Protecting Antarctica: the Development of the Treaty System.

• Author: McAloon, Jim
• Position: Book Review

Author: Malcolm Templeton Published by: NZIIA, Wellington, 2002, 68pp, $20.

This book is a brief sequel to Malcolm Templeton's magisterial A Wise Adventure: New Zealand and Antarctica 1920-1960, published in 2000. The smaller volume comprises three lectures on the evolution of the Antarctic Treaty system in terms of environmental protection. Given current perceptions that take Antarctica's status as 'wilderness' for granted, this book is a timely survey of changing official and political attitudes. Through the elucidation of diplomatic terminology, Templeton shows how partial were the conservation attitudes of the 1960s. Only in the mid-1970s did the Rowling government cautiously suggest preservationist policies towards Antarctica, but successive governments and officials made sure to reserve New Zealand's position based on sovereign claims should mineral exploitation be undertaken.

Templeton usefully identifies the positions of various groups of states, and shows how these could change for domestic political considerations. Although David Lange's fourth Labour government emphasised a policy of environmental protection while ultimately keeping options open, at...