David @ Tokyo

Australian Environment Minister Ian Campbell (who I've passed comment on before) is off to Europe in an attempt to try to convince other farm based nations that hunting whales is bad, under all circumstances.
"Australia is of the clear, informed view that whaling under scientific permits should be rejected: it is unnecessary, and nothing less than commercial whaling in disguise."

I don't know where Campbell got the idea that Australia was at all informed, especially if he believes a loss making scientific whaling operation running for 18 years is a commercial endeavour.

Campbell could only claim to be informed if he were able to understand that scientific whaling is NOT commercial whaling - it is a necessary precursor to ensure that future management decisions (for commercial whaling purposes) are based on ample scientific data.

The Japanese are quite open about their desire to recommence commercial whaling. They need to have scientific data for this to be possible. The Commercial Moratorium was imposed under concern that insufficient data was available to be able to make good management decisions.

Now that the Japanese are providing this, Australia is shifting the goal posts - or rather - admitting that they don't even want to have any goal posts.

Australia is a nation with no honour. It's time they got their dirty fingers out of the IWC.

UPDATE: This from the Japanese embassy in Australia:
"Neither Japan nor Australia wish to see whale populations threatened. However, Japan believes that if scientific research establishes certain whale populations can be harvested sustainably, then such whaling should be permitted".

It's clear that the Japanese are being more than reasonable on this issue. Australia and it's few anti-whaling mates need to recognise that the Australian perception of abundant whale stocks as "not food" doesn't hold true in other cultures around the world.