Australia’s leadership gap allows Japan back into the whaling game

Greens spokesperson for whaling, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, provides the following comments on Japan’s efforts at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to reinstate their whaling program despite losing the International Court of Justice (ICJ) case against Australia.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “Since the ICJ case, Australia has failed to show provide any leadership by putting public pressure on Japan to abandon any future plans to reinstate their whaling program.

“This leadership gap has provided a narrow window of opportunity for Japan to take steps to reintroduce their whaling program without fear of public condemnation from anti-whaling nations.

“For decades Australia has been the go-to country to lead the anti-whaling fight. We have maintained public pressure and taken steps behind the scenes to corral other nations into supporting our position.

“When we won the ICJ case Australia should have immediately applied diplomatic pressure to Japan.

“Even before the ICJ case the Greens called for the Government to create a diplomatic strategy to deal with Japan’s plans for whaling, regardless of the court outcome.

“When Tony Abbott visited Japan he didn’t raise whaling, and when Shinzō Abe visited here we also didn’t raise the issue.

“The Greens warned that the court case was not going to be sufficient to end whaling. When we did, Environment Minister Greg Hunt scoffed and said there is no way the Japanese would try and bring back whaling.

“What you are seeing playing out at the IWC is Japan snubbing its nose at anti-whaling nations because they know that governments like Australia’s won’t apply serious diplomatic pressure,” Senator Whish-Wilson concluded.
Greens spokesperson for whaling, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson