A whale of a question for Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and the Coalition in 2010

Humpback calf from the whale series at ScottS101 on Flickr

If the Liberal-Nationals Coalition wins government on 21 August 2010 will party leaders Tony Abbott and Warren Truss support Australian Government legal proceedings currently underway in The Hague (lodged in order to protect whales in the Southern Ocean) or will they cravenly withdraw the application?

''Coalition policy is not to take Japan to the international court. We are against whaling, but we wouldn't seek to advance [the cause] in that particular way" (Tony Abbott in January 2010)

QUESTION:
But that’s a loose term. If you were in government would you take Japan to the International Court or not?
TONY ABBOTT:
Well, if we were in government we’d be able to see the legal advice and, as I said, we support appropriate and effective action in international tribunals. (Tony Abbott in May 2010)