Editorial: NZ Govt must send in a ship

OPINION: After rammings and one sinking of anti-whaling protest ships in the Southern Ocean, it is difficult to see how the New Zealand Government can continue to take a Pontius Pilate approach to what is happening on the frontline of the whaling war.

In January the New Zealand protest ship Ady Gil collided with a Japanese vessel and later sank, and over the weekend another Sea Shepherd ship and a Japanese vessel collided, leaving a hole in the protest ship above its waterline.

The anti-whaling protesters are not only a thorn in the side of the Japanese, but a big pain for the New Zealand and Australian governments as well. They have to balance their duty to uphold the rights of their citizens and keep order in their territorial waters, and avoid upsetting the Japanese, an important trading partner.

Both New Zealand and Australia are implacably opposed to whaling, but have to let the Japanese do the whaling "research" they are entitled to do. Whether the protesters – and indeed our Government – like it or not, the Japanese have a legal right to cull whales for research purposes in our back yard.

The Sea Shepherd protesters have every right to make their feelings clear and protest, within the rule of law.

Just who rammed who in both these cases is a moot point, but what is really important is making sure that the incidents do not escalate into something much more serious, which is clearly happening.

Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully washed his hands of the issue when the Ady Gill was sunk, effectively blaming the protesters for the actions. The Ady Gil was a New Zealand-flagged vessel with Kiwis aboard. His view was that if New Zealanders were determined to break the law and put lives at risk on the high seas, it was their lookout.

After the latest collision Mr McCully has pointed out that the protest vessel involved, the Bob Barker, was not a New Zealand-flagged vessel so there was little the Government could do. At least he is consistent in one respect – doing very little. The Australian government has called for restraint since the collision and Australian Customs and Fisheries patrol ship Oceanic Viking is understood to be in the region.

The New Zealand Government is opposed to whaling. It is also a Government that supports the rights of its people. It is time the Government sent a suitable vessel to shadow the fleet.

Such a move could not be interpreted by the Japanese as in any way inflammatory. It is just a sensible thing to do given the pristine nature of the Southern Ocean and the growing potential for loss of life. At the very least it would shoot down suspicions that the New Zealand Government had taken a weak stance on the issue.

- © Fairfax NZ News