Wikileaks! ... Spy Planes! ... You Beauty!

It is so hard being an idealist in this world. I  once adored the man "who dances like a broom", (thanks Seashell) who sang songs of nuclear disarmament and treaties. Suddenly I am a groan up. The tooth fairy was extorting me for the teeth I forgot to leave in a glass of water, Santa thought I deserved puppy poo on the fireplace rug and Peter Garrett, the Environment Minister was soothing us rabble with platitudes about ending Antarctic whaling while he tried the "okay, but just put it in a little bit" line with the International Whaling Commission.

Tooth Fairy, Santa and Peter Garrett aside, (and this is a slight digression but bear with me) there is another man who manages to blunt every nasty needle taken to an idealist's balloon. (Now, how was that for a mangled metaphor? I've outdone even myself.) I met this man in a field surrounded in Karri trees, during the mid 1990's Forest Blockades. It was night time and all around me leapt other idealists of the same ilk; their bodies painted with ochre, their fire poi primed with kero in the long grass, awhoopin' and ahollerin' among the teepees and bonfires and naked babies and ladies.
A tall man in a green shirt stood beside me. "Hi, I'm Bob." He shook my hand.
"Well, of course you are Bob!" I was so blown away that Bob Brown needed to tell me his name that I completely forgot to tell him mine. Dammit.

So, this post is about Bob Brown, Wikileaks, spy planes and Peter Garrett. On New Year's Day and the next, Wikileaks released the embassy cables between Tokyo, Canberra and the ominously titled 'State' (I think that means the U.S.) discussing last year's IWC talks. Anyone who has been reading A WineDark Sea from this time last year will know I am particularly interested in last year's spy planes controversy. Japanese whalers, The Institute of Cetacean Research, hired public relations company Omeka Communications to hire Australian planes to find the whereabouts of the Sea Shepherd fleet. Some of these planes refuelled at my local airport. Once the Sea Shepherd protestors were spotted, the whalers were able to peacefully kill whales somewhere else without being chased, harrassed or having butter bombs thrown at them.

About this time last year, Bob Brown started agitating for an inquiry into the practice of the Japanese hiring Australian planes. " ... the Australian Government is doing nothing about it and is allowing Australian facilities to be used against the whale protesters."  He raised the point that if Australian ports were closed to Japanese whalers, then why are our airports open?
(www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/06/2786195.htm)

Albany airport workers reported a refuelling operation supported by "truckloads of cash." The Humane Society considered taking aviation companies who hired planes to the Japanese whalers to court. Once they had proved that the whalers were working inside the Australian Economic Exclusion Zone, it was possible that the aviation companies could be charged with aiding a criminal act.
The whole story seemed to fall to bits when the Ady Gil was rammed and sunk.

But maybe it didn't. The Wikileaks cables show that Tokyo, Canberra and the State were a bit alarmed with Bob Brown's calls for an inquiry into the spy planes. A month later at the meetings with the IWC, Garrett's take on the situation was "This is NOT good."
I'll cut and paste some relevant paragraphs of the cables below, with link on each number and reference identifications. It's interesting reading ...

Reference ID 10CANBERRA93 Created 2010/02/05

4. (C/NF) Garrett Chief of Staff David Williams told econoff

that the GOA could accept a compromise that delivers a much

Qthat the GOA could accept a compromise that delivers a much

lower level of whaling, but it has to be accompanied by

signals of commitment to address other key issues -

sustaining the commercial moratorium, keeping whaling out of

the southern sanctuary areas and Australian antarctic waters,

bringing all whaling under the control of the IWC, and

preventing future scientific whaling. Absent any signals on

these areas, Garrett and other political leaders will be

under consistent attack on a deal that only addresses

numbers, however low. Williams was careful to say that

Australia would not act precipitously and would signal its

intentions clearly. Pol-Econ Counselor and Econoff both

echoed Commissioner Medina's message (ref email) on the

importance of staying at the table to Dewar, Williams and

Watt.

CORAL TRIANGLE INITIATIVE

CANBERRA 00000093 002 OF 002

2. Garrett said

the negotiating process had largely ground to a halt, with no

"real" proposals on the table. He said legislation pending

in the Australian parliament (introduced by the Green Party

on February 4 to examine the role of "spy flights" in Japan's

planning for this year's whaling season) would strengthen

anti-whaling sentiment in Australia, making it difficult for

the government to accept the current proposals. Garrett said

the February 22 IWC Small Working Group briefings, which will

alert the NGO and global community to the state of

discussions, will be key for Australia's policy on the

negotiations.

Reference ID 09TOKYO2529  Created 2009/11/02 

¶2. (C) Yamada inquired about an investigation into the tax

status of the U.S.-based NGO Sea Shepherd Conservation

Society and repeated Japan's request for the U.S. to take

action against the organization, which he said created a very

dangerous situation on the seas. The DCM replied that the

U.S. places the highest priority on the safety of vessels and

human life at sea, and added that if any violations of U.S.

law are discovered, we will take appropriate enforcement

action. Morishita went on to say it would be easier for

Japan to make progress in the IWC negotiations if the U.S.

were to take action against the Sea Shepherd.

ROOS

Reference ID 09TOKYO2588   Created 2009/11/09

6. (C/NF) Turning to harassment of the Japanese whaling
fleet by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS),
Yamashita said the NGO's actions have kept the fleet from
reaching its quota the last few years. Yamashita said the
GOJ would come under pressure domestically if SSCS harassment
continues to keep Japanese whalers from filling their quota
after an agreement on reduced numbers is reached within the
IWC. EMIN said the USG is concerned about the safety of life
at sea and is looking at the activity of the SSCS.
ROOS

6.  ... Second, the violent protests by
the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) could limit the
GOJ's flexibility in the negotiations. He said the
Netherlands should have primary responsibly for taking action
against the SSCS, but he appreciates the USG initiative to
address the group's tax exempt status. He said action on the
SSCS would be a major element for Japan in the success of the
overall negotiations. Ms. Medina replied that she hopes to
work out differences with the EU on Greenland's proposal on
humpback whales prior to the March 2010 IWC intersessional
meeting and include the issue in the overall agreement.
Regarding the SSCS, she said she believes the USG can
demonstrate the group does not deserve tax exempt status
based on their aggressive and harmful actions.

¶7. (U) Ms. Medina cleared this cable subsequent to departing
Tokyo.ROOS