Proposal lifts ban on commercial whaling

Australia has been urged to harpoon a proposal which could see Antarctic whaling
continue for years - and become more legally secure.
A group of nations, which includes Australia, has issued a proposed deal-breaker on
the vexed international issue of whaling.
The draft deal would lift the ban on commercial whaling, while reducing the total
number of whales killed each year by ending so-called "scientific" whaling.
There are indications key nations support the deal and it could succeed.
Conservation groups are angry and want Australia to use its position to fight
against the proposal.
The deal has been issued by a "small working group" of the International Whaling
Commission (IWC), which includes Australia and Japan.
It is a draft deal which has not yet been approved; it is understood Australia will
not support it.
Currently, commercial whaling is banned but countries can hunt whales in the name of
science. Up to 1900 whales are killed each year.
The proposal would lift the commercial ban. Japan would legally be able to hunt
whales without relying on the "science" justification.
The pay-off is that the proposal says the number of whales hunted would be
significantly reduced from current levels.
The new deal would appear to allow for the hunting of minke whales, fin and humpback
whales in the southern hemisphere.
It would come into force on November 1 this year.
Last week, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced his government would take
international legal action against Japan if it did not agree, by November, to end
whaling in the Southern Ocean.
The federal government appears to have left open the option of a deal which would
see Japan phase out whaling, which could see the practice continue for some years.
Sources say the proposal is gaining support internationally, with the US and New
Zealand disposed to support it.
Environment Minister Peter Garrett met conservation groups in Canberra on Tuesday to
discuss the issue. Australia is due to make an alternative proposal to the IWC
within days.
Greenpeace spokesman Jeremy Tager rejected the proposal issued by the small working
group, and called on Australia to make sure it didn't go any further.
"We can't accept the resumption of commercial whaling," he told AAP.
Nicola Beynon from Humane Society International said it was incredible that nations
were considering the proposal, which she described as a "cave in" to Japan.
The Australian Greens called for an immediate rejection of any plan which would
validate the killing of whales.
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Australia would soon make a proposal to the IWC
which would include a "phase-down of whaling in the Great Southern Ocean by Japan".
He reiterated that without an agreement by Japan, by November, to phase out whaling
in the Southern Ocean, Australia would pursue international legal action.