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Source: Reuters -
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The Labour Party is accusing the government of letting Australia down over whaling but Prime Minister John Key says New Zealand could still back a challenge to Japan at the International Court of Justice.
International Whaling Commission (IWC) member nations are struggling to find a way to reduce the number of whales killed each year, but negotiations in Florida are reported to have reached stalemate.
A compromise is still being sought, however, and Key says New Zealand is working with others to find a diplomatic solution.
"Australia has also made it quite clear that they are not going to take action against Japan in the International Court of Justice until they can see that there is no diplomatic solution to be found," Key says.
"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."
Labour's foreign affairs spokesman, Chris Carter, says Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has given Japan a clear choice - stop killing whales in the Southern Ocean or face the legal consequences.
He does not interpret New Zealand's position as the same thing, and accuses Key of buckling under pressure and being "completely at odds" with Australia.
"Without our support, the best Australia's representatives could do in Florida was to bring the IWC meeting to a stalemate," he says.
But Key insists there is no tension between New Zealand and Australian negotiators, saying ministers have been in regular contact about the progress of the negotiations.
Foreign Minister Murray McCully says any diplomatic deal will 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 says.
"The only mandate they have is to see if they can find a diplomatic solution that the New Zealand Government and then the New Zealand people can consider."
The comprise that is under discussion will bring scientific whaling - the loophole used by Japan to defy a 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling - under the auspices of the IWC, and the aim will be to reduce the total catch over the next 10 years.
Critics argue it will legalise commercial whaling.
