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CNN World Report
Conflicts in Australia and New Zealand Over Environment
Aired May 20, 2001 - 14:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SHIHAB RATTANSI, CNN ANCHOR: Governments and environmentalists are not seeing eye-to-eye in the South Pacific. Authorities in New Zealand and Australia have approved a plan for marine research in their respective waters. But not everyone likes the idea, and the resolution satisfactory to both sides seems elusive.
We have two reports, starting with New Zealand TVNZ.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON EDE, TVNZ CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every year, thousands of tourists flock to Kaikoura for a glimpse of these breathtaking mammals. Now the New Zealand government has given the green light to two Japanese whalers to observe the mammals in their waters.
MARIAN HOBBS, ENVIRONMENT MINISTER: The endgame is we want to protect the whale. Therefore, to protect the whale, rather like any of our own birds in this country, to protect the kiwi, you need to know how many there are, where they live, how they move.
EDE: The involvement of the Japanese in whaling is usually associated with things like these, which have caused international outrage. But the government is adamant the vessels arriving in local waters from Saturday will keep their distance.
HOBBS: They're just following the animals, following them at a distance, following them with at no-wake speed. This is not harassing the animals.
SIR TIPENE O'REGAN, WHALE WATCH DIRECTOR: I'm just delighted that the government is overcoming some of the rather silly rhetoric and concentrating on high-quality research on marine mammal populations.
EDE: Previous research expeditions have been questioned by whale campaigners, but the presence of an international team of scientists, led by a kiwi, have satisfied even the harshest of critics.
SARAH DUTHIE, GREENPEACE: It's unfortunate that they are using these whaling vessels from Japan, but the research itself is designed to be non-lethal.
EDE: The research is not confined to local waters. Whales will be subject to more invasive tests in the Antarctica.
HOBBS: That non-lethal research is blowing a dart and taking off something about the size of half a fingernail, which gives them DNA information about the age of the whales.
EDE (on camera): Marianne Hobbs says it's the first time the government has been approached to work with Japanese researchers, and she can't rule out the possibility of more joint efforts in the future.
(voice-over): From Television New Zealand, I'm Jason Ede, reporting for the CNN WORLD REPORT.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELODY HARREL, 10 NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Three years ago, a section of the Great Australian Bight was declared a marine park to protect the breeding grounds of endangered southern right whales and Australian sea lions, but the area also contains another natural treasure, oil. The Western Australian Mining Consortium has began seismic testing in areas of the park designated to protect bottom- dwelling marine life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It flies in the face of what the public assumes a park is for. I mean, what have now is nothing more than a park on paper. It's a paper park.
HARREL: Conservationists also claim that the federal government did not commission any environmental impact statements on the area before it gave permission to the mining company to begin testing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We provided really scientifically rigorous advice to indicate that there was likely to be an impact from seismic testing on blue whales, sperm whales and the really rare big (ph) whales. It was completely disregarded.
HARREL: But the federal government says there is no evidence that marine life has been effected.
ROBERT HILL, ENVIRONMENT MINISTER: We applied certain conditions which we believe have the effect that there can be no threat to marine life.
HARREL: This first round of testing will be finalized by the time southern right whales arrive in May, but conservationists fear the damage to other species could already be done.
Melody Harrel (ph), 10 News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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