Despite making controversial comments in a speech in the United States Lord Monckton is still welcome at the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies conference in Perth this week. In his speech at a conference in Los Angeles he indicated that the Australian climate change adviser was a Nazi.
An ardent climate change skeptic, he claimed that Professor Ross Garnaut held fascist views. He stood in front of a projection of a Swastika to quote from Professor Garnaut…”The outsider to climate science has no rational choice but to accept that, on the balance of probabilities, the mainstream science is right in pointing to high risks from unmitigated climate change.”
Lord Monckton then proceeded to tell the audience that that was a fascist point of view where you merely accept the authority without question. He then said Heil Hitler, on we go. Lord Monckton was once an advice to Baroness Thatcher and is known for his belief that humans are not damaging the climate.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said that while his comments were offensive and over the top he would still be attending the event although he had no plans to meet Lord Monckton. Mr Abbott said that the mining industry was under serious threat from this government and he was going to alert them to the dangers proposed by both the carbon tax and the mining tax.
The executive director of AMEC Simon Bennison said that Lord Monckton had been invited as some members of the mining industry were interested in having him on the program. While he did not condone the comments made by Lord Monckton he said that those were his personal views and did not affect the conference.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard said that the remarks were grossly inappropriate. Greg Combet the climate change minister said that Lord Monckton was an extremist who believed climate change was a global communist conspiracy.