The Antarctic has captured the imagination of New Zealanders for over a century, with the heroic age of exploration culminating in Sir Edmund Hillary's trans-Antarctic crossing. In recent years it has been the focus of intense interest in climate change and biodiversity. In many ways the Antarctic acts as our canary in the cage.

Both my Ministerial portfolios have strong links to Antarctica.  Research, Science and Technology funds much of the scientific work undertaken on the ice.  In Defence, the Air Force's C-130 Hercules operations provide transport to and from McMurdo Station using the Air Force's C130 Hercules aircraft, and Army movement operators are stationed at McMurdo.

In April this year, the 50^th anniversary of the signing of the Antarctic Treaty was celebrated in Washington DC. Representatives from 12 nations signed the treaty on 1 December 1959. They declared it was "in the interest of all mankind" that Antarctica should continue "forever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes." The Antarctic Treaty has made a major contribution to international peace and stability, and in Washington, Ministers signed a Declaration reaffirming their commitment to the Treaty's key values.

While in Washington, Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully chaired a ministerial discussion on the Achievements of International Polar Year. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke during that event, which was attended by Ministers from many Treaty Party nations. New Zealand's contributions to International Polar Year were well recognised, including during an address by Dr John Holdren, Assistant to President Barack Obama for Science and Technology.

Tonight's focus on science represents the most important contemporary value of the Antarctic. The Antarctic Treaty makes specific provision for scientific investigation and cooperation in Antarctica.  It encourages the exchange of personnel and the free exchange of scientific information. That Treaty was built on the very successful International Geophysical Year 1957-58, and has helped enable Antarctic scientific work over the past 50 years.

This research built on the work of the heroic era. While discovery and fame were often motivations for the pioneers, there was always a strong science grounding, most evident in Robert Falcon Scott's epic journey across the ice.

Scott's party collected 35 pounds of geological specimens.  Most of these were sedimentary rocks containing samples of coal and fossil plants.  These rocks were found with the bodies of Scott, Wilson and Bowers just 20 kilometres from their next food depot.  The samples are now in the Natural History Museum in London.  This geology helped ground theories of continental drift, and understanding change of climate over time.

Tonight we are celebrating the success of the contemporary science undertaken during the latest International Polar Year.  New Zealand, along with a number of other countries provided additional funding for research relating to Arctic and Antarctic biota and systems during IPY.  New Zealand scientists have played an integral part in the year's success. 

That success is evident in both the quality of the science and in the profile that the science gained in New Zealand and internationally.  The voyage of the research vessel Tangaroa to the Ross Sea was part of the Census of Antarctic Marine Life initiative.  There was strong public interest in that voyage.  Some of the marine creatures discovered were a revelation in their variety and form. At least in the Antarctic, ocean discovery is not limited to just the microscopic.  The quality of the science arising from the voyage will also be the enduring memory of the marine science community.

The ANDRILL programme too, has rightfully had a high profile, for its technical complexity and explanations of behaviour of ice sheets over millennia.  Professor Tim Naish and his team have had a leadership role.  The paper in Nature magazine in March and the associated publicity in the science and mainstream media reflect this role. 

Many smaller research programmes have been undertaken on the land, in the ice, in the skies and in the seas surrounding Antarctica.  Some of these are being undertaken by a new generation of Antarctic researchers. Their research and their perspective will provide the impetus for the next stage of Antarctic research.

They will be able to provide the fundamental explanations of rate and nature of climate change, and the impact on biodiversity. There could hardly be an area of research with a more profound impact on the future of humanity.