Daryl Melham (Banks, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, the Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth. Would the minister inform the House of the importance of scientific evidence in the climate change debate? How has this evidence been received and what is the government's response?

Peter Garrett (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Banks for his question. We do accept that there is an important role that scientists play in informing the Australian community and policymakers about the right kinds of decisions that need to be made in this parliament to deal with dangerous climate change. We recognise that we have a great scientific tradition in this country. We have had great scientists like Professor McFarlane Burnet or Peter Doherty, who won the Nobel Prize. They themselves are evidence for us of the contribution that scientists can make. We also know that in our electorates, for example at the University of New South Wales in my electorate of Kingsford Smith, there are scientists who provide us with researched and considered policy advice about what we ought to be doing as a country to deal with the very great challenges we face.

Today in parliament I was very pleased to give the blazers to 23 of our youngest best and brightest—the young Australian Maths and Science Olympiad team. They are going to compete against the best and brightest around the world. They will be the scientists of the future who will help us to deal with the challenges of the future.

It was with some alarm that I read the reports in this morning's Sydney Morning Herald of remarks by Dr Peter Phelps, a whip in the Liberal government of New South Wales, about scientists. I say this because I think that we are at a junction point where, if the parliament does not express its confidence in the work that scientists do and the role that they play, in the public arena that confidence can be reduced. Dr Phelps got to his feet and said:

I comment in this place on the latest adventures in the great global warming swindle that is gripping our nation and most of the formerly civilised world.

He went on to say:

At the heart of many scientists … lies the heart of a totalitarian planner. One can see them now, beavering away, alone, unknown in their laboratories.

Regrettably, he then went on to associate the work that these scientists do with the rise of Nazism. This is the most serious and rancid charge that can be brought by anyone in a house of parliament in this country. I do note that the government whip we are referring to has associations with members in this House. This is someone who has worked as an adviser for the member for Mackellar, worked as an adviser for Senator Ronaldson and was the chief of staff, as it were, for the former member for Eden-Monaro.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The minister has absolutely no responsibility for any of the matters about which he is talking—none at all. They are about a different jurisdiction and another parliament, and I would ask you to direct him to try to be somehow relevant and not just slag off the opposition.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On the first point, the minister is the Minister representing the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.

Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business, Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In the national parliament.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Dunkley is very lucky, but now he is warned, and I do remind people that, while I am not inclined to it, a warning is a precursor to naming. On the further matters raised in the point of order, again this is one of those carefully crafted questions that do have me tensing a bit. But it did say, 'How has the importance of science been received and what is the government's response?' I believe that that is the part of the question that the minister is directly relating his response to at the moment.

Peter Garrett (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The fact is that scientists have a valuable and important role to play in our society, and that is accepted and understood in all sections of the Australian community. But here we have someone who is the government whip in the parliament of New South Wales making the most grave associations that can be imagined about our science community. I say to the Leader of the Opposition: if you are the leader of the Liberal coalition in this country, you should call on both the Premier of New South Wales and this member to repudiate those comments. Those opposite might make light about these assertions, but we know that the extremism of the Liberal Party is coming to the centre, and as it comes to the centre it will infect the body politic. We will be committed to supporting scientists and recognising the valuable role that they play, and it is time that the Leader of the Opposition got on board.