Anti Whaling Crusaders

We, the undersigned, are deeply concerned about the whaling undertaken by Japanese whaling company Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha Ltd. This whaling is condoned by the Japanese government and is a major threat to the very future of these magnificent creatures and poses a monumental risk on the rest of the environment.

We are writing to voice our concern about the need for greater political action on whaling, and to hear your response on the issue. We wish to ensure that you, as Prime Minster of Australia, are doing everything you can to ensure the Australian Labor Party is committed to its election promise to stop Japan%u2019s whaling. So far the Labor Party has been in power for three years and little more than political small talk has occurred and no concrete actions made.

The action of Japan makes a mockery of international law. In 1986 a moratorium on commercial whaling was put in place. Since this time Japan has continued to whale under the false pretence of %u201Cscientific whaling%u201D as per Article VIII of International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. It has been proven that with the technology of today, killing is not required for whale research. The Convention%u2019s Article VIII is grossly outdated and Japan%u2019s claim is just covering up a commercial gain as proven recently by the %u2018Tokyo Two%u2019.

In 2008 the Australian Federal Court ruled that the actions of Kyodo were in contravention of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) s229, s229A, s229B, s229D and s230. The Court granted an injunction to stop this company whaling in Australian waters. This was not enforced by the Australian Government at the time and Labor Party promised to enforce this if they were elected. Labor has been in power for nearly four years and nothing has changed. The injunction has been not been enforced. Why is the Government not enforcing its own laws?    

We are taking personal action on whaling because we believe that it is our duty to stand up for the future of the environment and the future of generations of Australians to come. However, while individual actions are vital in addressing this unlawful slaughter of whales, it is for the Australian Government to enforce the international laws it is signatory to and the domestic laws of our nation. Please do not wait until election time to make this an issue to win votes. Stick to your promise and make it an issue now.

Thank you for your time in considering this letter. We would like to hear your views on Australia%u2019s efforts to protect the whales and how you plan to ensure that Labor%u2019s election promise is met.

We look forward to your response.