Dear Greg Hunt, It has come to my concern that the Antarctic Environment could be better than it is now.

Global Warming, ozone depletion, tourism, dumping of rubbish, whaling, krilling, oil spills and military action affect Antarctica daily. Firstly, global warming is a main threat to Antarctica. If all of the south polar ice caps melt, sea levels would rise by 63 metres and all of our research stations would flood and millions of dollars would be wasted. This means greater funding to revive the equipment and would lead to a higher tax rate. This also means that the carbon tax should be put into place. Would Australians like that? Secondly, ozone depletion is the main foe of Antarctica. The hole in the ozone layer is directly above Antarctica. If we dont act now Antarctica will no longer be the pristine continent we know today. How can we do this if the next Antarctic Treaty is 28/4/14-7/5/14 in Brasilia, Brazil? I suggest that we will need more funding so we can act on ozone depletion. This will make Australia look like a country that actually cares about Antarctica. Antarctica has been having more tourism than ever. Each year since 1990, an average of about 25,284 people visit the southern most continent. This means that more fuel is used resulting in a whole heap of pollution. The easy way around this major issue is that all tourism must be SCIENTIFIC ONLY. This means that the tourists must carry out scientific experiments. The dumping of rubbish Australia has done in Antarctica is horrid. Wilkes Station was abandoned in the 1988. Wilkes Station was actually (as you know) from the US but Australia took over in 1959, the same year of the signing of the Antarctic Treaty. To my disappointment Australia has unfortunately left 3000 oil drums and gas cylinders left to rust in Wilkes Station. We need to act fast because when metal rusts it lets out a toxin that easily pollutes Antarcticas air. Wildlife is also affected drastically because of this. We must remove these a soon as possible. Dont get me started on whaling. Although the Japanese have signed the Antarctic Treaty and the Madrid Protocol they must be taken to the

International Court of Justice because they still kill whales. This disgusts me. You are probably wondering, How does this have anything to do with Australia? well we should be acting by telling Japan to stop killing whales. Unfortunately, 1000 whales are killed each year. Australia should address other countries to get the message out there. Krilling is just as bad as whaling. Why? Arent they just little crustaceans at the bottom of the food chain? Yes they are. Krill are the most important part of the Antarctic food chain. But we still harvest them. This is a great disappointment. What do we with krill? Well we turn them into pet food. Please save the krill or the whales, seals, some penguins and sea birds will die because of the scarce amount of krill. Oil spills are devastating. When an oil spill happens it pollutes the ocean and marine life can die because of the dark, murky water causing their eyes to be blinded. It is a very thick liquid and means it is very hard to swim in it. We need to act fast. I believe that we dont have any oilrigs near or in the Southern Ocean. This will save the animals. Finally, military action is a big worry to me. It is actually against the Antarctic Treaty. But countries have set up an illegal military base. Any animals could easily come and knock over gas and kill them. This would be a tragedy. Australia can help by reporting it to the International Court of Justice. Australia must rethink global warming, ozone depletion, tourism, rubbish dumping, whaling and military action. Antarctica is a very special continent and also the most untouched. We need to act fast to keep Antarctica in tip to condition. Yours sincerely, Persia D