<\/p>\n
\nAndrew Bayly went to Antarctica in 2012.
\nPhoto: Supplied\n<\/p>\n
Andrew Bayly still remembers the “visual assault” of Antarctica, the piercing blue clarity and scale-bending brightness.<\/p>\n
The National MP tells how he once convinced his companions to join him on what he thought would be a short trip to climb a nearby peak. They borrowed skis, promised they would be back for lunch and set off.<\/p>\n
Instead, the trek stretched for hours, across a crevasse field and then up a seemingly endless slope. The mountain turned out to be 12 kilometres away.<\/p>\n
“We didn’t get back to the base until late that night,” Bayly laughs. “It was just meant to be a little stroll.”<\/p>\n
Bayly was there for a full month in 2012, climbing mountains, including the continent’s tallest peak, Mount Vinson, and another never-before-climbed – the mountaineer’s “holy grail”.<\/p>\n
“It was only three of us. We were miles from anyone,” he says. “You know that if you’re in trouble, you’re really in trouble.”<\/p>\n
More than a decade on, the landscapes have stayed with him, fuelling a personal affinity for the continent and a determination to protect it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nGroup photo of attendees at the Antarctic Parliamentarians Assembly in Wellington.
\nPhoto: Supplied\n<\/p>\n
In December, Bayly brought politicians, diplomats and officials from overseas to Wellington for a two-day meeting, the third Antarctic Parliamentarians Assembly.<\/p>\n
Roughly 40 guests – representing nearly 20 nations – came to hear from scientists, compare notes and take home a clearer sense of what is happening at the bottom of the world.<\/p>\n
From ice to influence<\/p>\n
Antarctica is governed by a treaty signed in 1959, designating it a natural reserve devoted to peace and science. It explicitly prohibits military bases, weapons testing and new territorial claims.<\/p>\n
But that is not to say the continent is free from pressure.<\/p>\n
Tourism has surged in recent years. More than 120,000 visitors travelled south last season, six times the numbers seen two decades ago.<\/p>\n
“We want to welcome tourists. We want people to go to Antarctica,” Bayly says. “The question is: how do you do that in a sustainable way?”<\/p>\n
Fishing remains a concern, too. The krill fishery reached its annual catch limit this year for the first time, forcing its shutdown three months ahead of schedule – a warning sign that pressure is rising.<\/p>\n
The tiny shrimp-like crustaceans are fundamental to the ecosystem as a primary food source for whales, penguins and seals.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nAndrew Bayly at the South Pole.
\nPhoto: Supplied\n<\/p>\n
“Certain nations really want to have a go at fishing out the krill,” Bayly says. “So, how do we protect ourselves against that?”<\/p>\n
And then there is the unmistakable effect of climate change.<\/p>\n
On the Antarctic Peninsula, the area of ice-free “greening” has jumped from 86 hectares to nearly 1200 over four decades – the size of a large sheep and beef farm, now exposed land rather than ice.<\/p>\n
Research teams are drilling through kilometres of ice to pull up samples that may hold climate records stretching back more than a million years.<\/p>\n
“They’re going to farm out all those core samples to … research people around the world, whoever wants them. So, you know, how do you collaborate?”<\/p>\n
Bayly says those big questions of conservation and collaboration dominated discussions among the parliamentarians, many of whom arrived with limited knowledge of Antarctica.<\/p>\n
“When they go back to their home, we want them to be strong advocates… in an informed way,” he says.<\/p>\n
Among the speakers was mountaineer Peter Hillary, a moment Bayly says resonated with those visitors familiar with the legacy of his father, Sir Edmund Hillary.<\/p>\n
“They love our connection to Antarctica,” he says. “They know we’ve got a leadership position.”<\/p>\n
The next assembly is already in motion, scheduled for 2027, with Bayly asked to chair the steering committee. Several nations have already put up their hands to host: Norway, China, Italy, Argentina, and potentially more.<\/p>\n