from Geoffrey Palmer every day of the week. (Time expired)