Mr TICEHURST (2:18 PM) —My question is addressed to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Would the minister update the House on actions the government has taken to oppose Japanese plans to expand its so-called scientific whaling program?

Mr DOWNER (Minister for Foreign Affairs) —I thank the honourable member for his question and appreciate the interest he shows in this issue. I think all members of the House agree with the Australian government’s position that we strongly oppose Japan’s plans to expand its so-called scientific whaling program. Whale stock numbers do remain under threat and it is clear that Japan’s whaling program cannot reasonably be described as just scientific. Scientists from more than half the countries of the International Whaling Commission, including Australia, have refused to review Japan’s new proposals until an independent review of their original scientific whaling program is undertaken, and I think that is entirely reasonable.

Australian diplomatic missions around the world have been coordinating with like-minded countries to make known to the Japanese government our concerns with their proposals. Our ambassador in Japan, Murray McLean, has led two delegations of diplomats to the Japanese foreign ministry and fisheries agency to urge Japan to cease its scientific whaling program, and over 15 countries have now participated in these representations. In the past two weeks Senator Ian Campbell, the Minister for the Environment and Heritage, has visited five European and three Pacific island countries to lobby for support for Australia’s opposition to scientific whaling. The Prime Minister and I have made representations directly to our counterparts in numerous International Whaling Commission member states, seeking their support for our position.

Senator Campbell will be working with antiwhaling nations at this week’s IWC meeting in Korea to urge Japan to cease its scientific whaling program, and obviously we hope we can be successful. We have not ruled out any legal or diplomatic options to bring further pressure to Japan if that is necessary, but we obviously have to work these things through carefully, step by step, and particularly we are likely to be more effective if we coordinate our efforts with other like-minded countries in the international community and do not behave as a rogue country, doing things on our own and ignoring the cooperation that we otherwise would very naturally get from a large number of other countries.