Thu, 8th May 2008
Government abandoning ship over whaling promise
The Hon Andrew Robb AO MP
Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs
The Hon Greg Hunt MP
Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Urban Water
Joint Release.
Revelations today that Australia is considering abandoning ship on its election promise to pursue international legal action against Japan over whaling are a humiliating back down for the Rudd Government and its embattled Environment Minister, Mr Garrett.
“This is only the latest in a litany of failures by Mr Garrett after his much vaunted promises on whaling,” the Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Urban Water, the Hon. Greg Hunt MP, said today.
“Sadly, for the many Australians concerned about whales, the ill-conceived, opportunistic action is likely to have been counter productive.”
“Abandoning legal action, after the provocative use of gun-boats, and the refusal of Mr Rudd to pick up the phone to Mr Fukuda, will only harden attitudes in Japan,” said the Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Andrew Robb AO MP.
“This very clumsy and ham-fisted chapter in Japan-Australia relations is yet another example of the poor judgement by the Rudd Government in handling many of the relationships in our region.
“Indonesia and India can be added to the list of major regional relationships ignored or deeply offended in the first six months of the Rudd Government.
“The Government spent millions of dollars by sending a gun-boat and aerial surveillance to monitor the Japanese whaling fleet and now it seems they are not even going to use the evidence that was obtained,” Mr Robb said.
“Again, this is another example of the Government being more interested in populist headlines rather than getting results.”
“The statement by the New Zealand Conservation Minister, Ms Chadwick, that there are ‘significant difficulties’ in pursuing legal action and New Zealand’s preference for diplomatic channels, rather than legal ones, is a poor reflection on the Australian Government,” said Mr Hunt.
“Mr Rudd should have picked up the phone to his Japanese counterpart, Mr Fukuda, in the first place and much of this messy action could have been avoided.
“I urge the government to take the Coalition’s proposal to establish a global whale sanctuary to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in June in Chile,” Mr Hunt said.
“The actions of the Rudd Government have damaged Australia’s standing in Japan and put at risk Australia’s relationship with one of our closest friends and neighbours,” said Mr Robb.