President of the Australian Conservation Foundation Doesn't Exhibit the Pre-emptive Crumbles. (August 31, 2006)

Ian Low is Emeritus Professor of Science, Technology and Society at Griffith University and President of the Australian Conservation Foundation. Photo: Graeme Parkes

    The president of the Australian Conservation Foundation, Ian Lowe, has been a bit more visible -- mediawise -- than usual.

Early this week Australasian Science published in its September issue his article "Government is 'Determined to Silence Independent Opinion'" and on Wednesday he fronted the National Press Club addressing them on "Shaping a Sustainable Future".

Professor Lowe opens his Australasian Science opinion piece with "The Howard government is increasingly using science, as the old joke goes, as a drunk uses a lamppost: for support rather than for illumination. Within CSIRO there is now a culture of managerialism so wary of offending the government that scientists have been instructed not to comment on issues that have policy implications."

And among his observations"

The recent stacking of the ethics committee of the National Health and Medical Research Council with people likely to favour Tony Abbott’s strange view of the world aroused public concern.

The independence of the Australian Research Council has been wound back.

When John Howard took office we had a National Greenhouse Advisory Panel chaired by Prof Paul Greenfield... It gave independent advice the government didn’t like, so it was never again asked to meet.

The depressing conclusion is that the present government is determined to silence independent opinion in the research community.

...government research organisations and individual scientists now practise what a colleague called "the pre-emptive crumble", falling over before they are pushed.

In speaking to the National Press Club he said that the ACF was now being treated as persona non grata by the Government, and stated that some of Australia's top scientists are resigning or moving overseas to avoid having their research censored by the Federal Government. "The attitude of CSIRO wanting not to offend Government has led to between 10 and 12 of our best climate scientists leaving CSIRO in the last few years, so we're losing expertise that we critically need."

And he directly challenged the Prime Minister and his use of data:

Contrast the approach of the State governments and the Australian Business Roundtable with the Prime Minister’s energy statement last month. The PM raised the spectre of spiralling fuel prices and wage cuts to justify not acting to price carbon and make deep cuts to greenhouse emissions. He selectively used ABARE’s worst case scenario modelling to back this up. He also took a swipe at European emission trading schemes, saying they were beset with complexities. European experts report flourishing markets, with big banks, insurance companies, hedge funds, legal and accounting firms embracing the schemes with enthusiasm.

 

On Four Corners this week, the Prime Minister showed the contradictions in his approach to climate change. He said emissions trading is unacceptable, even though it is supported by business and economists, because it would increase prices of electricity and petrol – yet he was quite happy to instruct an inquiry to investigate the viability of nuclear power, an industry that has never survived anywhere without massive ongoing public subsidies. He said we hadn’t ratified Kyoto, shaming us on the global stage, because it doesn’t solve the problem and doesn’t impose binding restraints on the biggest polluters, China, the USA and India. Instead he supported the AP6 move – which doesn’t solve the problem and doesn’t impose binding restraints on the biggest polluters, China, the USA and India.

 

This approach raises defending the indefensible to a new height. Putting a price on carbon will provide the right price signal to industry to invest in cleaner technologies than dirty, coal fired power stations. It will help our economy become more efficient and drive investment in renewable energy.

And Professor Lowe is reported by The Courier Mail as telling the National Press Club:

It's difficult to escape the conclusion that the Prime Minister's views are fossilised in a previous era. The business community has moved on and the business community now recognises we have to respond to climate change. I think there are elements within the Government that recognise that that's the way we have to go. But the Prime Minister has drawn his line in the sand and is determined that, on his watch, Kyoto won't be ratified and he won't have a coherent response to climate change.