Looking South: Australia's Antarctic Agenda

Antarctica has become a key marker of climate change, the retreating ice a focal point of international concern amid acknowledgement that the frozen continent plays a pivotal role in generating the world's climate.

Australia has a leading role in the Antarctic Treaty System and claims sovereignty over 42% of the continent. Its policies are under scrutiny as never before.

In Looking South, leading academics and practitioners inspect Australia's contemporary agenda. They balance the preservation of geopolitical and environmental stability with the competing claims of science, tourism, fishing, bioprospecting and mining. Can the Antarctic Treaty System be preserved or should it be modified - and, if so, how?