Whale of a problem despite glow of anti-nuclear stance

Oh lucky man: the political gods continue to smile on How else to explain the incredible switch in American attitudes to New Zealand's anti-nuclear policy - as witnessed in Washington this week?

There is no earthly justification for Mr Key being the chosen one basking in the unexpected and bountiful expressions of approval of this country's anti-nuclear stance flowing from the Obama Administration.

The Prime Minister can claim neither credit nor responsibility for the policy. His party, in fact, has sought at various times over the past two decades to either weaken or undermine it, if not destroy it.

National's inability to ditch it by lunchtime meant Mr Key was this week dining out on it long past bedtime. Some irony.

Phil Goff must wonder if there is any justice. Labour will be pleased the struggle to get the Americans to accept its policy should have such a happy ending. It will be cursing that Mr Key is the beneficiary.

To borrow Bill English's metaphor, Mr Key may feel like he is bouncing from cloud to cloud right now. Next week could see him fall back to earth with a dull thud, however.

Also toiling away in Washington this week was the Sir Geoffrey Palmer-chaired "support group" charged with the seemingly impossible task of stopping the members of the International Whaling Commission harpooning one another.

Sir Geoffrey, New Zealand's international whaling commissioner, has been of the firm view that his working party is the last chance to not only get the commission functioning in a capacity approaching something close to normality, it is the last chance to save the international body from extinction - and therefore save the whales from unregulated slaughter.

The commission is already severely compromised by Japan's bogus exploitation of a loophole in its charter which allows members to catch whales for so-called "scientific"research.

The other whaling nations - Norway and Iceland - simply flout the moratorium on commercial whaling imposed in the 1980s.

The commission is powerless to halt what seems to be an ever-rising quota of kills that each whaling nation generously allocates itself. What began postmoratorium as an overall quota of 300 is now approaching 3000.