The Australian Senate has passed a motion supporting a UN General Assembly resolution that calls for immediate interim protection for deep sea life.

New Zealand and Australia have had a long history of working together on ocean issues and are currently involved in talks about the management of the international waters of the Tasman Sea and other areas of the South Pacific.

Australian and NZ press report that "The UN resolution focuses on how to deal with the threat to deep-sea biodiversity posed by high seas bottom trawling, calling for an immediate interim prohibition until sustainable management practices can be adopted under international law. The motion was put up by Senator Rachel Siewert who is concerned that the practice is unnecessarily destructive......". This means that NZ will no longer be able to hide behind Australia's position.

So come on Helen - don’t let the Aussies outdo us on this one! Make sure NZ’s representatives in New York at the United Nations are given instructions to do all they can to see a moratorium adopted as soon as possible.