John Key

By Maggie Tait of NZPA

Wellington, Feb 22 NZPA - A diplomatic answer to whaling in the Southern Ocean will either be a stunning success or an utter failure, Prime Minister John Key says.

The Government yesterday said it would seriously consider backing international court action to stop whaling in the Southern Ocean, but only if diplomacy fails first.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully said negotiations were underway now.

This morning on NewstalkZB Mr Key backed Mr McCully's comments that the Government would not resort to court action, as Australia has threatened, unless diplomacy failed.

"Either the diplomatic solution is going to be a stunning success in the next few months or it's going to be a stunning failure," Mr Key said.

He said Australia was still also pursuing a diplomatic outcome.

Labour Party foreign affairs spokesman Chris Carter yesterday called on the Government to back Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's position on whaling -- that either Japan stops killing whales in the Southern Ocean by November or Australia will take it to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Mr Rudd discussed the issue with Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada in a meeting in Sydney on Saturday.

"Labour urges the New Zealand Government to consider joining the Australian initiative to bring an end to Japan's slaughter of Southern Ocean whale species," Mr Carter said in a statement.

Mr McCully told NZPA that its preference was to continue down the diplomatic path.

New Zealand's Commissioner to the International Whaling Commission, Sir Geoffrey Palmer, was appointed by the previous administration and Mr McCully said he had now been appointed chairman of the IWC support group; "which is where the really meaningful negotiations are occurring at the moment and that process will play its way out over the next few weeks".

Mr McCully said if a diplomatic solution could be reached more whales would be saved.

"Diplomatically gets you a quick solution, going head to head means this thing is tied up for ages in the ICJ. It could take years.

"We've got a lot of respect for the role that New Zealand has traditionally played in that respect, that's reflected in Sir Geoffrey Palmer's leadership role in the negotiations that are currently reaching their conclusion, we'll know soon whether we are going to achieve success that way or not.

"If not the court process is obviously a serious option."

Mr McCully said allegations the government was more interested in trade with Japan than progress on whaling were groundless and his main aim was to get the quickest result.

The IWC adopted a moratorium on whaling in 1982 when many whale species were facing extinction. A 75 percent majority at the IWC is required to overturn the moratorium.

Japan uses a provision in the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling which allows whales to be killed for scientific research to kill about 1000 a year.

Meanwhile, New Zealand anti-whaling protester Peter Bethune remains on the Japanese vessel Shonan Maru II which he boarded on February 15.

Mr Bethune boarded the Japanese ship to demand a $3 million payment for the Ady Gil, which sank after a collision with the whalers.