John Key

Wellington, March 8 NZPA - Prime Minister John Key is holding open the option of joining Australia in a legal challenge to Japan if diplomatic attempts to reduce the number of whales that are being killed end in failure.

Mr Key today played down any differences between New Zealand and Australia over the whaling impasse, saying both countries had the same objective.

He was speaking after Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd repeated his threat to take Japan to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) if a diplomatic solution was not found.

Talks in the United States over the weekend involving International Whaling commission nations filed to agree on a compromise proposal.

The Labour Party is accusing the Government of caving in under Japanese pressure, but Mr Key said that wasn't happening.

"We are looking for a diplomatic solution and we are working with other countries to find a way of reducing the number of whales that are killed," he said at his post-cabinet press conference.

"At this point there is no proposal on the table. If there is one, we will obviously go and have a close look at it."

Mr Key said New Zealand and Australia did not hold different positions.

"Australia has also made it quite clear that they are not going to take action against Japan in the ICJ until they can see that there is no diplomatic solution to be found," he said.

"If a diplomatic solution fails, and talks break down, then New Zealand will have to consider joining Australia in a co-action. We will make that call in due course."

Earlier today Foreign Minister Murray McCully said any diplomatic deal would have to be very attractive to gain New Zealand's support.

"There is no mandate for the New Zealanders who are participating in the discussions to do any deal whatsoever," he said.

"The only mandate they have is to see if they can find a diplomatic soluti8on that the New Zealand Government and then the New Zealand people can consider."

New Zealand's IWC representative, Sir Geoffrey Palmer, said it would be "enormous progress" if Japan was stopped from using the scientific whaling loophole.

The proposal on which a compromise is being sought would allow Japan, Norway and Iceland to openly hunt whales despite a 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling, but aim to reduce the total catch over the next 10 years.

The compromise would bring scientific whaling under the control of the IWC, requiring Japan to submit DNA samples and other data to the 88-nation body.

Norway and Iceland defy the moratorium on commercial whaling altogether by lodging objections to it, a practice that would be banned under the compromise.