Whale hunt response lame

You really have to wonder just what the government is playing at with its supposed response to the Japanese whale hunt in the Antarctic.

The plan seemed positive. To monitor and put pressure on the Japanese. They had a vessel on standby in Fremantle for weeks. But nothing happened … until yesterday. The ship left its berth, bound for … the Garden Island navy base, just 20 or so kilometres away.

Greenpeace reckons by the time the ship gets to the Antarctic the whales will have been slaughtered.

The government’s PR response was pathetic. Three ministers (yes, three) issued a joint statement, which said there was plenty of time to conduct the operation.

Greens senator Rachel Siewert said it was just “hollow rhetoric”. Couldn’t have put it better. Hollow rhetoric is even better than just rhetoric (which these days is generally is taken to mean spin).

Let’s hope this federal lot don’t follow the path of their NSW Labor colleagues, who mostly do nothing about anything.

This blog also appears at http://www.prlab.com.au