The Topic

It is expensive and high risk to maintain Australia’s presence in Antarctica at the four year=round stations—Macquarie Island, Mawson, Casey and Davis. Australia’s presence is rooted in history, legacy, strategy and interest in science. To our knowledge, there has been no cost-benefit analysis for Australia’s current presence.

A panel of Antarctic experts will discuss Australia's four permanent, year-round Antarctic stations and the value that they provide (or don't). The discussion will engage in critical points of view on Antarctic stations as sources of scientific, political, social, and cultural value.

Panel experts
(click names for more details)

Tony Press - Adjunct Professor at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, Australian Antarctic Program Partnership, University of Tasmania; former Head of Australian Antarctic Division; former Australian CCAMLR Commissioner

Marcus Haward - A political scientist specialising in oceans and Antarctic governance and marine resources management at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania and current Program Leader in the Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre.

Elizabeth Leanne - A Professor of Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania and Arts and Literature Editor of The Polar Journal. Her research examines how people form their ideas of Antarctica through both cultural texts and lived experience of the environment, and how these two ways of knowing the region interact.

Agenda

The first hour of of this workshop will introduce the topic and contain a keynote address. The second hour of the workshop we will have a panel discussion amongst the experts who will be provided with questions by the organisers. There will be time for you to ask your own questions too!

The discussion begins at 9:30am sharp! We look forward to having you.