19 June 2006 - Australia and
the pro-conservation coalition have won an important
fight in the battle to protect whales at an international
meeting over the weekend, the Minister for the
Environment and Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell,
said today.
Speaking at the 58th International
Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in St Kitts and
Nevis in the Caribbean, Senator Campbell said
that Australia and its pro-conservation coalition
had won a great victory for whale conservation
at the meeting, defeating plans by whaling nations
to take control of the IWC and move closer to
a return to commercial whaling.
Australia and its pro-conservation
coalition won all the substantive proposals at
the meeting, defeating pro-whaling efforts to:
• remove from the agenda discussion relating to
small whales, dolphins and porpoises.
• run secret ballots and make voting non-transparent;
• increase whaling through proposed commercial
‘coastal’ whaling; and
• abolish the current Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
Furthermore, the resolution condemning so-called
‘scientific’ whaling we put forward at last year’s
IWC meeting was successfully defended.
“The votes we have won at this
meeting are a significant achievement for whales
and whale protection,” Senator Campbell said.
“There was always a real possibility
that the IWC could fall into the hands of the
whalers for the first time since the moratorium
came into effect 20 years ago – but we once again
stopped this from happening,” he said.
However, Senator Campbell warned
the IWC remains finely balanced between those
who want to resume industrial whaling and those
who want to protect whales and he said this year’s
meeting was no different.
“This year we have kept the balance in favour
of whale protection, however, the passage of a
non-binding declaration by pro-whaling nations
at today’s meeting, though toothless, is a wake-up
call to the world,” Senator Campbell said.
“This declaration by the pro-whaling
nations is non-binding, proposes no action and
will have no effect.
“It is simply a toothless statement of frustration
at the pro-conservation coalition’s continuing
success.
“I am obviously thrilled that our hard work over
the past years has paid off but there is still
more work to do to ensure that the kind of whaling
that is taking place by countries like Japan,
Iceland and Norway is not a part of our future.
“I have long said that whale
protection is not a sprint – it is a marathon.
“We need to strengthen our resolve and vigour
and we need more effort, more organisation and
more resources to underpin our commitment to permanent
global whale protection.
“Australia and the pro-conservation coalition
will not give up the fight,” he said.
The voting record for the IWC meeting, country
by country, is available at www.aad.gov.au/default.asp?casid=21435
or www.saveourwhales.gov.au
Rob Broadfield (Senator Campbell's Office)
