There has been a united call from the Coalition, Labor and the Greens for an end of whaling, with the Australian release of a report on the status of whaling and the general decline of support for the industry.
The report by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, launched at Parliament House today, highlights the increasing subsidies being used to support the whaling operations.
I have already written to Minister Burke requesting a guarantee that no Australian funds provided for the tsunami restoration have been diverted to supporting the whaling.
The report makes it clear that domestic support for whaling in Japan is declining and it will be the next generation which will determine its future.
The Coalition believes a program to send young Australians to Japan to talk to their peers and raise awareness about the opposition to whaling could play a key role in changing attitudes.
In addition, the Federal Government should have sent a Customs vessel to the Southern Ocean to send a clear message that Australians do not support whaling.
The Government has consistently turned a blind eye to the whaling operations by refusing to send a vessel to monitor the activities in the Southern Ocean.
The Coalition has written three times to the Prime Minister in December requesting that the Government take early action to deal with the potential for conflict on the high seas and to independently monitor the whaling operations.
We have now seen the Japanese fleet entering Australian waters as part of a game of cat and mouse between the anti-whaling protesters, the Sea Shepherd, and the whaling fleet.
Hon Greg Hunt MP Federal Member for Flinders Shadow Minister for Climate Action, Environment and Heritage
