Tags to support on Ice treaty

Press, 2 June 1989, Page 2

Tags to support on Ice treaty

by

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Wellington

Labour Government back-bench members of Parliament, are giving the Government conditional support over the Antarctic Minerals Convention.

They have urged the Government to reopen the international campaign New Zealand began in 1975 to have an Antarctic Park.

This was announced yesterday by the convener of Labour’s environment committee, Dr Peter Simpson (Lyttelton), and the convener of its foreign affairs committee, Mr Dave Robinson (Manawatu).

They said that in 1975 New Zealand had been unable to get the necessary support internationally and so had instigated the convention proposals to ensure the maximum possible protection for the Antarctic environment for the time being. This process had led to the general agreement on the Convention to Regulate Antarctic Minerals Resource Activ-

ity in Wellington a year ago, which has since been signed by New Zealand.

In recent weeks two other countries which agreed to the convention, France and Australia, announced that for conservation reasons they would not sign it. Dr Simpson and Mr Robinson said new negotiations for an Antarctic Park would take some years to complete. They had agreed to the Minerals Convention being signed and ratified to ensure protection against unregulated exploitation in the meantime. “However, we also urge that in developing the necessary legislation for the convention’s ratification, stringent provisions be incorporated on New Zealand’s application of the convention and the participation of citizens and companies in any Antarctic activities,” they said. New Zealand had always been a leader in the push for environmental protection in Antarctica.

At this point, they were prepared to accept the convention but their goal remained total protection such as offered by an Antarctic Park.