Jan. 21, 2013 – MELBOURNE, Australia — Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Founder, Captain Paul Watson, has been honoured with an Original Nation passport in a ceremony in Melbourne.
Captain Paul Watson
Photo: Billy Danger/Sea Shepherd
Photo: Billy Danger/Sea Shepherd
Coordinated by Jabbir Jabbir and Nyul Nyul man Rodney Augustine (from the Kimberley region), and signed-off by Tent Embassy Customs Officer Robbie Thorpe from the Krautungalung people of the Gunnai Nation, the traditional owners of Lake Tyers, the passport is a show of solidarity between the First Peoples of Australia and Captain Watson. At a time when leaders of many nations have left Captain Watson without assistance, it is an acknowledgement by the First Australians of the years he has spent looking after the planet and the creatures that call it home.
Mr. Thorpe said, “We appreciate what environmental warriors like Paul Watson do. Anyone out there defending our flora and fauna is welcome to Country. We look forward to welcoming Paul ashore with a Welcome to Country smoke ceremony, at which time we will give him an official indigenous name.”
Accepting the honour, Captain Watson made the following statement: “I am proud beyond measure to receive a passport from the First Australians, an indigenous community that continues to remain unbroken from the connection between the laws of nature and our species. When the Aboriginal people look upon the whales, they see a mind and a spirit akin to themselves and they feel that same relationship that has also guided me since 1975 when I first looked into the eye of a dying whale and saw another reality. There are very few within the anthropocentric society that truly understand what we do, and why we do what we do to defend the whales. But there are many amongst the bio-centric community who do see, listen, smell and feel the kinship between all of us who dwell on this planet within the continuum of life, from the past through the present into the future. I know the Krautungalung of the Gunnai Nation and all First Australian Nations know of what I speak. Thank you Rodney Augustine, Robbie Thorpe and all involved for your most honoured support.”
Captain Watson is the second high-profile activist to have received the honorary Original Nation passport, after WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, who received the accolade in September last year.
Former Greens leader, Operation Zero Tolerance co-campaign leader and member of Sea Shepherd Australia’s Board of Directors, Bob Brown, said, “The Original Nation passport given to Paul Watson recognises this great conservationist’s unparalleled contribution to saving Australia’s whales. First Australians issuing this passport will be backed by most Australians who will want to see Watson in Australia and safe from harassment by Japanese political pressure.”
Last year, Sea Shepherd launched its first Australian based campaign, Operation Kimberley Miinimbi, to oppose the controversial gas-hub at James Price Point on the Western Australian Kimberley Coast. Led by Bob Brown and Sea Shepherd Australia Director, Jeff Hansen, under invitation from the
Goolarabooloo people whose country the proposed gas hub would be built upon, the operation is raising awareness of the Kimberley coastline to show the world what we all stand to lose if the development goes ahead.
“The Indigenous peoples of Australia’s connection to land and sea country is what Captain Paul Watson and Sea Shepherd is all about,” said Sea Shepherd Australia Director, Jeff Hansen. “Living in peace and harmony with the natural world and all its inhabitants. Any crime against nature is a crime against humanity, simply because we cannot sustain life on this planet without a healthy land and sea environment. Acknowledging Captain Paul Watson in this way further cements the notion that the majority of Australians are against whaling. We should all honour the man that has been leading the fight for Australia’s whales in Australia’s territory by granting him safe passage into Australia.”
The passport will be delivered to Captain Watson on his return from Operation Zero Tolerance.
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Sea Shepherd Founder Captain Paul Watson is a world renowned, respected leader in environmental issues. He was a co-founder of Greenpeace, has won countless awards for his decades of conservation work, and in 2000 was named one of Time Magazine’s Top 20 Environmental Heroes of the 20th Century.
About Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Australia
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Australia is a non-profit conservation organization whose mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species. Sea Shepherd Australia uses innovative direct-action tactics to investigate, document, and take action when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas. By safeguarding the biodiversity of our delicately balanced oceanic ecosystems, Sea Shepherd Australia works to ensure their survival for future generations. Visit www.seashepherd.org.au for more information.
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