Address to the IWC70 - International Whaling Commission Meeting

*** Check Against Delivery *** Your Excellencies, Ministers, Distinguished Commissioners, national delegates, observers, executive secretary and secretariat and guests. I’d like to thank Uncle Rodney for welcoming us to Country and for being with us here today. I’d also like to pay respects to Uncle Rodney and the Muwinina people - the Traditional Owners of the land on which we gather today.

I acknowledge their enduring connection to Country, and the contribution of Indigenous peoples everywhere, in protecting the ocean and natural environment. I recognise the ocean holds deep cultural and spiritual significance for our First Nations peoples who have cared for Sea Country for millennia. We will all seek to respect that significance in this convention’s deliberations.

On behalf of the Australian Government - welcome to Hobart. It’s a pleasure for us to host this meeting of the International Whaling Commission on its 80th anniversary. There could be no more fitting place to mark this milestone than here on the shores of the Southern Ocean.

Australia is proud of Hobart, as one of the great gateway cities to Antarctica. Like the IWC itself, its history is defined by its standing during the era of industrial whaling of the Southern Ocean, to now being regarded as a global leader in temperate and polar marine science and ocean stewardship. Australia values the IWC as a distinguished and globally-recognised intergovernmental body for the conservation and management of whales.

Over its 80-year history, the IWC has demonstrated its ability to deliver world-leading management and conservation outcomes from - at times - polarised and difficult debates. Those outcomes and debates have been strongly influenced by the best available science, delivered from your Scientific Committee. You are conducting vital research, to better understand these amazing creatures, their environments and the threats they face.

And you’re using this evidence to help address those threats and improve the health of our ocean ecosystems. There have been many successes through the IWC over the years, including: the establishment of the global moratorium on commercial whaling, the development of the management procedures for Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling, and the real-world progress in addressing the many contemporary threats to whales.

This year is also the 40th anniversary of the global moratorium on commercial whaling. It has been extraordinarily successful in allowing some whale populations to recover – though others are yet to return to their pre-industrial whaling era numbers. Australia is opposed to commercial whaling.

This position is entirely consistent with, and indeed a central part of, our approach to rebuilding healthy marine ecosystems that support biodiversity and livelihoods through sustainable use. As you may know, Australia was a whaling nation until 1978. Since then, we’ve been - and continue to be - a wholly committed, and leading advocate for whale conservation efforts.

Because healthy whale populations are fundamental to the overall health of the ocean. Whales are ecosystem engineers – circulating nutrients from the deep sea to fertilize oxygen-producing plankton and locking away tons of carbon on the seafloor when they die. Our waters are home to at least 45 species of cetaceans, representing over half of the world's total whale, dolphin, and porpoise species – all of which are protected under our national environmental law.

Each year Australians marvel as humpback and southern right whales migrate from the cold feeding grounds in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean and return to Australia’s warmer coastal waters to mate, calve, and nurse their young. It’s a tradition that we look forward to, and celebrate. Unfortunately, it’s not all good news, as whales still face many other, compounding threats such as bycatch, entanglement, ship strikes, ocean noise, climate change and habitat destruction.

So there is more we need to do and this convention meeting will help inform our decisions, moving forward. As an island continent, Australia has more ocean territory than land - which means our ocean is fundamental to our national identity, our economy, our environment and our way of life. We are the custodians of an extraordinary range of marine environments: from tropical reefs and temperate coastlines to the vast Southern Ocean and Antarctica.

And our ocean generates around $229 billion in economic output each year, supporting over 700,000 jobs. Australia is committed to maintaining our reputation as a global leader and a good partner in marine protection: We have one of the world’s largest systems of marine protected areas. And further expansions are also currently under consideration.

We’re leading the world on krill research here in Hobart, as well was studying ecosystem health and whale populations. Antarctic krill plays a critical role in sustaining whales and the broader food web, so our Government is investing in work to strengthen our understanding of this unique ecosystem, and support evidence-based management. Today, I am pleased to announce we will be further funding the development of new whale research technology including drone-based systems and infrared cameras.

These tools will deepen our understanding of whale distribution and behaviour, and whale-krill interactions - information that is critical to how we manage the unique Southern Ocean ecosystem. Last week at the United Nations General Assembly, Australia released our first ever national Sustainable Ocean Plan, bringing together governments and other interest groups to support our growing ocean economy and address key challenges that impact the health and resilience of the ocean.

This Plan will guide the sustainable management of 100% of the ocean under our national jurisdiction – a commitment we made as a member of the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy. Last week we also formally ratified the landmark High Seas Biodiversity Treaty, to protect the ocean beyond maritime borders and exclusive economic zones, marking a new era of world ocean conservation.

The high seas cover more than half of the planet, yet only around 1 per cent is protected, leaving the ocean open to unsustainable exploitation. We first signed on to this in 2023, and we look forward to formally participating now the treaty has been ratified. As Australia transitions to cleaner energy, we’re working with experts through the IWC to better understand how offshore renewable energy projects may affect whales and other cetaceans.

This partnership supports world-leading research to guide the energy transition on key issues such as migratory whale movements, underwater noise and behavioural responses. And COP31 also provides a unique opportunity to elevate ocean action. Through the COP31 Pacific Partnership, we are profiling Pacific-led approaches to ocean stewardship and the expansion of effective, connected marine protected areas.

And we’re working with our Pacific partners to ensure Pacific voices and solutions are at the centre of global climate action. I’ll finish by briefly addressing the Hobart Declaration. The Declaration seeks to mark the Commission’s 80-year history – to celebrate its successes, acknowledge the different policy positions, and for member governments to commit to continue working together over the coming decades.

It recognises a simple but important truth: the strength of the IWC lies in its ability to bring together nations with diverse interests and perspectives to engage respectfully, draw on the best available science, and work through complex issues together. The most powerful feature of the Declaration is its embrace of the historical and contemporary importance and standing of the IWC, while ensuring neutrality on the matters of fundamental policy that are so important to its members.

As we celebrate 80 years of the Convention, the Declaration is both a reflection on legacy and an expression of confidence in the Commission's future. Australia wants to see the IWC remain a strong, effective and stable institution for generations to come. That is why we hope members will approach consideration of the Hobart Declaration with flexibility and a willingness to find common ground, so that we can reach agreement by consensus and send a clear signal of our shared commitment to the IWC's future.

The success of IWC has always been a story of international cooperation in service of our shared ocean. Put simply, whales don’t stop at national borders. Their future depends on our willingness to work together, to respect evidence and act with foresight and responsibility.

The recovery of many whale populations demonstrates what can be achieved when science, policy and collective action come together. But this recovery cannot be taken for granted. The discussions you have and the decisions you make this week will help shape the future of cetaceans and the health of our ocean.

I hope you enjoy your time in Hobart and I wish you every success for the meeting this week. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.