2. GARETH HUGHES (Green) Link to this
to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
How many whales, if any, does he believe it is acceptable to have hunted and killed in the Southern Ocean?
Is the protection of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary over the next 10 years a bottom line for New Zealand negotiations?
Hon MURRAY McCULLY Link to this
The Government’s position, which I believe reflects the position of the vast majority of New Zealanders, is that we wish to see the elimination of whaling in the Southern Ocean at the earliest possible time. There has, for some time, been discussion at the International Whaling Commission and, most recently, through its support group to see whether we can negotiate that outcome. On Friday a proposed consensus decision was released by the chair and deputy chair of the International Whaling Commission. New Zealand flatly rejected that proposal as being inadequate.
Is the Minister saying that it is still on the table that New Zealand will support International Whaling Commission - sanctioned whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary over the next 10 years?
Hon MURRAY McCULLY Link to this
I am saying that the New Zealand Government understands, as do most others, including many non-governmental organisations, that there is only one process that can achieve the elimination of whaling in the Southern Ocean in a relatively short space of time, and that is the International Whaling Commission process. Those who assert that we should head off to the International Court of Justice needs to understand that that process could take 4 or 5 years, and, even then, achieve an adverse outcome.
Given that your wait-and-see diplomatic approach has failed and resulted in an unacceptable response, what will you do in the next 2 months to ensure the absolute protection of whales in the Southern Ocean?
Mr SPEAKERI did not want to intrude when the member referred to the Speaker early on in that question, but he cannot ask the Minister what the Speaker might be doing. I invite the member to rephrase his question, because every time he refers to “you” he is referring to the Speaker.
Given that the Minister’s wait-and-see diplomatic approach has failed and resulted in an unacceptable result, what will the Minister now do over the next 2 months to give absolute protection to whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary?
Hon MURRAY McCULLY Link to this
I intend to do exactly what I indicated publicly on Friday the Government would do. Having rejected the proposal put on the table by the chair and deputy chair of the International Whaling Commission as being unrealistic and unacceptable, I indicated that we would explore urgently with key players at the commission whether there was genuine room for a substantially different outcome from that proposed in the document released on Friday, in order to see whether it was worthwhile for us to invest further in that process. That is precisely what I am doing.