Environment Minister Peter Garrett has come under fire from the opposition and Greenpeace for failing to make a dent in Japan's scientific whaling program at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) annual conference.
He was "a whale of a flop" at the meeting, in Santiago, Chile, which ended on Friday, says Opposition Environment spokesman Greg Hunt.
Anti-whale hunting nations spearheaded by Australia expressed deep concern at Japan's skirting of a 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling by hunting hundreds of whales each year in the name of scientific research.
But the deliberate nonconfrontational tack, with nations urged not to vote against each other on contentious issues such as Japanese whaling or calls for a South Atlantic whale sanctuary, meant little was achieved at the meeting.
Mr Hunt said Mr Garrett had failed and been embarrassed at the meeting.
He said the slaughter of whales in the Southern Ocean was set to continue, despite Mr Garrett's efforts to turn the IWC into a conservation body.
"Mr Garrett failed to deliver on any of the promises he made about Japan's sham whale research program," Mr Hunt said.
"He led Australians to believe that he could bring about an end to whaling.
"But instead he rolled over and allowed Japan to press ahead with yet another season of whaling."
Mr Hunt also criticised Mr Garrett for having failed to name a whaling envoy, as promised before and after the election.
"After months of promises and shouting, Mr Garrett was a whale of a flop at the IWC," Mr Hunt said.
Greenpeace Australia chief executive Steve Shallhorn echoed Mr Hunt's views.
He said the meeting had passed with nothing achieved to stop Japan from killing whales in the South Ocean again this year.
"Greenpeace is pleased that governments have agreed on establishing a process that will support discussion of the IWC's future," Mr Shallhorn said.
"But countries shouldn't forget that their real, immediate responsibility is the protection and future wellbeing of all species of whales through the world's oceans."
Mr Shallhorn said hundreds more whales would be killed in southern waters this summer season.
"The Japanese should stop sending their fleet to the Southern Ocean as a demonstration of good faith during the discussion of the IWC's future, in the same way that Latin American pro-conservation countries demonstrated good faith by not forcing a vote on their desired South Atlantic Whales Sanctuary," he said.
He said it was time for the Australian government to name the promised whales envoy.
