Document
Index
1999-2000 Ministerial Statements
Investing in our Natural and
Cultural Heritage
Chapter 10
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The Antarctic region significantly influences the world's major environmental systems.
Much of Australia's Antarctic research is directed at improving our knowledge of these
processes, leading to improved predictions of events involved in global climate change.
Substantial research effort is directed also towards protection of the Antarctic
environment and protection of the Southern Ocean ecosystem and marine resources.
The Commonwealth Government has committed to entering tender negotiations for an Antarctic
Shipping programme beyond the 1999-2000 summer so that Australia's Antarctic Programme can
continue while flexible logistics, including multi-ship operations and air transport
options are investigated.
In its efforts to gain greater knowledge of the mechanisms of global climate, the
Commonwealth Government will continue support for research of the Antarctic sea-ice zone.
The dynamics and thermodynamics of the Antarctic sea-ice cover are intricately linked with
the ocean-atmosphere exchange of heat, water and gas. Antarctic sea-ice is thus a major
element in the global climate system, and should therefore be a sensitive indicator of the
effects of global change on physical and biological systems. The Australian Antarctic
Division's study of sea-ice and coastal polynyas will advance understanding of
Antarctica's role in the global climate system.
The Commonwealth Government will continue its vigilance and efforts to protect the
Australian fishing zone adjacent to Heard Island from illegal fishing. The Government will
also continue concerted efforts to advance measures within the Commission for the
Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living resources aimed at sustainably managing Southern
Ocean fisheries.
The Antarctic Pack-ice Seals programme continues to receive Government support. This is an
international programme to quantify the role of seals as predators in the Southern Ocean
ecosystem and to determine their circumpolar distribution and abundance.
The Australian Antarctic Division will continue work on environmental management of the
abandoned Wilkes Station in East Antarctica and the old ANARE Station on Heard Island.
As part of its support and commitment to the management of the Southern Ocean Sanctuary
for whales, the Government is supporting the Australian Antarctic Division's role in
collaborative research into the seasonal distribution, feeding patterns and effects of
physical and biological processes on whales and other cetaceans in the southern
hemisphere.
The Australian Antarctic Division administers the Australian Antarctic Territory and the
Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands. Effort is aimed primarily at protecting
the Antarctic environment, and includes administering environmental legislation dealing
with environmental impact assessment and measures for the conservation of flora and fauna.
The Commonwealth will provide $95.3 million in 1999-2000 to the Australian Antarctic
Division to carry out Australia's programmes in Antarctica.
Contact: Australian Antarctic Division -- 03 6232 3200
The CRC for Antarctica and the Southern Ocean undertakes research designed to characterise the oceanic and atmospheric circulations of the region, their interaction with sea ice and the continental ice sheet, their relation to global environmental change and their relation to the carbon cycle. The Commonwealth will provide funding of $3 million in 1999-2000.
