The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society would not be able to interfere without the support of the concerned citizens of Australia.

We have called this year’s campaign Operation Waltzing Matilda to honor the passion that Australians have for the defense of the whales.

“The ports of Fremantle, Hobart, Melbourne, Geelong, Sydney, Newcastle and Brisbane have been extremely welcoming and I am proud to see that we have the support of the Australian public,” said Captain Paul Watson.

A recent UMR poll of Australians conducted between January 7th and January 11th revealed that 94% of Australians oppose Japanese whaling operations in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

According to the poll, eight out of ten Australians do not believe the Australian government is doing enough to oppose Japanese whaling. Only 9% say the government is doing a good job.

Three quarters of Australian citizens polled said they would be prepared to boycott Japanese products to force an end to the slaughter of the whales.

In reference to the sinking of the Sea Shepherd ship Ady Gil, 56% held the opinion that the Japanese were responsible for deliberately sinking the vessel. Only 19% blamed Sea Shepherd for the collision and 25% were unsure or did not have an opinion.

“Despite the incredible public relations expenditures by the Japanese whaling industry, despite pushing ‘experts’ to write editorials and be talking heads pushing the agenda of the whalers, the polls indicate that Australians are adamant in opposing the continued illegal activities of the Japanese whalers,” said Sea Shepherd Australian Director Jeff Hansen.

“Australia is the most passionate whale-defending nation on Earth,” said Captain Watson. “This is an Australian campaign, the majority of the crew are Australian and the Port of Fremantle has been designated as the honorary home port for the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin.  Australia has even become like my second home since 2005. Now if we can just convince the government to reflect some of this great Aussie passion for the whales, we may be able to bring an end to this despicable slaughter in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.”

From an article in The Age: http://www.theage.com.au/national/battle-for-whales-too-weak-poll-finds-20100115-mcku.html