FED: Greg Combet lets fly at Steve Fielding's climate scepticism
By Julian DrapeThu Aug 6 01:54:17 EST 2009
Subject: [Fwd: FED: Greg Combet lets fly at Steve Fielding's climate scepticism] name="FED: Greg Combet lets fly at Steve Fielding's climate scepticism.eml" filename*0="FED: Greg Combet lets fly at Steve Fielding's climate scepti"; Subject: FED: Greg Combet lets fly at Steve Fielding's climate scepticism FED: Greg Combet lets fly at Steve Fielding's climate scepticism
CANBERRA, Aug 5 AAP - The federal government may have long given up any hope of convincing Family First senator Steve Fielding to support its emissions trading scheme, but now it's decided to stick the boot in.
Senator Fielding has often been spared criticism from senior ministers because Labor knows the Victorian holds a crucial vote in the upper house, where he shares the balance of power with independent Nick Xenophon and the Australian Greens.
But on Wednesday, Defence Personnel Minister Greg Combet broke ranks and let fly.
Addressing the Sydney Chamber of Commerce on emissions trading, he started proceedings with a critique of Senator Fielding's inability to understand "clear facts and compelling rationale".
"The government accepts the consensus scientific view that human activity is responsible for observed climate change," Mr Combet said in his written speech.
"However, in the face of this consensus view, Senator Fielding and others are still publicly promoting sceptical arguments, more often than not using populist, non-peer reviewed science."
Mr Combet, who is the minister charged with assisting Climate Change Minister Penny Wong, wasn't done there.
He went on to suggest Senator Fielding had wasted the time of Australia's chief scientist Penny Sackett.
"It is clear that some people are not looking to understand clear facts and compelling rationale to assist in the formulation of good public policy - even when their questions are addressed by climate change experts and Australia's chief scientist," Mr Combet said.
"Instead they are looking for more reasons to justify delaying action."
In June, Senator Fielding met with with Prof Sackett and eminent climate scientist Will Steffen after attending a sceptics conference in the United States.
He subsequently declared he'd made up his mind on climate change.
The world was not currently warming and humans weren't changing the climate, he said.
Senator Fielding has since written to all senators alerting them to the idea that carbon dioxide may not be causing global warming.
He's urged them not to vote for Labor's emissions trading scheme, which comes before the Senate next week.
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FED: Greg Combet lets fly at Steve Fielding's climate scepticism