The controversial International Whaling Commission (IWC) proposal to allow some commercial whaling is a mistake and New Zealand should join Australia's court action to stop Japanese whaling, Green Party co-leader Russel Norman says.The latest IWC meeting
The controversial International Whaling Commission (IWC) proposal to allow some commercial whaling is a mistake and New Zealand should join Australia's court action to stop Japanese whaling, Green Party co-leader Russel Norman says.
The latest IWC meeting begins later today in Morocco.
The meeting will consider a controversial proposal to allow Japan, Norway and Iceland to openly hunt whales despite a 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling, but to reduce the total catch over the next 10 years. The numbers Japan has put up have been too high for New Zealand to stomach, but the Government has not ruled out yet reaching an acceptable deal. Australia has rejected the idea.
New Zealand's commissioner to the IWC, Sir Geoffrey Palmer, has been critical of the IWC in the past and has expressed concerns that it could collapse and leave no organisation to regulate the killing of whales.
Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said New Zealand was supporting the IWC process but the proposal was not good enough.
"I'm bound to say I've got more pessimistic as time has moved on ... we're exploring, as urgently as we can, what significant room for manoeuvre there might be," he said.
"The alternatives here aren't flash."
There would be no real effective constraint if the IWC ceases to exist or is no longer fully representative, he said.
Dr Norman said "you can't save whales by killing them" and the proposal was a "mistake."
"We will soon learn whether our Government will stand up for our wishes or kowtow to Tokyo."
The Australian government has initiated proceedings in the International Court to stop Japanese commercial whaling in the Southern Ocean and the New Zealand government could join it, Dr Norman said.
"Court action is a better option that makes clear to the world where we stand."
