PM Transcripts

THE CONVENTION FOR THE CONSERVATION OF
ANTARCTIC MARINE LIVING RESOURCES
The Commonwealth Government has decided to propose Hobart as
the site for the headquarters of an international Conservation
Commission to be established under the proposed Convention on
the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.
This proposal has been under discussion for some time with the
Premier of Tasmania and has been pursued informally during
earlier international meetings developing the Convention.
Delegates from 15 countries are meeting in Canberra from today
until 20 May 1980 to draw up the text of the Convention, which
has been under negotiation in international forums for over
two years.
Australia's decision to propose Hobart as the headquarters of
theConservation Commission reflects the Commonwealth's
determination to promote Tasmania'* s pre-eminence in fields of
study and research relating to Antarctic and marine matters.
There have been several other important Commonwealth initiatives
to assist Tasmania in this respect, including establishment of
the Australian Maritime College in Launceston, transfer to
Hobart of the Antarctic Division of the Department of Science
and the Environment, and most recently, the Government's decision
to establish a Marine Science Centre in Hobart including the
transfer of the CSIRO Division of Fisheries and Oceanography.
The Commonwealth's recent initiatives in this respect, including
the proposal for Hobart as the site for the international
Conservation Commission, reflect the positive response taken by
the Commonwealth to the report of Sir Bede Callaghan on his
examination of the structure of industry and the employment
situation in Tasmania.
The meeting of delegates in Canberra to discuss the draft
Convention on Antarctic Marine Living Resources is the culmination
of a long negotiating process which commenced with an earlier
Canberra meeting in March 1978 to prepare the basic negotiating
text. ./ 2