An enduring & important legacy: Former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke 1929 - 2019

"What was going to happen beforehand was a thing called CRAMRA, which was going to be a Convention for Regulating Antarctic Mineral Resource Activity. I said that’s ridiculous, I just could not believe that civilized nations of the world were going to really destroy the pristine quality of the last remaining and pristine continent.

You just imagine mining down here and the accidents that could have occurred, so I was determined that this wouldn’t happen. People said we had no chance, but with the cooperation of my good friend Roccard, the Prime Minister of France, and Felipe Gonzalez, from Spain. We just set about and we turned it over, which was marvellous and now it’s fulfilled my nomination of it as nature reserve, land of science, and that’s what it is."

Former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke 1929 - 2019

See more http://www.antarctica.gov.au/news/2013/former-australian-prime-minister-visits-antarctica