Senator SOWADA —On behalf of Senator Coulter, I give notice that, on the next day of sitting, he shall move:

  That the Senate—

  (a)notes:

    (i)that the International Whaling Commission meets in Kyoto in the week beginning 9 May 1993 amid pressure by the Japanese for the resumption of commercial whaling,

    (ii)the astounding claim reported in the Age of 10 May 1993 that the Japanese representative to the Commission (Mr Kazuo Shima) said that in a future of global food shortages, seafood, including whales, would be needed to support a world population expected to double to 10 billion by the year 2050, and

    (iii)that the view expressed by Mr Shima would, if put into practice, rapidly lead to the extinction of the minke whale;

  (b)urges the Australian Government to stand firm in its opposition to commercial whaling on humanitarian and ecological grounds; and

  (c)strongly supports the Australian Government's push for an Antarctic whale sanctuary below the latitude of 40 degrees south.