11 June
2006 - Labor Environment Spokesperson, Anthony
Albanese’s contribution to Australia’s efforts
to save whales is simply a political point scoring
exercise despite the fact that Australia’s position
on this issue has received strong bipartisan support
for three decades since the Whitlam/Fraser years.
Mr Albanese said this morning
on ABC’s Insiders Programme that the Australian
Government should take legal action against Japan.
I am as appalled by the whaling
activities of Japan, Norway and Iceland as most
Australians are and if legal action could put
an end to this, of course we would have taken
this path already.
This is a view shared by New
Zealand’s International Whaling Commissioner and
former NZ Labour Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer.
He recently 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 … A sovereign government cannot undertake
legal action unless it has a good chance of success.”
The Australian newspaper, 16
Jan 2006
The fact is that no government would embark on
a course of action without being sure of a very
high likelihood of success. Indeed, this has been
the case with previous governments, including
the previous Labor government which did not take
legal action when the Japanese were killing almost
800 whales a year in the early nineties.
Australia remains opposed to
commercial and scientific whaling and, with our
pro-conservation partners, will actively pursue
a course of action that has the best prospect
of success. This means working hard within the
International Whaling Commission as well as in
other forums.
This is difficult, and at times
frustrating, but it is a fight we will continue
with in order to see the slaughter of whales relegated
to history – where it belongs. / Marianne McCabe
