$1.7m to fund Hawke’s Antarctic fellowship

THIRTY years on from Bob Hawke’s historic ban on mining in Antarctica, $1.7m has been committed for the scholarship named in his honour.

The Antarctic Science Foundation funding will support the RJL Hawke Fellowship in Antarctic environmental science for the next decade. The granddaughter of Mr Hawke, Sophie TaylorPrice, said the Antarctic mining ban was Australia’s greatest contribution to the conservation of nature.

“It is a powerful parable of international leadership that resonates today, because it shows what can be achieved when there is a burning purpose,” Ms Taylor-Price said.

“He was told mining in Antarctica was a done deal and that there was nothing that could be done, but his response was ‘bugger that’.”

The RJL Hawke Fellowship in Antarctic environmental science is awarded to doctoral graduates who have researched policy-relevant science. The fellowship was established by the Australian Antarctic Division in 2009.