'Lame excuses' for not sending frigate, Greens say

The Green Party has accused the Government of offering "just lame excuses" for not sending a frigate to Antarctic waters where protest ships are facing Japanese whalers.

As the confrontation threatened to become more aggressive, the Greens put pressure on the Government to act but ministers have said a frigate would have no authority and might only inflame the situation.

Greens leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said today their reasons were "rubbish".

"We're not asking the frigate to engage in armed conflict or open fire on any of the ships," she said.

"We are simply saying we want it to sit there, watch and use the moral influence of its presence as we did in Mururoa."

New Zealand sent a frigate to the pacific atoll in 1973 in protest against French nuclear testing in the Pacific.

Duty Minister Phil Goff has said a frigate would have no legal authority to act as an intermediary.

"This is not a case of outside policing being necessary, it's a case of both parties exercising the responsibilities that ships at sea have," he said.

Today Conservation Minister Chris Carter said a frigate might only inflame feelings between the whalers and the conservation groups, and revealed that air force Orions had been asked to keep tabs on the incidents.

"Their primary mission is of course to look for people who are illegally fishing in the Southern Ocean but it's now officially part of their mission to keep an eye on the Japanese whaling fleet," he said.

The Greens maintain the Japanese whalers are acting illegally by killing whales in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary.

"Japan is in breach of international conventions by slaughtering whales in an agreed whale sanctuary and we want them to know that we are bearing witness to what they are doing," Ms Fitzsimons said.

"Greenpeace are putting their necks on the line on behalf of millions of people around the world who are horrified by this brutal and unnecessary slaughter. The least New Zealand can do for them is provide a little moral support and a safety net."

- NZPA