Antarctica Meets State Parliament

Media Release – University of Tasmania, Australian Antarctic Program Partnership & Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science, 26 February 2026

Tasmania Unites for Antarctic Science

Tasmania’s role as Australia’s Antarctic gateway will take centre stage today as representatives from all three levels of government join leading Antarctic and Southern Ocean scientists at Parliament House to explore Why Antarctica matters to Tasmania.

Hosted by the Tasmanian Deputy Premier, The Hon Guy Barnett MP, the lunch-time event brings together Federal and State parliamentarians, local government leaders, and scientific experts from the Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science (ACEAS) and the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership (AAPP) based at the University of Tasmania (UTAS).

ACEAS Director, Professor Matt King, said he is delighted the event will be attended by more than thirty elected representatives and officials from across the political spectrum.

“It’s encouraging to see leaders from across government coming together to learn about and support our critical work.”

“Few places on Earth are more important to Tasmania’s climate and environment than Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. The science we do from Hobart helps us understand extreme weather, protect our coasts, and prepare for a changing future,” he said.

“Rather than the bottom of the world at the edge of the map, Antarctica and the Southern Ocean are actually central to the global climate system and how the planet works.”

“So when climate-related changes in the Antarctic environment start to shift currents and winds, the impacts ripple out to shape life in Tasmania and beyond – from rainfall patterns and bushfire risk to coastal change, sea-level rise, agriculture and our climate future.”

“For example, research shows that bushfire severity on Tasmania’s East Coast increases up to ten-fold when the winds circling Antarctica shift northward,” Prof King said.

AAPP leader, Professor Delphine Lannuzel, said the conversations between scientists, parliamentarians and advisers over lunch will showcase Tasmania’s research strengths and reinforce the state’s global reputation as a centre of Antarctic and Southern Ocean expertise.

“Our researchers, institutions and world-class facilities are enabling discoveries that matter for every community across our state. Events like this play a vital role in translating fundamental scientific discoveries into policy‑relevant knowledge that supports and informs decision makers,” she said.

Media Release – Guy Barnett, Minister for Small Business, Trade and Consumer Affairs, 26 February 2026

Antarctica Meets Parliament

Hobart’s status as an international Antarctic gateway and base of Antarctic and Southern Ocean science has been put in focus at the inaugural Antarctica Meets Parliament event today.

Minister for Small Business, Trade and Consumer Affairs, Guy Barnett, said the event was the first of its kind in Tasmania.

“We have seen through the success of the annual Science Meets Parliament program that bringing the scientific community and political decision makers together can help strengthen the sector,” Minister Barnett said.

“Antarctica meets Parliament provides a great opportunity to bring together scientists and parliamentarians on why Antarctica matters to Tasmania, Australia and around the world.

“This sector employs more than 1100 people and contributes more than $204 million to the Tasmanian economy each year however, the Tasmanian Antarctic gateway is more than just a logistics hub for Antarctic expeditioners.

“Science is at the heart of the gateway and Tasmania has developed an international reputation of specialist expertise and excellence in Antarctic and Southern Ocean issues.

“The breadth of knowledge and expertise in Tasmania’s Antarctic science community is enormous and draws on collaboration from many research partners locally and further afield.

“This is not a sector we are going to quietly let be eroded, in fact we are fully behind it. We call on all those in the industry as well as the Tasmanian and Australian parliaments to back our international Antarctic gateway and its scientific community.”

Antarctica Meets Parliament is a partnership between the Tasmanian Government and the University of Tasmania.