MEDIA RELEASE 1-8-06
Byron woman arrested at Brisbane whaling protest
Brisbane Anti Whaling Protest calls for boycott of Japanese products and services.
Aboriginal Whale Man Bunna Lawrie condemns Japanese killing his totem the whale
Byron woman, Frankie Lee was arrested outside Japanese airlines office in Brisbane yesterday around 1 pm as part of a protest to boycott Japanese products and services. She was charged with not adhering to police directive to "move on". That morning Dean Jefferys from Byron Whale Action Group, pleaded not guilty when he appeared in Brisbane's magistrates court on 31st of July facing Trespass and Obstruction charges relating to when he tried to deliver letters to the Mitsubishi Head office during a Boycott Japanese products demonstration on June 20th. Mr Jefferys is due to appear in court in December 12th to contest the case. Around 20 people from the Byron region travelled to Brisbane on a hired bus were part of the anti whaling demonstration. Dean Jefferys said " It is hoped these Boycott Japanese products demonstration will put pressure on Japan to stop killing whales. When Japan starts losing millions of dollars in revenue, lost taxes and investments it will have to stop killing whales. When a country is so out of step with world public opinion then peoples consumer power can bring them back into line. The world needs to do to Japan what we did to South Africa to stop Apartheid. Japan plans to put 10 Fin whales and 50 humpback whales on it's menu along with over 1000 other whales it wants to kill this coming summer. They must be stopped. We will be calling for Japan to stop killing whales and for people to boycott Japanese products and services. "
Also present at the protest was Aboriginal Whale Man Bunna Lawrie from the Mirning tribe in South Australia. Bunna Lawrie said "The whales are our friends, they are part of our family, they are my totem, they are looking after the oceans and the Japanese should not be killing them. My grandmother used to talk to the whales and when we sung to the whales they would dance for us. They are very intelligent beings. The coming of the white whale means it is a time for change, a time to bring harmony back to our mother earth. The earth is a living being that we live off. We are now living out of balance. The white whale is a sign of hope."
Mid afternoon Monday, July 17th a new-born female humpback whale stranded onto the beach north of Cabarita in Northern NSW. Howie Cooke from "surfers for cetaceans" ( known in the media as "the whale whisperer" ) who held and sang to the baby whale for 14 hours, was dismayed by a series of protraction's and decisions which lead to the whale being killed by the vet of Sea World David Blyde, particularly the decision to remove the baby whale from the sea to the beach by the National Parks and Wild life Association and the decision from David Blyde to give the whale a lethal injection . Howie hopes lessons learnt from this tragic event will prevent further deaths of stranded healthy whales. At a meeting held near Byron Bay last Friday a group who met to discuss this whale stranding agreed to seek training for local people in the latest whale rescue techniques and set up an emergency whale rescue phone tree for this region to help ensure the whales interests are put first. Dean Jefferys will be asking the Minister for the Environment Ian Campbell for a full inquiry into the botched rescue.
Howie Cooke has had 30 years of experience working with and for Cetaceans, including working with Frank Johnson a world authority on whale strandings. For a full personal report on the stranding from Howie Cooke see below and his website www.surfersforcetaceans.com Howie Cooke will be present at the protest on Monday and available for comment on the stranding issue.
Background info on Bunna Lawrie,
Byron film maker Kim Kindersley has recently finished a documentary called 'The Gathering - Return of The Whale Dreamers' which is due to be screened on ABC TV this September. It explores Kims connection with dolphins which led him to Bunna Lawrie from the Mirning tribe from the Nullabor cliffs whom have a special relationship with the Southern Right whale.
Songman Bunna Lawrie – famous as lead singer in the band ‘Coloured Stone’ many years before, is also the songman for his Mirning tribe. The Mirning’s totem is the Southern Right Whale. Nearly 8 years ago now, Kim and Bunna got together and invited Elders and others from all over the planet to gather on Mirning traditional land on the Great Australian Bight to help strengthen the Mirnings now tenuous link with their land and the whales – and to strengthen the whale dreaming and perhaps help arrest the decline in whale numbers. The Mirning could not stand to witness the desecration of their totem in the 50’ and 60s as whaling reached its peak. They moved away from the coast in sadness. Meanwhile, the British decided to test their weapons of mass destruction in the Australian desert and moved the local indigenous people off their land at Maralinga and onto the Mirning land and gave them a 99 year lease.
If any journalist wants to ask some hard questions try giving Lance Tarvey the Tweed area officer for Parks and Widelife a call on 02-66708600. Ask why he gave the order to remove the healthy whale calf from the water and was he under pressure from the vet David Blyde from Sea world 0755882222 to not release the calf back into the ocean till he had done the tests he wanted to do. Would they do a whale rescue like this again?
People can access links, petitions, action ideas and whale info from Dean Jefferys site http://www.flightofthehumpback.org
For further comments MITSUBISHI 1300 131211, SONY 07 33344000, JAPANESE AIRLINES 07 92721133
