A bill to ensure that if future whaling occurs in Australia's whale sanctuaries - either off Australia or Antarctica - a policing vessel is on the scene has been sent to the Opposition.

The Bill is simple amendment to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act which inserts a new section:

Schedule 1-Amendment of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

1.     After section 236

Insert:

236A  Monitoring foreign whaling vessels

A bill to ensure that if future whaling occurs in Australia's whale sanctuaries - either off Australia or Antarctica - a policing vessel is on the scene has been sent to the Opposition.

The Bill is simple amendment to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act which inserts a new section:

Schedule 1-Amendment of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

1.     After section 236

Insert:

236A  Monitoring foreign whaling vessels

Early this morning the Japanese harpoon ship Yushin Maru III was holding fast in Australia’s World Heritage Area and territorial waters off Macquarie Island.  This is despite a call from Australia to have the ship exit our territory.

The ship is breaking Australian law which prohibits the entry of such vessels into our exclusive economic zone as well as territorial waters.

“At this stage a naval vessel should be dispatched to the Macquarie Island World Heritage Area to assert Australian law,” Senator Brown said.

Australian Greens Leader Senator Bob Brown speaks to the media about the Japanese whaling vessel entering Australian waters and World Heritage area and calls on the government to send a naval vessel to the area. He also talks about his suspension of regular talks with the Prime Minister in response to the dishonouring of the Tasmanian forests agreement which was supposed to immediately protect 430,000ha of high conservation value forest but instead has seen logging continue.

Australian Greens Leader Senator Bob Brown says that the Japanese whaling ship Yushin Maru III, with harpoon up front, is now inside Australian territorial waters and the World Heritage area of the subantarctic Macquarie Island. 

The Gillard government’s failure to do anything at all about this summer’s illegal Japanese whaling in Australia’s Antarctic waters leaves the Prime Minister’s admonition of three whaling activists looking insipid.

It’s a good thing that the Southern Ocean patrol ship ‘Ocean Protector’ is going to pick these three brave Australians off the Shonan Maru II, but the ship should then be allowed to live up to its name and move on to the Antarctic whaling arena.

Australian Greens Leader Senator Bob Brown spoke to the media about the three Western Australian activists aboard the Shonan Maru II whaling ship, and the Gillard government's failure to prevent the Japanese fleet from conducting whaling operations in the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary.

The Gillard government’s failure to do anything at all about this summer’s illegal Japanese whaling in Australia’s Antarctic waters leaves the Prime Minister’s admonition of three whaling activists looking insipid, Australian Greens Leader Senator Bob Brown said in Hobart today.

“It’s a good thing that the Southern Ocean patrol ship ‘Ocean Protector’ is going to pick these three brave Australians off the Shonan Maru II, but the ship should then be allowed to live up to its name and move on to the Antarctic whaling arena.  

Australian Greens Leader Senator Bob Brown has welcomed the $820000 Commonwealth Grant to get rid of introduced predatory carp from Tasmania’s Lake Sorell.

“It’s great news. The experts working on carp eradication are devoted beyond the call of duty and are world leaders in protecting native eco-systems from such pest invasions.

“They have a really good strategy to get rid of the carp which would otherwise spread throughout Tasmania’s river and lake systems. 

Australian Greens Leader Senator Bob Brown says the Greens will bring a bill into parliament requiring a patrol vessel to be sent to monitor any whaling activity in Australian waters or whale sanctuaries.