after communicating the potential of utilising sister city relationships with japanese cities for many years [infact, before whale call started], to put pressure on japan for its atrocious whaling practices, it is pleasureable to see both Sea Shepherd and Rick OBarry putting pressure on further shire councils in australia to sever their ties with japanese cities - yesterday, broome council added their name to the list of councils in australia that have severed ties akready -

Broome has suspended the sister city relationship with Taiji until the dolphin slaughter stops!!

The shire of Broome called a special public meeting today to discuss the sister city relationship with Taiji.

Never before had the shire done this.

There had been calls in the press that Broome residents should not interfere with Taiji's slaughter because Australians would dismiss calls from the Japanese to stop culling kangaroos and that the Japanese don't come here telling us what to do.

In response to that, Director of The Cove, Louie Psihoyos stated that "the film is not just about the fact that they are killing dolphins - the people of Taiji and especially the mayor and his council are purposely and knowingly poisoning their own people as well. If kangaroos we're toxic and being served up to school children and unsuspecting consumers and their mercury laced organs put into fertilizer and pet food - then everyone in the world would be up in arms. But for the Japanese government to try to ignore the key issue demonstrates their lack of humanity towards man and animal. It's not about culture and tradition - it's about a crime against humanity when you know you are serving up poison."

The shire council had received thousands of emails and phone calls from Broome residents, the wider Australian community and abroad in support of suspending ties with Taiji in an effort to end the slaughter of 23,000 dolphins.
The result of the meeting was that the Broome shire has decided, that they can not fulfil their obligation as a sister town of Taiji whilst this barbaric practice continues.

This was a unanimous decision.

Broome is a hotspot for Dolphin and whale eco tours and would be willing to open the door to pass on knowledge to Taiji of how the Broome economy runs on this tourism aspect, providing the killing stops!

Councillor Peter Matsumoto, with close Taiji heritage, stood and spoke in support of Broome not being able to fulfil in its obligation as a sister city of Taiji.

Councillor Matsumoto brought himself to tears as he spoke about his heritage and the history of Broome with Taiji and the early pearling days.
However the emotion ran highest when Councillor Matsumoto spoke about the section in The Cove ,where there is a man talking about "children that are born with eyes that can not see and ears that can not hear".

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Miura gets its principle income from fishing --

any failure to protest from australian councils is becoming an accomplice before and after the fact

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YES - 83%
NO - 17%

Total Votes: 92

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 [ accepted]

I took the Poll.

Jacqueline

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 [ accepted]

THE mayor of Warrnambool's Japanese sister city says the issue of whaling is not one for local government.

However, the founder of a whale preservation group has accused Warrnambool City Council of hiding behind the line that whaling was a matter for Federal Government and not local councils.

The comments followed a call this week for Warrnambool councillors to use the visit of Miura Mayor Hideo Yoshida to protest against Japan's whaling.

Boris Branwhite, founder of international organisation Whale Call, said the Federal Government's Department of the Environment and Heritage urged Australian councils to write to their Japanese sister cities expressing their opposition
to whaling.

``One of the issues Whale Call has been working on is the sister-city relationship,'' Mr Branwhite said.

``The city of Grafton (in NSW) has just relinquished their sister-city relationship because of whaling.''

He said the NSW councils of Wyong, Port Macquarie and Newcastle had used their Japanese sister-city links to get the anti-whaling message across.

He urged Warrnambool City Council ``to seriously consider the view of the majority of residents in the Western world'' and raise the issue with Miura's council.

Miura Mayor Hideo Yoshida said no one had brought up the issue of whaling during his visit.

``It's not something that is a matter for local government (in Japan),'' Mr Yoshida said.

It is believed whaling has never been discussed in decade-long sister-city relationship between Warrnambool and Miura.

Warrnambool Mayor Glenys Phillpot said Warrnambool City Council had been approached in the past about discussing whaling with its sister city but had ``decided it was inappropriate''.

Cr Phillpot said the council wanted to preserve the positive partnership between the two cities.

Warrnambool city councillor David Atkinson said he did not know if Mr Yoshida would be shown the Logan's Beach whale nursery as part of his tour of Warrnambool.

http://the.standard.net.au/

take the poll on the sites home page please - show warrnambool council that the world cares

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the mayor --

gphi@sinclairwilson.com.au

cc to

wseditor@standard.fairfax.com.au

attention matt neal

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letters to the editor, sent today.

The quote from Warrnambool Standard 9 aug 2006, Whale Call “Cr Phillpot said the issue of whaling was a national one and not something the council should bring up.” seems to be a personal view, not the view of the Australian Government.

Due to the illegal target of the Japanese Whaling fleet to take endangered humpback and fin whales this coming ‘season’ the intentions of article 21 in the Convention on Biological Diversity come into play -- governments, councils, business and industry, and individuals are all responsible for ensuring conservation of threatened and endangered species.

The Australian Government has advised citizens and councils to assist in halting these illegal practices by educating the Japanese through the Sister city relationships that many Australian Shires have.

http://www.deh.gov.au/coasts/species/cetaceans/sister-city.html

The above Government site encourages us to raise awareness of Australia's opposition to whaling in Japan,

Local councils in Australia are encouraged to write to their Japanese sister cities expressing their opposition to whaling and support for whale conservation.

Much of the civilised world does not support the continued slaying of whales, pregnant whales, threatened and endangered whales, dolphins,[theTaiji Dolphin Kill annually], the forced marketing of whale meat to schools, the sick and elderly in hospitals and hostels by the Japnese Government despite known toxicity levels in whale meat, and the refusal of the Japanese Fishing Fleet to recognise international law in their attempt to continue this holocaust on whales.

It is the duty of care of all Australian councils with Japanese Sister City ties to bring to the attention of their Japanese counterparts that adherence to environmental laws is paramount.

Boris Branwhite

Founder

Whale Call inc.

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i have just spoken to matt neal, the reporter who wrote the article in the last posting -- he will be speaking to the japanese mayor today via an interpreter, and is passing on whale calls message to stop whaling.

he interviewed me, so i suspect there will be another story in from warrnambool soon --

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last century i spoke with my local mayor about ceasing our shires relationsahip with tanabe, our sister city in japan because of japans continued illegal fishing/whaling in australian waters --

she made a motion in council, but it was defeated, none the less, she also brought forward the subject at the local shires and government association -- last year, one of our local councillors, who opposed the motion in 1998, moved that the shire suspend its sister city relationship for the same reasons.

the motion was defeated, but he stirred the pot with a number of nsw mayors and as a result, clarence council acted.

action has also been taken by our environment minister, senator ian campbell, and he  put the following web page on line on 18 may 2005 --

http://www.deh.gov.au/minister/env/2005/mr18may205.html

and this --

http://www.deh.gov.au/coasts/species/cetaceans/sister-city.html

now warrnambool is being targetted --

http://the.standard.net.au/articles/2006/08/09/1154802928210.html

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last year whale call had conversations with active participants in the conservation field,  councillors, and staff on Clarence Council regarding the cessation of sister city relationships with whaling nations such as Japan.

on the 22nd june, the following news item was published --

Clarence Valley Council has dropped formal ties with its sister cities in Japan and Vanuatu.

However, council general manager Stuart MacPherson says the council will look at a less formal goodwill relationship with Izunokuni in Japan and Port Vila in Vanuatu.

Mr MacPherson says council used the opportunity to outline its opposition to Japan's whaling policy to its Japanese counterpart.

But he says there is still room for a productive relationship.

"By association I suppose it's not interested in the trappings that are normally associated with sister city relationships, ie the conferences and the mutual visitation," he said.

"But on the other hand the council has left the door open to forming relationships with places like Port Vila that have a particular need for information that we can provide."

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