The Whale & Dolphin Conservation Society is suspicious of the Government's latest stance on whaling in the Southern Ocean.
The Government says the latest proposal by the International Whaling Commission is inflammatory and offensive, and is no basis for negotiations.
The commission's plan would allow Iceland and Norway to continue whaling, while Japan's quota for killing whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary would be reduced.
The Whale & Dolphin Conservation Society says the Government's stance is pleasing but questionable.
Senior biologist Philippa Brakes says New Zealand was one of the countries initially pushing the IWC for a plan involving compromise on the whaling quota number.
