Australia’s Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, talking about John Key’s grand initative to end the global moratorium on commercial whaling:
“I am alarmed and very concerned that NZ would support a proposal that is flawed and represents a huge compromise to pro-whaling nations….Australia cannot support the compromise package now being discussed in the IWC.”
Labour doesn’t support Key’s plans for whaling either. Click here for more.
Spud, why aren’t there cow sanctuaries in New Zealand? Why did the whales get a “sanctuary” in 1994 (never mind the fact that there was already a commercial whaling moratorium since 1986)?
The sanctuary only exists because the IWC exists, and the IWC exists only because the whaling nations haven’t quit it yet. Once they quit, the sanctuary is more meaningless than it is now.
I am curious as to what your argument would be once things get back to basics.
@Dylan – As a vegetarian I’m not over the moon about arguing how it is okay to kill cows and not whales.
Hope Easter is great 
david@tokyo
“I ate whale last night” would make a great Tui ad. And no, we do not tend to freeze meat in NZ much anymore. And I dare you to catch a flight to China, and shout out that “Nanking” happened ages ago. In taking Bethune to Japan, and conjuring up charges that amount to 15 years in jail, the DPJ government is pandering to the Right ahead of July’s upper house elections. That in itself demands a NZ response. Smile and wave does not suit the circumstances. Not sure what you get up to in Tokyo, but thinking and observing does not seem to be one of the them. Been to Yasukuni lately?
Victor,
Nanking, Yasukuni… sounds like you have some tick on your shoulder with respect to the Japanese rather than with respect to whaling (Norway and Iceland have nothing to do with WWII, so you need a better excuse).
I’m amazed to hear that people don’t freeze meat in NZ much anymore. My, things must have changed. Fisher and Pykel must have gone out of business?
Bethune is being handled by the justice system, the Japanese political system has nothing to do with it.
Japanese politics aren’t aligned by “left” and “right” like they are in New Zealand.
Whales are food. Like beef and ice cream. This is how it is in Japan. Unless you want to attack the Japanese (like Bethune) then you have to just grin and bear it. The world is shared by people of many cultures.
How does one hunt icecream? Are they native to Iceland?