Greens spokesperson for Whaling, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson says that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s vague mention of his ‘disappointment’ at Japan’s insistence on re-starting whaling in the Southern Ocean is the weakest position an Australian Prime Minister has taken on the issue in a generation.

“Reports of slave labour sourced prawns being sold in Australian supermarkets is deeply disturbing and reinforces the need for better seafood labelling laws in Australia,” said Greens spokesperson for Consumer Affairs and Fisheries, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson.

Greens spokesperson for whaling, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, said, “The Liberal Government must remove Japan from the list of eligible bidders for the twenty billion dollar plus submarine contract while the Japanese government continues to snub Australia and the world in continuing its illegal whaling in the Southern Ocean.

Greens spokesperson for Whaling, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson is calling on the Australian Government to immediately condemn Japan for their decision to recommence whaling in the Southern Ocean this Summer.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “No Australian Government in a generation has been so silent and so passive in providing supposed opposition to whaling.

This evening the Senate failed to disallow regulations that had lifted a ban on night fishing by the factory-freezer vessel Geelong Star by a single vote. A tied vote, 31 for and 31 against, means the disallowance motion to reinstate the night-fishing ban was unsuccessful. The Geelong Star courted controversy earlier in the year when it caught and killed 9 dolphins.

Greens spokesperson for Whaling, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, congratulates the Humane Society International for their successful legal action against the Japanese whaling company, Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha, in the Federal Court yesterday.

Australian Greens Senator Rachel Siewert has welcomed Senate support for her motion calling on the Government to reinstate Australia’s world-leading system of marine reserves, noting that Australia has some of the world‘s greatest marine natural resources with rich biodiversity.

“It is very concerning to learn that rising sea temperatures driven by El Nino are threatening coral reefs off the Kimberley coast.

 Australian Greens Senator Rachel Siewert has welcomed part State Government funding for a shark barrier enclosure at Middleton Beach in Albany and has urged the City of Albany to consider a barrier that offers safety to swimmers without compromising the environment.