2015-12-18
Greens spokesperson for Whaling, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson says that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s vague mention of his ‘disappointment’ at Japan’s insistence on re-starting whaling in the Southern Ocean is the weakest position an Australian Prime Minister has taken on the issue in a generation.
Senator Whish-Wilson said, “You express ‘disappointment’ when someone forgets your birthday, not when a nation ignores a binding legal action you won against them that cost the Australian taxpayer at least $20 million.
“When another nation deliberately acts against your own nation’s interest and against international law saying you are disappointed just doesn’t cut it.
“Japan is acting illegally and against Australia’s interests when it slaughters whales in the Southern Ocean and the Liberal government continues their now two-year trend of turning a blind eye.
“When Japan was last slaughtering whales Greg Hunt said ‘We’ve got blood in the water and a blind eye in Canberra, it’s completely unacceptable. These are Australian waters that should be protected. Whaling should never be occurring but for it to occur in Australian waters is an utter failure in Canberra’.
“Well now the slaughter is about to happen again. There will be blood in the water and the only plan the Liberals have is to mumble a few words of disappointment.
“We still don’t know if the Liberals will meet their election commitment of sending a patrol vessel to the Southern Ocean. We still don’t know if the Liberals will take further legal action.
“What we do know is that Australia’s weak-willed response in Japan is sending the signal that the Australian government won’t provide any obstacles to this barbaric and illegal practice,” he concluded.