❓ The Premier expresses strong concerns about Japan resuming humpback whaling, highlighting the economic benefits of whale watching in WA and urging continued pressure on Japan. He also digresses to address unrelated parliamentary conduct.
AnsweredQoN 296Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WHALING
Will the Premier outline to the house his concerns about Japan’s decision to resume the barbaric practice of whaling humpbacks? Mr A.J. CARPENTER
Will the Premier outline to the house his concerns about Japan’s decision to resume the barbaric practice of whaling humpbacks? Mr A.J. CARPENTER
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Albany for his question. I understand his concern given what has developed. The growing whale-watching industry that is of benefit to Albany is under stress because of the International Whaling Commission’s decision to allow Japan to hunt and kill humpback whales in the world’s southern waters. That decision is wrong and should have never been made. It will deliver bad outcomes for Western Australia. To the great benefit of our community, particularly Albany, Western Australia converted itself from a whale-hunting state to a whale-watching state. Australia strongly opposed the move to allow Japan to hunt and kill humpback whales. I congratulate former federal environment minister and recently retired senator Ian Campbell for his efforts to prevent this outcome. He campaigned tirelessly to stop this development and to stop whaling. I applaud his efforts and wish him well in his retirement from politics. The whaling of humpbacks in the Southern Hemisphere was banned in 1963. That ban should not have been lifted. I totally reject the notion that whaling is necessary for scientific purposes. That is a great fallacy; everyone around the world bar the Japanese whalers and the Japanese government acknowledge that it is a fallacy. Whale watching is now a major ecotourism industry in our state, and it should not be threatened. The value of whale watching to Western Australia is interesting. There are 110 licensed whale-watching tour operators in Western Australia. The value of that activity is estimated to be about $50 million a year. A reduction in whale watching will have a serious impact on the livelihood of tour operators and on the enjoyment of visitors who undertake that experience every year. I divert for a moment from humpback whales to whale sharks. The same principle applies to whale sharks. Western Australia is the only state in Australia in which, due to the numbers of whale sharks and the regularity of their visits, the whale shark tourist industry has developed. There are 15 licensed whale shark tour operators in Western Australia. The industry sector is estimated to be worth in the order of $10 million each year. A reduction in the number of whale sharks will have a serious impact on the livelihood of tour operators and on the enjoyment of visitors who swim with those gentle giants every year. Whale sharks are a key feature of one of Western Australia’s iconic tourism experiences and its marine environment. They are heavily promoted in print and television advertising campaigns. Whale sharks, like humpback whales, are now under threat. Western Australia has come a long way since the 1970s when the last whaling station in Albany was closed. I urge the Western Australian public and the federal government to continue to take an interest in this matter. I urge the international community to continue to apply pressure on Japan. The past week has seen the beginning of the whale-spotting season in the south west. Humpback whales and whale sharks are a magnificent sight and we should do everything we can to protect them. Before I resume my seat, I urge the member for Vasse to get to his feet as soon as question time is over to apologise to the member for Bassendean. What the member for Vasse did last week was totally out of order. The member has made a terrible mistake and he should get to his feet and apologise. It is one thing to make those sorts of accusations, which the member has done in this Parliament. He should not have done it. The accusations have proven to be false. The member has a responsibility to get to his feet and apologise. When the allegations were made, they were aired on television and covered in the newspapers. The member for Bassendean was put in a seriously disadvantageous position. Now that he has been able to explain - Point of Order Dr S.C. THOMAS : Standing order 78 states that an answer must be relevant to the question. I ask that the Premier be directed to that standing order. The SPEAKER : The standing order does state that the answer should be relevant. The Premier is just about to finish his comments. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I thank the Speaker for that indulgence. The member should stand and apologise. He has done the wrong thing. He should make sure that opportunity is maximised for reparation of the damage that he sought to inflict last week.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the member for Albany for his question. I understand his concern given what has developed. The growing whale-watching industry that is of benefit to Albany is under stress because of the International Whaling Commission’s decision to allow Japan to hunt and kill humpback whales in the world’s southern waters. That decision is wrong and should have never been made. It will deliver bad outcomes for Western Australia. To the great benefit of our community, particularly Albany, Western Australia converted itself from a whale-hunting state to a whale-watching state. Australia strongly opposed the move to allow Japan to hunt and kill humpback whales. I congratulate former federal environment minister and recently retired senator Ian Campbell for his efforts to prevent this outcome. He campaigned tirelessly to stop this development and to stop whaling. I applaud his efforts and wish him well in his retirement from politics. The whaling of humpbacks in the Southern Hemisphere was banned in 1963. That ban should not have been lifted. I totally reject the notion that whaling is necessary for scientific purposes. That is a great fallacy; everyone around the world bar the Japanese whalers and the Japanese government acknowledge that it is a fallacy. Whale watching is now a major ecotourism industry in our state, and it should not be threatened. The value of whale watching to Western Australia is interesting. There are 110 licensed whale-watching tour operators in Western Australia. The value of that activity is estimated to be about $50 million a year. A reduction in whale watching will have a serious impact on the livelihood of tour operators and on the enjoyment of visitors who undertake that experience every year. I divert for a moment from humpback whales to whale sharks. The same principle applies to whale sharks. Western Australia is the only state in Australia in which, due to the numbers of whale sharks and the regularity of their visits, the whale shark tourist industry has developed. There are 15 licensed whale shark tour operators in Western Australia. The industry sector is estimated to be worth in the order of $10 million each year. A reduction in the number of whale sharks will have a serious impact on the livelihood of tour operators and on the enjoyment of visitors who swim with those gentle giants every year. Whale sharks are a key feature of one of Western Australia’s iconic tourism experiences and its marine environment. They are heavily promoted in print and television advertising campaigns. Whale sharks, like humpback whales, are now under threat. Western Australia has come a long way since the 1970s when the last whaling station in Albany was closed. I urge the Western Australian public and the federal government to continue to take an interest in this matter. I urge the international community to continue to apply pressure on Japan. The past week has seen the beginning of the whale-spotting season in the south west. Humpback whales and whale sharks are a magnificent sight and we should do everything we can to protect them. Before I resume my seat, I urge the member for Vasse to get to his feet as soon as question time is over to apologise to the member for Bassendean. What the member for Vasse did last week was totally out of order. The member has made a terrible mistake and he should get to his feet and apologise. It is one thing to make those sorts of accusations, which the member has done in this Parliament. He should not have done it. The accusations have proven to be false. The member has a responsibility to get to his feet and apologise. When the allegations were made, they were aired on television and covered in the newspapers. The member for Bassendean was put in a seriously disadvantageous position. Now that he has been able to explain - Point of Order Dr S.C. THOMAS : Standing order 78 states that an answer must be relevant to the question. I ask that the Premier be directed to that standing order. The SPEAKER : The standing order does state that the answer should be relevant. The Premier is just about to finish his comments. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I thank the Speaker for that indulgence. The member should stand and apologise. He has done the wrong thing. He should make sure that opportunity is maximised for reparation of the damage that he sought to inflict last week.
I thank the member for Albany for his question. I understand his concern given what has developed. The growing whale-watching industry that is of benefit to Albany is under stress because of the International Whaling Commission’s decision to allow Japan to hunt and kill humpback whales in the world’s southern waters. That decision is wrong and should have never been made. It will deliver bad outcomes for Western Australia. To the great benefit of our community, particularly Albany, Western Australia converted itself from a whale-hunting state to a whale-watching state. Australia strongly opposed the move to allow Japan to hunt and kill humpback whales. I congratulate former federal environment minister and recently retired senator Ian Campbell for his efforts to prevent this outcome. He campaigned tirelessly to stop this development and to stop whaling. I applaud his efforts and wish him well in his retirement from politics. The whaling of humpbacks in the Southern Hemisphere was banned in 1963. That ban should not have been lifted. I totally reject the notion that whaling is necessary for scientific purposes. That is a great fallacy; everyone around the world bar the Japanese whalers and the Japanese government acknowledge that it is a fallacy. Whale watching is now a major ecotourism industry in our state, and it should not be threatened. The value of whale watching to Western Australia is interesting. There are 110 licensed whale-watching tour operators in Western Australia. The value of that activity is estimated to be about $50 million a year. A reduction in whale watching will have a serious impact on the livelihood of tour operators and on the enjoyment of visitors who undertake that experience every year. I divert for a moment from humpback whales to whale sharks. The same principle applies to whale sharks. Western Australia is the only state in Australia in which, due to the numbers of whale sharks and the regularity of their visits, the whale shark tourist industry has developed. There are 15 licensed whale shark tour operators in Western Australia. The industry sector is estimated to be worth in the order of $10 million each year. A reduction in the number of whale sharks will have a serious impact on the livelihood of tour operators and on the enjoyment of visitors who swim with those gentle giants every year. Whale sharks are a key feature of one of Western Australia’s iconic tourism experiences and its marine environment. They are heavily promoted in print and television advertising campaigns. Whale sharks, like humpback whales, are now under threat. Western Australia has come a long way since the 1970s when the last whaling station in Albany was closed. I urge the Western Australian public and the federal government to continue to take an interest in this matter. I urge the international community to continue to apply pressure on Japan. The past week has seen the beginning of the whale-spotting season in the south west. Humpback whales and whale sharks are a magnificent sight and we should do everything we can to protect them. Before I resume my seat, I urge the member for Vasse to get to his feet as soon as question time is over to apologise to the member for Bassendean. What the member for Vasse did last week was totally out of order. The member has made a terrible mistake and he should get to his feet and apologise. It is one thing to make those sorts of accusations, which the member has done in this Parliament. He should not have done it. The accusations have proven to be false. The member has a responsibility to get to his feet and apologise. When the allegations were made, they were aired on television and covered in the newspapers. The member for Bassendean was put in a seriously disadvantageous position. Now that he has been able to explain - Point of Order Dr S.C. THOMAS : Standing order 78 states that an answer must be relevant to the question. I ask that the Premier be directed to that standing order. The SPEAKER : The standing order does state that the answer should be relevant. The Premier is just about to finish his comments. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I thank the Speaker for that indulgence. The member should stand and apologise. He has done the wrong thing. He should make sure that opportunity is maximised for reparation of the damage that he sought to inflict last week.
Before I resume my seat, I urge the member for Vasse to get to his feet as soon as question time is over to apologise to the member for Bassendean. What the member for Vasse did last week was totally out of order. The member has made a terrible mistake and he should get to his feet and apologise. It is one thing to make those sorts of accusations, which the member has done in this Parliament. He should not have done it. The accusations have proven to be false. The member has a responsibility to get to his feet and apologise. When the allegations were made, they were aired on television and covered in the newspapers. The member for Bassendean was put in a seriously disadvantageous position. Now that he has been able to explain - Point of Order Dr S.C. THOMAS : Standing order 78 states that an answer must be relevant to the question. I ask that the Premier be directed to that standing order. The SPEAKER : The standing order does state that the answer should be relevant. The Premier is just about to finish his comments. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I thank the Speaker for that indulgence. The member should stand and apologise. He has done the wrong thing. He should make sure that opportunity is maximised for reparation of the damage that he sought to inflict last week.
When the allegations were made, they were aired on television and covered in the newspapers. The member for Bassendean was put in a seriously disadvantageous position. Now that he has been able to explain - Point of Order Dr S.C. THOMAS : Standing order 78 states that an answer must be relevant to the question. I ask that the Premier be directed to that standing order. The SPEAKER : The standing order does state that the answer should be relevant. The Premier is just about to finish his comments. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I thank the Speaker for that indulgence. The member should stand and apologise. He has done the wrong thing. He should make sure that opportunity is maximised for reparation of the damage that he sought to inflict last week.
The SPEAKER : The standing order does state that the answer should be relevant. The Premier is just about to finish his comments. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I thank the Speaker for that indulgence. The member should stand and apologise. He has done the wrong thing. He should make sure that opportunity is maximised for reparation of the damage that he sought to inflict last week.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the member for Albany for his question. I understand his concern given what has developed. The growing whale-watching industry that is of benefit to Albany is under stress because of the International Whaling Commission’s decision to allow Japan to hunt and kill humpback whales in the world’s southern waters. That decision is wrong and should have never been made. It will deliver bad outcomes for Western Australia. To the great benefit of our community, particularly Albany, Western Australia converted itself from a whale-hunting state to a whale-watching state. Australia strongly opposed the move to allow Japan to hunt and kill humpback whales. I congratulate former federal environment minister and recently retired senator Ian Campbell for his efforts to prevent this outcome. He campaigned tirelessly to stop this development and to stop whaling. I applaud his efforts and wish him well in his retirement from politics. The whaling of humpbacks in the Southern Hemisphere was banned in 1963. That ban should not have been lifted. I totally reject the notion that whaling is necessary for scientific purposes. That is a great fallacy; everyone around the world bar the Japanese whalers and the Japanese government acknowledge that it is a fallacy. Whale watching is now a major ecotourism industry in our state, and it should not be threatened. The value of whale watching to Western Australia is interesting. There are 110 licensed whale-watching tour operators in Western Australia. The value of that activity is estimated to be about $50 million a year. A reduction in whale watching will have a serious impact on the livelihood of tour operators and on the enjoyment of visitors who undertake that experience every year. I divert for a moment from humpback whales to whale sharks. The same principle applies to whale sharks. Western Australia is the only state in Australia in which, due to the numbers of whale sharks and the regularity of their visits, the whale shark tourist industry has developed. There are 15 licensed whale shark tour operators in Western Australia. The industry sector is estimated to be worth in the order of $10 million each year. A reduction in the number of whale sharks will have a serious impact on the livelihood of tour operators and on the enjoyment of visitors who swim with those gentle giants every year. Whale sharks are a key feature of one of Western Australia’s iconic tourism experiences and its marine environment. They are heavily promoted in print and television advertising campaigns. Whale sharks, like humpback whales, are now under threat. Western Australia has come a long way since the 1970s when the last whaling station in Albany was closed. I urge the Western Australian public and the federal government to continue to take an interest in this matter. I urge the international community to continue to apply pressure on Japan. The past week has seen the beginning of the whale-spotting season in the south west. Humpback whales and whale sharks are a magnificent sight and we should do everything we can to protect them. Before I resume my seat, I urge the member for Vasse to get to his feet as soon as question time is over to apologise to the member for Bassendean. What the member for Vasse did last week was totally out of order. The member has made a terrible mistake and he should get to his feet and apologise. It is one thing to make those sorts of accusations, which the member has done in this Parliament. He should not have done it. The accusations have proven to be false. The member has a responsibility to get to his feet and apologise. When the allegations were made, they were aired on television and covered in the newspapers. The member for Bassendean was put in a seriously disadvantageous position. Now that he has been able to explain - Point of Order Dr S.C. THOMAS : Standing order 78 states that an answer must be relevant to the question. I ask that the Premier be directed to that standing order. The SPEAKER : The standing order does state that the answer should be relevant. The Premier is just about to finish his comments. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I thank the Speaker for that indulgence. The member should stand and apologise. He has done the wrong thing. He should make sure that opportunity is maximised for reparation of the damage that he sought to inflict last week.
I thank the member for Albany for his question. I understand his concern given what has developed. The growing whale-watching industry that is of benefit to Albany is under stress because of the International Whaling Commission’s decision to allow Japan to hunt and kill humpback whales in the world’s southern waters. That decision is wrong and should have never been made. It will deliver bad outcomes for Western Australia. To the great benefit of our community, particularly Albany, Western Australia converted itself from a whale-hunting state to a whale-watching state. Australia strongly opposed the move to allow Japan to hunt and kill humpback whales. I congratulate former federal environment minister and recently retired senator Ian Campbell for his efforts to prevent this outcome. He campaigned tirelessly to stop this development and to stop whaling. I applaud his efforts and wish him well in his retirement from politics. The whaling of humpbacks in the Southern Hemisphere was banned in 1963. That ban should not have been lifted. I totally reject the notion that whaling is necessary for scientific purposes. That is a great fallacy; everyone around the world bar the Japanese whalers and the Japanese government acknowledge that it is a fallacy. Whale watching is now a major ecotourism industry in our state, and it should not be threatened. The value of whale watching to Western Australia is interesting. There are 110 licensed whale-watching tour operators in Western Australia. The value of that activity is estimated to be about $50 million a year. A reduction in whale watching will have a serious impact on the livelihood of tour operators and on the enjoyment of visitors who undertake that experience every year. I divert for a moment from humpback whales to whale sharks. The same principle applies to whale sharks. Western Australia is the only state in Australia in which, due to the numbers of whale sharks and the regularity of their visits, the whale shark tourist industry has developed. There are 15 licensed whale shark tour operators in Western Australia. The industry sector is estimated to be worth in the order of $10 million each year. A reduction in the number of whale sharks will have a serious impact on the livelihood of tour operators and on the enjoyment of visitors who swim with those gentle giants every year. Whale sharks are a key feature of one of Western Australia’s iconic tourism experiences and its marine environment. They are heavily promoted in print and television advertising campaigns. Whale sharks, like humpback whales, are now under threat. Western Australia has come a long way since the 1970s when the last whaling station in Albany was closed. I urge the Western Australian public and the federal government to continue to take an interest in this matter. I urge the international community to continue to apply pressure on Japan. The past week has seen the beginning of the whale-spotting season in the south west. Humpback whales and whale sharks are a magnificent sight and we should do everything we can to protect them. Before I resume my seat, I urge the member for Vasse to get to his feet as soon as question time is over to apologise to the member for Bassendean. What the member for Vasse did last week was totally out of order. The member has made a terrible mistake and he should get to his feet and apologise. It is one thing to make those sorts of accusations, which the member has done in this Parliament. He should not have done it. The accusations have proven to be false. The member has a responsibility to get to his feet and apologise. When the allegations were made, they were aired on television and covered in the newspapers. The member for Bassendean was put in a seriously disadvantageous position. Now that he has been able to explain - Point of Order Dr S.C. THOMAS : Standing order 78 states that an answer must be relevant to the question. I ask that the Premier be directed to that standing order. The SPEAKER : The standing order does state that the answer should be relevant. The Premier is just about to finish his comments. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I thank the Speaker for that indulgence. The member should stand and apologise. He has done the wrong thing. He should make sure that opportunity is maximised for reparation of the damage that he sought to inflict last week.
Before I resume my seat, I urge the member for Vasse to get to his feet as soon as question time is over to apologise to the member for Bassendean. What the member for Vasse did last week was totally out of order. The member has made a terrible mistake and he should get to his feet and apologise. It is one thing to make those sorts of accusations, which the member has done in this Parliament. He should not have done it. The accusations have proven to be false. The member has a responsibility to get to his feet and apologise. When the allegations were made, they were aired on television and covered in the newspapers. The member for Bassendean was put in a seriously disadvantageous position. Now that he has been able to explain - Point of Order Dr S.C. THOMAS : Standing order 78 states that an answer must be relevant to the question. I ask that the Premier be directed to that standing order. The SPEAKER : The standing order does state that the answer should be relevant. The Premier is just about to finish his comments. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I thank the Speaker for that indulgence. The member should stand and apologise. He has done the wrong thing. He should make sure that opportunity is maximised for reparation of the damage that he sought to inflict last week.
When the allegations were made, they were aired on television and covered in the newspapers. The member for Bassendean was put in a seriously disadvantageous position. Now that he has been able to explain - Point of Order Dr S.C. THOMAS : Standing order 78 states that an answer must be relevant to the question. I ask that the Premier be directed to that standing order. The SPEAKER : The standing order does state that the answer should be relevant. The Premier is just about to finish his comments. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I thank the Speaker for that indulgence. The member should stand and apologise. He has done the wrong thing. He should make sure that opportunity is maximised for reparation of the damage that he sought to inflict last week.
The SPEAKER : The standing order does state that the answer should be relevant. The Premier is just about to finish his comments. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I thank the Speaker for that indulgence. The member should stand and apologise. He has done the wrong thing. He should make sure that opportunity is maximised for reparation of the damage that he sought to inflict last week.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.