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.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “You express ‘disappointment’ when someone forgets your birthday, not when a nation ignores a binding legal action you won against them that cost the Australian taxpayer at least $20 million.

“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.

“Consumers in Australia have the right to know where their seafood comes from. We need to be able to have confidence that as consumers we aren’t perpetuating horrendous working conditions or environmental degradation across the region.

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.

“Japan is not listening to diplomatic whispers from Australia over whaling; it is time to pressure them with something that will make them think twice.

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.

“Senior Australian politicians from the Prime Minister down have gone out of their way to avoid raising the concerns of the Australian people with the Japanese leadership about 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. Senator Whish-Wilson said that the judgement against whaling in Australia’s Antarctic whale sanctuary leaves the Liberal government with no choice but to end their ongoing silence on the issue at the highest diplomatic levels.

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.

“The Senate has supported my motion explicitly calling on the Government to reinstate Australia’s system of marine reserves.

“At the moment the Government is ‘reviewing’ our marine protected areas, despite the fact they were implemented under the previous Government after decades of work.

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

“This highlights yet again the importance of ensuring that we protect areas of our marine environments, protecting areas from other impacts helps ensure they are more resilient and gives our reefs a fighting chance.

“We have unique marine species found nowhere else in the world, but right around the country, our oceans are under threat.

 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.

 “It is great to see Middleton beach has been offered $200,000 in part funding to install a shark barrier enclosure for 2015/16.

 “More and more we are seeing a far more logical and measured approach to reducing human-shark encounters with non-lethal measures.