Turei Metiria: General Debate 
Turei Metiria: General Debate 
[Volume:625;Page:20678] 
METIRIA TUREI (Green) 
: 
 “Save the whales” is such an iconic catchcry in this country and indeed around the world. It has been the call to action for environmentalists and conservationists and for indigenous peoples and coastal communities for decades. It has led to some of the most significant actions and campaigns about the protection of species on our planet ever seen. So say it out loud: “Save the whales” and imagine small jet boats taking on those vast whaling ships in the Atlantic Ocean or remember perhaps the faded photos of whales being slaughtered their skins slit open with axes and their blood staining the seas a deep viscous red. 
Very little is known of the ecological role played by whales but we do know that they have the largest brains on our planet as complex as human brains and that they are capable of highly complex thinking. The humpback whale creates the most complex long-lasting repetitive sound patterns of any non-human animal on our planet. Many whale species have been reduced to less than 1 percent of the number alive at the beginning of the 20th century. Most species of whales remain endangered. Many are at such a low population level and breed so slowly that they show no signs of recovery from the decimation they were subjected to between the 1940s and 1970s when highly industrialised whaling took place. 
Whales are as vulnerable and fragile now as they have ever been. Yet Japan has recently asked the International Whaling Commission to approve an extension of its annual kill of 400 minke whales to include the slaughter of humpback whales. Japan claims that it is for scientific reasons but which science do the Japanese do with the whales they kill? I know—it is consumer taste testing or maybe the important testing of the latest high-tech whale-killing technology. The scientific claims of Japan are a sham. 
Japan claims that the information it obtains about what whales eat and their age and gender is necessary for the International Whaling Commission to manage sustainable utilisation but that research has never been requested by the International Whaling Commission. It is in fact opposed by the commission. Information about whales’ diets their population and age structure are most useful to those who want to exploit and kill them. 
Japan is also well known for its buying of small countries’ votes on the commission. Until 2001 those countries included St Vincent and the Grenadines Dominica and Antigua in the Caribbean as well as Guinea and the Solomon Islands. It has bought the votes of other countries since then. The assembling of a bloc that always votes in line with Japan’s request has enabled Japan to thwart moves such as the creation of a South Pacific whale sanctuary because of the need to get 75 percent of the vote. The sanctuary is strongly advocated for by New Zealanders. The situation is approaching the point where Japan and its supporters will have a majority of votes on the International Whaling Commission. Japan aims to return the commission to a whaling industry - controlled body so that commercial whaling can resume. Since the moratorium came into effect in 1986 Japan has spent at least $200 million to buy countries’ votes through fisheries grants given to them by the Fisheries Agency of Japan. 
So what must happen if we are to continue to fight to save the whales which are critical to our ecology and form part of New Zealand’s tourist economy? What are we to do? This Labour Government needs to call in the Japanese ambassador to express opposition to Japan’s whaling activities and its recent proposals to increase the take of minke and humpback whales. It needs to make it clear to Japan that any pursuit of those proposals will lead to trade and diplomatic sanctions. At the International Whaling Commission this Government needs to actively oppose Japan’s proposals and to work in concert with the Australian Government and other nations to make it clear that the Pacific region will not tolerate the continued destruction of those marine mammals. 
The Green Party is continuing to work with the Australian Greens to develop a trans-Tasman action plan that may well include consumer boycotts. We call on this country to support them.