Mission & Justice

13/8/08

After being hunted to the brink of extinction, humpback whales have bounced back so well that most are nearly clear of danger. This success for whales in a world of continuing species loss is also being claimed as a win by whalers, who advocate a renewed humpback kill. The shift came in the Red List of Threatened Species for Cetaceans released yesterday by IUCN, the World Conservation Union. Humpbacks have been reclassified from “vulnerable” to “least concern”, the lowest level of risk. Small stocks of the species in the South Pacific and Arabian Sea are still endangered. Other conservation wins include a similar downlisting of the southern right whale.

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Chris Johnson; 2/4/08

Kevin Rudd has selected Labor mate Sandy Hollway to be Australia’s first whaling envoy, ending a desperate five-month search for someone willing to confront Japan over its whale slaughter. An experienced diplomat and chief of staff to former prime minister Bob Hawke, Mr Hollway is known to most Australians as the face of the 2000 Sydney Olympics where he was head of the organising committee. He is also on good terms with Mr Rudd, appointed by the Prime Minister in March as chief mediator between Canberra and Port Moresby over the future of the Kokoda Trail.

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