Opening of the 21st Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting

Christchurch Convention Centre

Delegates, distinguished representatives from the diplomatic corps, ladies and gentlemen. It gives me great pleasure, on behalf of the New Zealand Government, to welcome you formally to Christchurch.

New Zealand has a long history of involvement in Antarctica, relative to the brief history of human contact with the continent. The Ross Dependency dates from 1923.

But our national association with Antarctica goes back much further. 180 million years ago New Zealand and Antarctica were part of the supercontinent, Gondawana. 100 million years ago, we began to drift away, joined on our odyssey by what we know now as the Campbell Plateau and Marie Byrd Land.

And it was a mere 85 million years ago that the Campbell Plateau, carrying the New Zealand mainland, separated from Antarctica. That gives us a long-standing territorial interest in Antarctica. And it also sets our human activities into context.

It is twenty-five years since New Zealand last hosted a Consultative Meeting. We are proud to have the opportunity to show you Christchurch, our national gateway to Antarctica, in this year which marks the fortieth anniversary of our base on the ice, Scott Base. It is a pity that we cannot show you around Scott Base, our gateway on the continent. Seeing the awesome grandeur of the Ross Sea region at first hand makes one aware both of the immensity of the continent and, paradoxically, of its fragility.

Wise stewardship is at the heart of New Zealand's approach to Antarctica. This is summed up in our national goal for the Ross Dependency and Antarctica: the conservation of the intrinsic values of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean for the benefit of the world community and for present and future generations of New Zealanders.

Wise stewardship has been a feature of the first forty years of the existence of the Antarctic Treaty and of the System that has built up around it.

But nothing stands still. A great deal has changed since the architects of the Treaty mapped out their new course. The Treaty System is now grappling with a different world order and a new set of problems, challenges and opportunities almost inconceivable even ten years ago.

And these changes are taking place very quickly. The current depredation of toothfish in the waters around Antarctica is indicative of the real threat faced by the continent's dependent and associated eco-systems. Tourism and other uses of Antarctica are burgeoning as the activities of Governments cease to be the sole, or even principal, means of human access to the continent. The Antarctic environment is now being impacted by human activities taking place well beyond the region.

Yet the far-sighted principles underlying the Treaty are as relevant today as they were in 1959. If we recall the fundamental spirit of optimism underlying the Treaty we will collectively be able to rise to the challenge of ensuring that this extraordinary continent and its surrounding seas are protected in the interests of peace, science and the environment.

We must bring goodwill, creativity and innovation to the task of solving today's problems. But, in so doing, we must continue to respect the fundamental balance established in Article IV of the Treaty without which the Treaty and its System cannot work.

Later today you will have the opportunity to discuss some of the broader, longer-term strategic issues facing the Treaty System. I wish you well in these discussions which I am sure will be productive. I am confident that you will approach them with a sense of urgency.

The Antarctic Treaty stands tall as one of the world's oldest, and most successful, environmental treaties. It is perhaps a pity that we, as Ministers, do not have the same opportunity that you have as delegates to Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings to meet from time to time to discuss the key issues facing Antarctica.

It has taken the Treaty forty years to get to its present stage. If it takes even half as long to traverse the same distance in future, we will have effectively allowed the continent to be seriously damaged by human activity.

It is my impression that the politics of the Treaty have of late become over-focused on issues of unresolved sovereignty claims and related jurisdictional matters. These have tended to crowd the agenda and stifle debate about the future.

The real issues on which you as policy-makers need to focus and we as politicians need to focus, are the continent-wide problems and the challenges which do not respect borders. These call for an holistic approach to managing the Antarctic environment, and one which encourages international co-operative effort.

I have pleasure in declaring the 21st Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting open.