A public competition will be held to name the Australian government’s new Antarctic icebreaker – and environment minister Greg Hunt is optimistic it will throw up a better alternative than Boaty McBoatFace.
Hunt on Wednesday unveiled the Australian Antarctic strategy and 20-year action plan, which will see $255m spent over the next decade to “enhance Australia’s Antarctic logistics and science capabilities”.
The infrastructure budget would be $55m and $200m would go towards sustainable ongoing funding for the Australian Antarctic program, setting it up to lead science and exploration in the region, said the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull.
The acquisition of a state-of-the-art, research and resupply icebreaker – “a modern, multidisciplinary science platform” to be used in the responsible management of Southern Ocean fisheries and ecosystem – represented the single-biggest investment by an Australian government in the program.
But the potential advances for Australia’s science leadership were overshadowed by Hunt’s announcement that the world-class vessel would be named by the public.
The Australian Antarctic Division, which leads Australia’s Antarctic program, tweeted on Wednesday afternoon that there would be a public poll for a name for the new icebreaker – and that Hunt was aware of the recent precedent from Britain.
Minister Hunt: There will be a public campaign for naming the new icebreaker.
— Antarctic Division (@AusAntarctic) April 27, 2016
Minister Hunt: We will be avoiding a #BoatyMcBoatface situation with our icebreaker competition.
— Antarctic Division (@AusAntarctic) April 27, 2016
Earlier in April, the British public voted overwhelmingly in favour to name the Natural Environment Research Council’s new polar research ship “Boaty McBoatface”. The suggestion received 124,109 votes, four times more than the second-place finalist: RRS Poppy-Mai, after a 16-month-old girl with incurable cancer.
But despite the clear result, the government indicated that, in this instance, democracy would not be observed.
Science minister Jo Johnson said that Boaty McBoatface was not a fitting name for a “royal research ship ... sailing into the world’s iciest waters to address global challenges that affect the lives of hundreds of millions of people”, and that the government wanted a name that would “last longer than a social media news cycle”.
Doubtless the same concerns loom large on Hunt’s horizon. His office has been contacted for comment, specifically on how he intends to avoid a “#BoatyMcBoatface situation”.
HOW? @AusAntarctic @GregHuntMP
— Olivia Rosenman (@olivesophierose) April 27, 2016
Twitter is already girding its loins for the competition, with Labor MP Tim Watts even attempting to get a head start with a Twitter poll.
imo call the new antarctic boat "did you fall from heaven", it'll be the perfect icebreaker.
— men don't @ me (@lizduckchong) April 27, 2016
If it's an Australian icebreaker, it should probably be called Jager Bombs https://t.co/xK3zOzyr5i
— Dom Knight (@domknight) April 27, 2016
Hey @AusAntarctic @GregHuntMP, just call the icebreaker Ice Ice Boaty and be done with it pic.twitter.com/QkDsGv7vhd
— James Jeffrey (@James_Jeffrey) April 27, 2016
Potential names for Greg Hunt's Icebreaker:
— Tim Watts (@TimWattsMP) April 27, 2016
The government expects contract arrangements for the new icebreaker to be finalised, and construction under way, within a year. It should be delivered by 2021.
The plan also factors in the cost of expansion of infrastructure in Tasmania and Antarctica to accommodate the vessel.
