Q+A Tomorrow

June 19th, 2010 at 6:37 pm by David Farrar

Guyon Espiner interviews Sir Geoffrey Palmer at the International Whaling Commission conference in Agadir. It’s crunch time for the IWC as negotiations go long into the night – can they do a deal to allow limited commercial whaling? Will that save more whales? Or will it open the door and betray years of conservation efforts?

Guyon also talks to Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson. Is the foreshore and seabed deal done this week an end to the controversy or just the end of the beginning? How will the new law work and how will it affect us all?

Paul Holmes interviews newly promoted MPs Grant Roberston and Charles Chauvel.  Can they help the party re-connect with voters? Has Labour put the spending scandal behind it with its new blood?

Dr Therese Arseneau is joined by Tainui Chair and former MP Tuku Morgan and Unite General Secretary and columnist Matt McCarten on the panel.

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11 Responses to “Q+A Tomorrow”

  1. krazykiwi (9,188) Says:

    I have no problem with whale harvesting, so long as stocks are maintained. I have a big problem with ‘over-whaling’ just as I do with over-fishing.

    Does anyone know how much of the opposition to whaling is absolute, and how much is directed a preserving species confirmed as limited, or worse endangered?

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  2. krazykiwi (9,188) Says:

    And speaking of Wale harvesting… Go the All Blacks

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  3. RKBee (1,344) Says:

    There needs to be a world body on fishing sustainabilty of all species that all countries have to abide by.

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  4. pq (728) Says:

    Farrar naively repeats in post above :

    ” Guyon also talks to Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson. Is the foreshore and seabed deal done this week an end to the controversy or just the end of the beginning? How will the new law work and how will it affect us all

    It will Farrar, it will affect us all, Maori have no limitation on the insane opinion that they own New Zealand.
    and Maori do not own New Zealand we do.
    and we vote

    peterquixote

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  5. Inventory2 (8,890) Says:

    As far as the funding scandal goes, I’ve heard a rumour that the Sunday Star-Times will be mandatory reading tomorrow …

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  6. david@tokyo (250) Says:

    krazykiwi, me too. I personally guess that most New Zealanders that are opposed to whaling are opposed because they have been led to believe that “the whales are endangered” (e.g. no consideration of the species being harvested). Then you’ve got other folks who think that killing wild animals after they’ve lived a free life is worse than killing animals in controlled conditions after they’ve led a life in captivity, or that whales are too sexy for eating, etc etc.

    RKBee, most of the opposition to whaling is not based on sustainability grounds but other grounds such as “whales are special magnificent creatures and cows are not therefore whales are not for eating”, etc etc. The IWC has rules for setting sustainable catch limits, but the IWC has never implemented these rules over the past 16 years because the anti-whalers have hijacked the whaling commission. Hence nations like Norway use the sustainable catch limit rules to set their own catch limits unilaterally, and there’s no sign that their activities have no been sustainable in the years since they started doing so. Still the anti-whalers want them to stop anyway. It’s all BS and the anti-whalers clearly have no business in the IWC if they aren’t going to agree to sustainable catch limits, in the spirit of the convention to which they voluntarily decided to adhere to.

    If this crap keeps up there’s a chance that finally the patient Japanese will put the IWC out if it’s misery and just catch whales like Norway and Iceland do.

    And well done to the All Blacks for killing Wales tonight, Danny was on form.

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  7. david@tokyo (250) Says:

    One more thing… “can they do a deal to allow limited commercial whaling?”

    The IWC proposal is basically to say “let’s forget this stupid crap about commercial / scientific / aboriginal subsistence whaling, and let’s just call it all whaling”. The whales don’t give a hoot, and from a conservation perspective it’s meaningless too.

    Unfortunately this is about the only good thing about the IWC plan. I am 95% sure that this year’s meeting will end with no agreement, as usual :)

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  8. krazykiwi (9,188) Says:

    @IV2 – Any more insights?

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  9. Caroline Castle (15) Says:

    Robertson and Chauvel good on Q+A. Interestingly When Holmes asled the panel why David Shearer disn’t get foreign affairs someone said he hadn’t been round long enough. I don’t buy this. He’s well suited to the portfolio. Has far more experience in Foreign Affairs that Street. She’s a poor choice in comparison.

    National didn’t spout such nonsense when they made Steven Joyce a minister although he is a new MP.

    Goff made a balls up here.

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  10. backster (1,800) Says:

    Caro…Thanks for the feminine assessment , I thought TUKU was the most reasonable and logical speaker on the issues.

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  11. freethinker (593) Says:

    I agree backster, Tuku was pragmatic. With three on the left Holmes, McCarten & Tuku and Teresa only marginally to the right I look forward to Paul Henry hosting the show.

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