Chris Carter
Foreign Affairs spokesperson

27 May 2010 Media Statement
National silences notice of motion

The National Party Senior Whip, Chris Tremain, refused to support moving a motion on today’s Parliamentary Order Paper calling for Japan to cooperate with Maritime New Zealand in determining who was responsible for the sinking of the Ady Gil.

“This is another example of the Key-led Government washing their hands of the fate of New Zealand citizen Peter Bethune,” Labour’s Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Chris Carter said.

“The reason that Peter Bethune has given for boarding the Shonan Maru II on 15 February 2010 was to serve a document on the Japanese whalers for allegedly sinking his $2 million boat, and putting his life and the lives of his crew at risk.

“An independent assessment by Maritime New Zealand of the sinking of the Ady Gil is only possible with cooperation from the Japanese authorities, such an assessment would finally show who was responsible,” Mr Carter said.

“My motion was not aimed at prejudicing the trial in Tokyo. Its objective was to send a message that the New Zealand Parliament calls on Japan to cooperate in resolving who was responsible for the sinking of the Ady Gil. This is something that National should support.

“Chris Tremain’s refusal to allow the House to consider the motion suggests that the National Government doesn’t care who was responsible for the sinking of the New Zealand-flagged Ady Gil.”

ENDS

NOTICE OF MOTION:

30. Hon CHRIS CARTER to move, That this House note that the Japanese authorities have so far
refused to cooperate with either of Maritime New Zealand or the Australian Maritime Safety Authority investigations into the sinking of the New Zealand-flagged Ady Gil in the Southern Ocean on 6 January 2010, and that this refusal by the Japanese to cooperate has meant that New Zealand citizen Peter Bethune will be unable to use any independent assessment of the incident as evidence in his defence trial which opens in Tokyo this week, and that it call on Japan to cooperate with Maritime New Zealand so that an accurate account can be made of liability for the incident which led to the sinking of the New Zealand-flagged vessel Ady Gil. (Lodged 26 May 2010)

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