Australia takes action against Japan on whaling

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

The Federal Government will initiate legal action against Japan early next week over its "scientific" whaling in the Southern Ocean. The legal application will be lodged with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Environment Minister Peter Garrett announced this morning.

In a statement Mr Garrett, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith and Attorney-General Robert McClelland said the decision had not been taken lightly and had come after the government tried to reach a compromise with the Japanese Government through the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and bilateral talks.

The ministers' statement says the legal action is about one dispute with Japan in an otherwise "comprehensive strategic, security and economic partnership". "Both Australia and Japan have agreed that, whatever our differences on whaling, this issue should not be allowed to jeopardise the strength and the growth of our bilateral relationship," the statement said.

Mr Garrett said: "We want to see an end to whales being killed in the name of science in the Southern Ocean."

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/whale-watch/australia-takes-action-against-japan-on-whaling-20100528-wis8.html?autostart=1

PB for the major killing of all kinds of Marine life in the Gulf.

Source: New Zealand Herald

Australia is launching legal action to stop Japanese whaling in Antarctic waters.

The federal government promised to do this before the last election, but had recently deferred action until November 2010 at the earliest.

But on Friday, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said the government would lodge a formal application in the International Court of Justice in The Hague next week.

"Australia will initiate action in the International Court of Justice, seeking to prevent Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean," Mr Smith told reporters in Sydney.



Read more: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10648081

I'm glad to see this initiative, but we'll see where it goes as politics cannot simply be so easily dismissed.

I'm happy to see Australia take the step. I hope they have the fortitude to make it stick.

Thanks for stepping up AU.

He's been Australia's Environmental Minister since 2007, believe it or not.

This is how whaling gets stopped, through economic and political pressure from other nations.

everything based upon financial gain. The world is so poorly evolved.

Source: Huffington Post

Australia Sues Japan Over Whaling

CANBERRA, Australia — Australia said Friday it will challenge Japan's whale hunting in the Antarctic at the International Court of Justice, a major legal escalation in its campaign to ban the practice despite Tokyo's insistence on the right to so-called scientific whaling.

Japan's Foreign Ministry called the action regrettable at a time when 88 member-nations of the International Whaling Commission were discussing a proposal that could allow some limited whaling for the first time in 25 years.

"We will continue to explain that the scientific whaling that we are conducting is lawful in accordance with Article 8 of the international convention for the regulation of whaling," said Japan's Foreign Ministry Deputy Press Secretary Hidenobu Sobashima. "If it goes to the court, we are prepared to explain that."

Japan, Norway and Iceland, which harpoon around 2,000 whales annually, argue that many species are abundant enough to continue hunting them. They are backed by around half of the whaling commission's members.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/28/australia-sues-japan-over_n_593526.html