Surfpolitik Rudd's Whaling Doublethink

In: Surfpolitik by Stu Nettle 4 Comments Wed 24th Feb '10

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Stuart Nettle
February 24, 2010

I have to apologise for the continued non-surfing interlude. There just isn't much happening in the surf world for me to get worked up about. However, outrage and indignance is never far away so normal transmission will, as they say, resume shortly. But for the time being...

 

News this week from Kevin Rudd's Ministry of Truth:

1. Australia will take legal action against Japan if they don't cease whaling by the 1st November 2010.

2. Australia is part of an International Whaling Commission sub-group that is preparing a deal to remove the ban on commercial whaling

You needn't have read 1984 by George Orwell to understand the concept of doublethink. That being, to accept two mutually contradictory beliefs at the same time. The sentences above being excellent examples.

With those sentences, it appears that Kevin Rudd is engaging the public in his own piece of Orwellian doublethink. On Monday, after meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister, Katsuya Okada, Rudd announced he would take Tokyo to court unless they reduced their whale catch to zero.

"If that fails, then we will initiate that court action before the commencement of the whaling season in November 2010," said Rudd. In reply Okada called Rudd's threat of a legal stoush 'unfortunate' and reiterated that their whaling program is legal.

On Tuesday news broke that a sub-group of the IWC, consisting of ten nations (including Australia and Japan), have been drafting a proposal to reintroduce commercial whaling. If the plan were approved Japan would have no need of the 'scientific research' loophole and thus their program would gain a secure legal foothold.

Australia, supposedly, is set to reject the plan, though it's hard to avoid the perception of complicity, especially considering the secretive nature of the plan.

This however, isn't the issue that excites us Orwell fans.

The IWC sub-group has been drafting the plan since last October and Kevin Rudd must've known of it's existence.

On Monday came news of legal action to stop whaling.
On Tuesday news that we are part of a group that will allow it to continue.

It does make you think twice about the politics of whaling.