Key’s whaling policy unpopular and short-sighted
new-zealand-labour-party
Tue Mar 23 2010 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
Key’s whaling policy unpopular and short-sighted
Tuesday, 23 March 2010, 3:27 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party
Key’s whaling policy: unpopular, short-sighted and certainly never Labour’s!
Labour’s Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Chris Carter today tabled a petition opposing New Zealand’s support for a return to commercial whaling, which was signed by 3,475 people.
His petition was blocked last Thursday when he was denied leave by National and ACT MPs.
Chris Carter said the large number of people who had signed his online petition in just one week reflected the widespread opposition to John Key’s proposal to lift the moratorium on commercial whaling.
Mr Carter adamantly denied the suggestion made by Foreign Minister Murray McCully in Question Time last Thursday that offering this concession to Japan had been initiated by the previous Labour led Government.
“At no time did I as Conservation Minister (2002 to 2007) or Steve Chadwick (2007 to 2008) ever offer such a concession, or even discuss such a possibility with officials or representatives of other IWC member countries.
“In Santigo, Chile, in 2008 a discussion took place with the Japanese about whether coastal communities in Japan could have some traditional rights, already allowed under IWC regulations, to hunt small numbers of whales in their local waters. The Japanese rejected this out of hand. For Murray McCully to suggest that Labour ever considered lifting the moratorium on commercial whaling is simply not true.
“The question that Murray McCully refused to answer in the House last Thursday was whether the bold new whaling initiative that John Key announced to the New Zealand media on 13 January this year was actually the proposal to promote a return to limited commercial whaling.
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“I have asked, under the Official Information Act, for all papers associated with that 13 January announcement in order to clarify whether John Key saw a return to commercial whaling as his bold policy initiative. The stonewalling of this issue has continued (see attached letter) and the Foreign Minister has refused to release any documentation on the issue. I intend to write to the Ombudsman to investigate and review that decision by Murray McCully.
“New Zealand’s clean green image was built up by our strong commitment to protect our natural environment and protect endangered species like whales that are at risk through clumsy, short sighted decisions like offering to lift the moratorium on commercial whaling or opening up national Parks to commercial mining. My petition today, signed by thousands of ordinary Kiwis, calls on our Government to stop supporting commercial whaling and by doing so protect the long tradition of New Zealand being a world leader in conservation values.”
ENDS
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