§ 59. Mr. GillTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress was made in discussions with the Prime Minister of Australia concerning the convention on Antarctica.
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§ Mr. EggarIn discussion with the Australian Prime Minister and his colleagues, we said that we still believed the convention offered the best means of protecting the Antarctic environment. We made it clear that we intended to ratify the convention and that we were prepared to consider further measures for the protection of the Antarctic environment, but not at the expense of the convention. For their part, the Australian Ministers explained their view of the Antarctic minerals convention and their decision not to sign it.