Peter Garrett (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Heritage) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to his previous answer when he claimed that Mr Larry Summers had ‘come to this debate with absolutely impeccable credentials’ in relation to his view of Kyoto. Is the Prime Minister aware of Mr Summers’ argument put to a scientific conference last year that:

Innate difference might explain why there are so few female scientists in high ranking academic positions.

Prime Minister, how can you be sure that your latest climate change sceptic is not behind the times on climate change as he is behind the times on the role of women?

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before calling the Prime Minister, can I remind the member for Kingsford Smith that he should direct his question through the chair.

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will not enter the debate about the views that Mr Summers took as Harvard President in relation to the role of women in the academy. That was not what I was referring to, and the member for Kingsford Smith knows it. What I was referring to was the fact that Mr Summers was the Treasury Secretary in the Clinton administration, a very highly respected Treasury Secretary—

Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern Australia and Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Snowdon interjecting

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He had been the deputy to Bob Rubin when he was Treasury Secretary. He was a supporter of the Democratic side of politics. He certainly had a very good record as a fiscal conservative because during the period that the Clinton government was in office the American budget deficit was lower than it is now. He was generally regarded as highly competent in the job that he did. I don’t think time permits us to debate everything related to his views when he was at Harvard, but he certainly has very good credentials as far as the economy is concerned and as far as being very much on what I might call the progressive side of politics is concerned.