Melbourne, Australia: Sea Shepherd Australia’s chair, Dr Bob Brown, has welcomed news from The Hague that the Australian Government’s challenge to Japan’s whaling will be heard in the International Court of Justice beginning on 26th June.
“A judgment should now come from the Court this year and before next summer’s planned whale slaughter off Antarctica by the Japanese fleet. We congratulate the Gillard government for pursuing Japan’s whalers in the ICJ and when the farce of this so-called ‘scientific research’ is thrown out by the Court it will be compelling for the Australian Government to ensure the slaughter stops by sending down the navy if necessary,’ Brown said.
EARLIER
Woodside cancels plans for LNG processing plant at James Price Point – World’s largest Humpback Whale Nursery is safe April 12th, 2013 –
Melbourne, Australia: “Personally, it was a great honour for me to serve on this campaign with Bob Brown and to be invited to Walmadan country by the Goolarabooloo people to see if we could help them in their fight to protect their land and sea country. On my first day I witnessed mothers and calves nursing less than 1 kilometre off the former proposed site. In a place with stunning turquoise water, vibrant red cliffs, a rich and ancient culture going back tens of thousands of years and dinosaur footprints dating back over 230 million years, I could not comprehend what Woodside and the state government was contemplating, ” said Australian Director, Jeff Hansen.
“My feeling was that I would challenge anyone to come to the Kimberley and not be affected immensely by its raw beauty and not want to stand alongside the Goolarabooloo in defence of one of the last wilderness areas left on the planet. Now, I encourage anyone to go and see the Kimberley for yourself, to meet the wonderful folk of Broome, the Goolarabooloo and one of Earth’s precious gifts, that is, the Kimberley. I know I cannot wait to go back,” said Jeff Hansen.
Jeff Hansen went onto say, “On announcing operation Kimberley Miinimbi, many people believed that there was no hope in stopping this project. That it was a David and Goliath struggle and we could not win this. This victory shows that no matter what the odds, no matter what the risks, no matter how well equipped, funded and government backed your opponents are, you must never give in, must never surrender, you must fight for what is right, because the one thing that is worth fighting for on our beautiful planet, is life.”
Campaign Leader Bob Brown had this to say, “It is now essential that the 1.3 billion dollar payment to the traditional owners from exploiting the browse basin gas be guaranteed even though the processing is likely to occur 400km off the coast. This is great news, Sea Shepherd and I are calling for World Heritage assessment in conjunction with traditional owners of the Kimberley region”.
We will leave the final words to Sea Shepherd founder, Captain Paul Watson in his acceptance letter in response to the invitation from the Goolarabooloo senior law bosses he wrote: “Thank you for your invitation that we accept in the spirit of eternal friendship with a promise to stand in unity with the Goolarabooloo to defend the beauty and sacredness of this wondrous environment. For our oceans and for life,” said Captain Paul Watson.
About Sea Shepherd Australia Sea Shepherd Australia is a non-profit conservation organisation whose mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species. Sea Shepherd Australia uses innovative direct-action tactics to investigate, document and take action when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas. By safeguarding the biodiversity of our delicately balanced oceanic ecosystems, Sea Shepherd Australia works to ensure their survival for future generations. Visit www.seashepherd.org.au for more information.
