2016-05-03
Greens spokesperson for Whaling, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, says that the Turnbull Government is doing more to protect the Japanese whalers from public scrutiny than it is doing to protect minke whales from being slaughtered in Australia’s whale sanctuary. The Government has refused a FOI request from Sea Shepherd Australia and the NSW EDO.
Senator Whish-Wilson said, “The Government has cited relations with Japan as a reason they won’t release footage obtained by the Australian Government of the slaughter of whales in Australia’s whale sanctuary.
“This is a government more interested in protecting the feelings of the whalers than they are about taking legal and diplomatic action to protect the whales.
“If Malcolm Turnbull and Greg Hunt are so worried about the feelings of Japan that they won’t release footage that belongs to the Australian people, then there is no way they will be willing to take the fight up to Japan in international courts.
“Greg Hunt talked the talk in opposition about whaling, but now with a few days until his term is over he has shown himself to take the weakest stance an Australian Environment Minister has ever taken on the issue.
“In opposition, Greg Hunt promised sending patrol boats to collect evidence against the Japanese whalers but in government all we got was a wet fish Minister and Australia turning a blind-eye to Japan restarting their illegal whaling activity,” he concluded.