A Japanese push for commercial and 'scientific' whaling is due to be opposed by Australia at an international meeting in Brazil.
Senator Anne Ruston will attend the International Whaling Commission meeting this weekend to drive the opposition, but will return to Australia before the event wraps up at the end of next week.
The Senator, who was recently appointed to the government's international development and Pacific portfolio, says Australia wants other countries to follow its lead.
"Australia will continue to oppose any efforts to overturn the global moratorium on commercial whaling and will call on like-minded nations to join us in rejecting any proposal to allow commercial whaling," Senator Ruston said in a statement on Friday.
"We will also oppose any attempts to weaken the commission's decision-making rules or establish catch-limits for commercial whaling.
"The government is unwavering in its commitment to protect whales."
The Japan Fisheries Agency wants an end to the whaling moratorium and for new commercial whaling quotas to be established by 2020.
Aboriginal subsistence whaling, governance reform, special permit whaling and the establishment of a South Atlantic whale sanctuary are also on the agenda for the meeting.
Representatives of the Australian Marine Conservation Society will travel to Brazil for the meeting to oppose Japan's "outrageous" intentions, saying whales need help not harpoons.
