Mr Richard Evans asked the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment, Sports and Territories, upon notice, on 24 February 1994:
(1) What action is Australia taking to prevent the recommencement of commercial whaling.
Mr Brereton - The Minister for the Environment, Sport and Territories has provided the following answer to the honourable member's question:
(1) The Australian Government has a long-term commitment to a position of opposition to all whaling and to seeking a ban on all commercial whaling, while recognising that some traditional communities continue to require access to whaling and whale products to meet traditional cultural and subsistence needs.
With bipartisan support, the Government has continued to support the
International Whaling Commission (IWC) and its scientific committee as
the appropriate international organisation through which to pursue conservation
of all species of whales, dolphins and porpoises. The Australian representatives
to the IWC have been instrumental in achieving support for all of the major
conservation decisions taken by the Commission in recent years. We will
continue that active pursuit of the Government's objectives.