Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

I make my remarks in reference to the minister's comments about notice of motion 129, an order for the production of documents, specifically clauses (a)(iii) and (iv). This is about hiding, and the minister simply reinforced that with his lack of data.

Let's see why I've come to that conclusion. What's the core climate claim? Climate alarmists claim that carbon dioxide from human use of hydrocarbon fuels—coal, oil and natural gas—and from farming animals for food is raising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, which, they claim, will raise the temperature, leading to catastrophic warming in some distant, unspecified time. That's the basis for claimed solutions that will have devastating impacts on society. These include taxing and controlling farming for food to stop the raising of animals; stealing property rights to control land use and control citizens; taxing and controlling energy—every type of energy; and pursuing UN Sustainable Development Goals to control every aspect of people's lifestyle and life—what we eat, energy, travel, finances and homes. This is all claimed to be based on science. What science? When done properly—and I hope the Greens are paying attention—science investigates and explains our physical world. It's absolutely essential. Science is the systematic, objective study of our physical world through observation, experimentation and testing of theories against the empirical data—hard data and logical points proving cause and effect. Scientific proof needs data and logical points proving cause and effect. Graduate engineers like me are trained in science because we apply the science. We understand scientific proof because it prevents us killing people—it helps us keep people safe. My science training includes geology, atmospheric gases and statistics—three of the most important topics of climate science.

Let's define the problem. Every person, business and employer uses and relies on electricity, petrol and diesel at home and at work. Australia has gone from having the most affordable power in the world to having one of the world's highest power prices. The key to global competitive advantage is having the lowest price. Firstly, consider parliament and what it's done. From 1996 to 2007, John Howard's Liberal-National government committed to complying with the UN Kyoto protocol, which led to Mr Howard's solar and wind Renewable Energy Target, his national electricity market—which is really a national bureaucratic racket—and stealing farmers property rights, and his party was the first major party to promise a carbon dioxide tax policy. This was all claimed by his government to be based on climate science. Yet, in 2013, six years after he'd been booted from office, Mr Howard admitted in distant London that on the topic of climate science he is 'agnostic'. He did not have the science, and he admitted it six years after he claimed he had it.

Since then, the LNP, the Liberal-National coalition, has introduced every major climate and energy policy. Labor then accelerated each. As a senator, I wrote letters to 10 members of parliament, and they all confirmed, in writing, they had never been given scientific proof of climate change. I wrote letters to another 19 senators who advocate cutting carbon dioxide from human activity. Four replied, and none provided scientific proof. The Greens and others refuse to debate me. I asked Senator Larissa Waters in 2010, 2016 and repeatedly from 2019 to debate me. She won't front up.

Senator Waters is a lawyer and makes many false and unsubstantiated claims, and misrepresents the climate. She's never provided scientific proof. Instead, we see climate alarmists invoking so-called experts and other logical fallacies. They use emotion—especially fear and catchy slogans. They have no scientific proof. Those are the characteristics of every Greens speech. They repeatedly lie, misrepresent and sideline science with personal attacks.