New Zealand PM faults Japan over Whaling Commission vote

Tuesday, June 20, 2006 

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark has accused Japan of creating a rift between Pacific Countries. She accuses Japan of influencing the voting of some member nations of the Pacific Island Forum at the International Whaling Commission by supplying vast amounts of aid to certain small pacific nations.

New Zealand provides a total of $23 million a year in aid to three of the six Pacific nations – Kiribati, the Solomons, and Tuvalu. Japan pledged approximately 45 billion yen (NZ $633 million) in aid for all Pacific nations. New Zealand's annual budget for aiding pacific nations on the other hand totals merely NZ $173 million.

Miss Clark is quoted as saying "One would hope that over time Japan might reflect on the damage this is doing to [its] relationships around the world" and that it "sprayed a lot of money around" to garner support.

The Prime Minister has ruled out any retaliation against the islands, saying it would not affect any future aid funding.

• "IWC passes pro-whaling resolution after close vote" — Wikinews, June 19, 2006
• "Japan to hunt 950 whales for "scientific research"" — Wikinews, November 21, 2005

• Haydon Dewes and Michael Field. "Japanese splitting Pacific, says PM" — The Dominion Post, June 20, 2006
• Peter Lewis. "NZ angry over Pacific islands' pro-whaling votes" — ABC News Online Australia, June 20, 2006
• "NZ opposition probes whaling link to aid" — National Nine News, June 20, 2006

• NZPA. "Pacific nations break anti-whaling promise" — NZPA, June 19, 2006
• Reuters. "Green groups call for renewed whaling battle" — Reuters, June 19, 2006
  

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This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable. Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication. Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators. Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections. Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.