Before the 2007 election, the Australian Labour Party promised to take Japan to the International Court of Justice if it did not cease its bogus scientific whaling program in the Southern Ocean. Now, they're finally going ahead with it - a case will be filed in The Hague next week. ICJ cases are not binding - jurisdiction is basically by consent - but as a country with a judge on the court, Japan cannot refuse without suffering a tremendous loss of face. Which means the legal issues will be hashed over, and there will be a ruling one way or another.
So, what's the New Zealand government doing then? Nothing. On a key environmental issue where we should be leading the world, we're instead standing on the sidelines. Nice one, National.
