Australia Unveils Big Funding Plans For Antarctica Research

Australia has announced big ticket investment plans in Antartica to boost scientific research and development.

The year Strategic Antarctic Plan was unveiled by Environment Minister Greg Hunt at the island state of Tasmania, which is 240 kilometres south of the mainland, reports iol.co.za.

Under the Master Plan, in the next 20 years, more funding will go into infrastructure and other initiatives to rope in more commercial and philanthropic partners. The corpus of investment will be in the range of 500 million Australian dollars.

For Australia, 2014 is significant because it marks the centenary of Sir Douglas Mawson, who led the epic Australasian Antarctic Expedition. Australia's main research base in Antarctica is named after late Mawson.

Tasmania Gateway

The minister listed the Government's new initiatives including the plan for the acquisition of a new icebreaker and promotion of Tasmania as the international gateway to Antarctica. Tony press, former head of Australia's Antarctic Division, had presented a composite report to the government to take the necessary steps to restore Australia's prominence in Antartica by way of more investment to offset the shortcomings in areas of logistics and research.

Minister Greg said the new investment will be very inclusive and will touch aspects like the walrus population, penguins and all the iconic species that had been raising community interest. Australia claims 42 percent of the territory in Antarctica, which is larger than any other nation's share.

Tony Press Recommendations

Australia has already floated a tender to replace the ageing silo breaker Aurora Australis, and a new vessel will be in service from 2019. Also there will be $38 million investment for extending the Hobart airport's runway.

Meanwhile, a report in Guardian highlighted Australia's vulnerable position in Antarctica because of the neglect in funding projects. The Tony Press report had cautioned the Australian government that it is facing a "narrow window of opportunity" to assert its interests in the Antarctic and transform Hobart as a key gateway.

The report noted that although mining is banned in Antarctica under an international agreement, many nations might still do it, if Australia does not assert its territorial claims. Australia's Antarctic sovereignty can come under challenge if it does not play out the role of a scientific and logistical leader on the continent.

Assert Antarctic Claims

Another major recommendations of the Tony Press panel was upgrading Australia's Antarctic stations, increasing Antarctic science grants and prioritising port and aircraft investments in Hobart.

The Antarctic territory is claimed by many countries including the U.K, France, Norway, Chile, Argentina and New Zealand. Asian countries such as China, Japan and South Korea have also made significant investments towards Antarctic research.