PROFESSOR PLIMER, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT’S NOT EVERY DAY YOU GET TO DO A LOCAL LAUNCH FOR A BEST SELLER. I SEE FROM THE NIELSEN BOOK SCAN OF MAY 2 THAT PROFESSOR PLIMER IS RATING HIGHER THAN BARACK OBAMA! IT IS LUCKY THAT PROFESSOR PLIMER KNOWS A LOT ABOUT ROCKS. AS A PROFESSOR OF GEOLOGY HE HAS TO OF COURSE.  AND GEOLOGY IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF UNDERSTANDING OUR CLIMATE AND ITS HISTORY. SO IT IS OF ENORMOUS HELP IN PUTTING TOGETHER HIS LATEST BOOK “HEAVEN AND EARTH - GLOBAL WARMING: THE MISSING SCIENCE”. BUT WHAT I MEAN IS THAT YOU HAVE TO BE VERY LIKE A ROCK TO PUBLISH SUCH A TITLE THESE DAYS. YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO WITHSTAND HUGE AMOUNTS OF PRESSURE FROM WIDELY ACCEPTED GREEN PROPAGANDA AND A RULING POLITICAL PARTY THAT CANNOT SEE PAST ITS NEED FOR GREEN PREFERENCES. ONLY A ROCK CAN WEATHER THE WINDS AND SPRAY OF VESTED INTERESTS WHO SEE THEIR TURF BEING THREATENED. I AM NOT A SCIENTIST. I AM A LEGISLATOR. I RELY ON SCIENTISTS TO PRESENT ME WITH FACTS. MANMADE CLIMATE CHANGE IS VERY DISTURBING – BECAUSE – THE SCIENTISTS CAN NOT AGREE ON IT. THAT PLACES POLICYMAKERS IN A QUANDARY. WE OWE IT TO OURSELVES AND OUR CONSTITUENTS TO ENCOURAGE WIDE DEBATE, NOT TO HOSE THE DEBATE DOWN BY SILENCING DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW.  IT IS OFTEN SAID THAT HISTORY IS WRITTEN BY THOSE WHO WIN POWER. TODAY WE ARE FACED WITH A SCENARIO WHERE THOSE WITH THE POWER WANT TO WRITE THE FUTURE AS WELL. AND IT WILL BE A BLEAK AND POVERTY STRICKEN ONE IF THEY HAVE THEIR WAY. I SEE SO MANY EXAMPLES OF POLITICAL DECISIONS MADE TO GET GREEN PREFERENCES TO KEEP STATE AND FEDERAL LABOR GOVERNMENTS IN POWER. GREEN GROUPS SEEM TO BE EXERTING ALMOST A VETO POWER ON MUCH OF GOVERNMENT OUTPUT. AND THAT MEANS WE ARE NOT GETTING GOVERNMENT FOR THE PEOPLE AND BY THE PEOPLE. OUR DEMOCRACY HAS BEEN HIJACKED. IT IS THE GREEN ORTHODOXY ON ALL SORTS OF ISSUES THAT BECOMES THE PREVAILING ONE – AND IT FILTERS THROUGH ALL LEVELS OF SOCIETY – FROM FUNDING GRANT GUIDELINES TO SCHOOL PROGRAMS TO THE CLOSURE OF SELECTED LOGGING OPERATIONS THAT HAVE EMPLOYED COMMUNITIES FOR MANY YEARS – WITHOUT HARMING THE ENVIRONMENT. NOW WE ALSO HAVE INDIGENOUS GROUPS WANTING TO CARVE OUT A VIABLE ECONOMIC FUTURE FOR THEMSELVES BUT THEY ARE BEING THWARTED BY GREEN GROUPS AND LEGISLATION LIKE THAT FOR THE WILD RIVERS. I AM HERE TO SUPPORT PROFESSOR PLIMER’S BOOK BECAUSE IT CHALLENGES THE PREVAILING AND UNHEALTHY ORTHODOXY OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE DEBATE. I FREELY ADMIT I DON’T KNOW A LOT ABOUT THE PHYSICS OF EARTH SCIENCES BUT I DO KNOW A DANGEROUS POLITICAL LIAISON WHEN I SEE ONE. AND THE GOVERNMENT’S EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEME IS EXACTLY THAT – AN ATTEMPT TO SEDUCE GREEN PREFERENCES TO KEEP THEM IN POWER. IT IS NOT ABOUT THE WORLD COMING TO AN END. IT IS ABOUT POWER AND IT IS ABOUT MONEY. ON THE WEEKEND THE FIRST LOWER HOUSE GREEN MP WAS ELECTED TO THE WA STATE PARLIAMENT. THIS WEEK THE AUSTRALIAN PUBLISHED A LIST OF LABOR FEDERAL SEATS WHERE THE GREEN VOTE WAS VERY HIGH. AT THE SAME TIME MINISTER WONG IS LOCKED INTO NEGOTATIONS WITH THE GREENS OVER THE ETS. LABOR FINDS ITSELF CAUGHT BETWEEN THE BLUE COLLAR VOTE AND THE GREEN VOTE. AND THE GREEN VOTE IS WINNING. I HAVE SPENT THREE WEEKS IN SENATE COMITTEE HEARINGS ON CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY. THE IMPACT OF THE GOVERNMENT’S ETS ON RURAL AND ENERGY USING BUSINESS IS FRIGHTENING. THERE IS STILL SO MUCH MORE TO COME OUT ABOUT ITS IMPACT ON EVERY SMALL BUSINESS. WHEREVER ENERGY IS USED AS AN INPUT TO A BUSINESS, COSTS WILL GO UP.  EVEN HOUSEHOLD POWER COSTS WIL RISE BY 50% ONCE THE ETS COMES IN. QUEENSLANDERS ALREADY FACE HUG PRICE HIKES FOR POWER. BE WARNED: THE ETS WILL SLUG YOU EVEN MORE. NOTHING LESS THAN A TOTAL RESTRUCTURING OF THE ECONOMY IS CALLED FOR. THERE ARE NO HIGHER STAKES THAN THAT. LEGISLATORS MUST BE HORRIBLY SURE THAT THIS IS NECESSARY FOR THE NATION BEFORE EMBARKING ON SUCH A TIDAL SHIFT IN THE NATION’S AFFAIRS. SO PROFESSOR PLIMER, AND CONNOR COURT PUBLISHING, I SAY TO YOU CONGRATULATIONS FOR STICKING YOUR HEADS UP IN A VERY ONE-SIDED DEBATE. YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN YOUR THINKING BUT YOU ARE PERHAPS PART OF THE FEW WITH THE COURAGE TO RISK PERSECUTION AND FUTURE GOVERNMENT GRANTS BY SPEAKING OUT.   IT IS AMAZING HOW THOSE WHO PREACH TOLERANCE ARE OFTEN THEMSELVES SO INTOLERANT OF OPPOSING VIEWS. THAT FREEDOM TO SPEAK, TO PUBLISH, MUST BE VENERATED IN A DEMOCRACY. THIS IS A VERY USER FRIENDLY BOOK FOR THE NON-SCIENTIST AS WELL. I  ENJOYED THE ANECDOTES ABOUT THE MANY FALSE ALARMS THROUGHOUT HISTORY ABOUT THE WORLD COMING TO AN END. HERE’S AN EXCERPT:- “THE GLOBAL FLOOD WAS PREDICTED FOR  20 FEBRUARY 1524, THERE WAS FRANTIC BOAT BUILDING ACTIVITY AND MANY SCALED-DOWN REPLICAS OF NOAH’S ARK WERE BUILT. MANY IN PORT TOWNS RETREATED TO BOATS. IN GERMANY, COUNT VON IGGLEHEIM BUILT A THREE STOREY ARK. HE RETREATED INTO THE ARK ON THE DESIGNATED DELUGE DAY AND AN ANGRY CROWD GATHERED OUTSIDE BECAUSE A RICH MAN WAS GOING TO GO THROUGH THE EYE OF A NEEDLE AND THEY WERE TO PERISH. ON THE DEEMED DELUGE DAY, IT RAINED LIGHTLY, THE CROWD BEHAVED AS A CROWD AND HUNDREDS WERE KILLED IN A STAMPEDE.” THE POOR COUNT ALAS WAS STONED TO DEATH BY THE CROWD. IT MAKES YOU THINK ABOUT BACK HERE IN AUSTRALIA - MIGHT THERE BE ONE DAY A POLITICAL STONING OF LEADERS WHO INSIST ON AN EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEME THAT WILL DO MORE THAN STORM DAMAGE TO OUR KEY COMPETITIVE INDUSTRIES? IS KEVIN RUDD TODAY’S EQUIVALENT TO COUNT VON IGGLEHEIM? LABOR’S EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEME IS THE 3 STOREY ARK BUILT AT A STAGGERING COST TO JOBS, EXPORTS AND BUSINESS.  THERE WOULD BE A HUGE CROWD OF BLUE COLLAR WORKERS LEFT OUTSIDE THE ETS ARK. THEY ARE FROM THE MILLS, THE MINES, THE FOOD PROCESSING FACTORIES, THE TRANSPORT AND MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. BLUESCOPE STEEL CHAIRMAN, BRAMBLES CHAIRMAN, AND RESERVE BANK DIRECTOR GRAHAM KRAEHE SAYS THE CARBON REDUCTION SCHEME IS A BIGGER ECONOMIC THREAT THAN THE GLOBAL DOWNTURN AND WOULD PREVENT A $1 BILLION INVESTMENT IN CLEAN POWER AT PORT KEMBLA. HE SAID "THE AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY WILL SURVIVE THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN BUT IT MAY NOT SURVIVE THE CPRS”. WE HAVE BEEN TOLD BY THE DAIRY INDUSTRY THAT IT IS GOING TO COST THE DAIRY FARMERS $9,000 PER FARM—THAT IS JUST FOR THE DAIRYING; THE PRICE WILL GO UP WHEN THE COWS HAVE TO BE SLAUGHTERED. WE ARE ALSO TOLD BY THE DAIRY PROCESSORS, ‘IT IS GOING TO IMPACT ON OUR PROCESS WORKERS.’ WE HAVE BEEN TOLD BY EVERY INDUSTRY, ‘OUR PROCESS WORKERS ARE GOING TO SUFFER.’ IN THE MINING INDUSTRY, 10,000 JOBS ARE GOING TO GO. THOSE ARE BLUE-COLLAR JOBS. WHY IS LABOR SELLING THOSE PEOPLE OUT? MAKES YOU WONDER WHY THEY TAKE THE WORKERS’ UNION FEES. PEOPLE ARE SAYING, ‘I WANT A JOB. THE GLOBAL CRISIS IS MY MAIN CONCERN. I WANT TO FEED MY KIDS. I WANT TO LOOK AFTER MY HOUSE. HOW AM I GOING TO LOOK AFTER MY KIDS? WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?’ THAT IS DAWNING ON THESE PEOPLE NOW. REMEMBER LAST WEEK IN THE RIVERINA, WHEN A PARROT TOOK PREFERENCE OVER WORKERS? THE PARROT WAS PUT ON A HIGHER PERCH THAN 800 JOBS. THIS IS DESPITE THE BIRD COUNT SURVEY SHOWING A 50% INCREASE IN THE PARROT POPULATION OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS. THE WORKERS ARE WAKING UP IN GLADSTONE,WHERE THE CEMENT AND ALUMINIUM INDUSTRIES ARE. THEY KNOW THEIR JOBS ARE ON THE LINE. THEY ARE WAKING UP IN ROCKHAMPTON. THE ABATTOIR WORKERS IN ROCKHAMPTON KNOW. THE MINERS IN THE BOWEN BASIN KNOW. THE WORD IS OUT. THE PEOPLE WHO BUILT THE ETS ARK ARE TRADING WORKERS’ JOBS FOR GREENS PREFERENCES, AND THE WORKERS FEEL BETRAYED. AUSTRALIA IS GOING IT ALONE WITHOUT THE REST OF THE WORLD AND THAT IS WHY AUSTRALIA WILL SUFFER. REGARDLESS OF COPENHAGEN, OUR ETS WILL IMPOSE A CARBON COST ON OUR BUSINESSES WHICH OUR TRADING COMPETITORS WILL NOT HAVE TO PAY. WE HAVE TO MOVE HEAVEN AND EARTH TO STOP THIS HAPPENING. READING ‘HEAVEN AND EARTH’ IS ONE WAY TO BEGIN. IT COMES WITH A WARNING - YOU MAY BE ACCUSED OF HAVING ROCKS IN YOUR HEAD.  BUT THEN YOU COULD ALWAYS RESPOND WITH, “YES THAT’S CORRECT, I HAVE ‘PLIMERITE’ IN MY BRAIN.” PLIMERITE IS AFTERALL A NEW MINERAL NAMED AFTER PROFESSOR PLIMER IN RECOGNITION OF HIS CONTRIBUTION TO GEOLOGY. IN CONCLUSION, I TAKE GREAT PLEASURE IN FORMALLY LAUNCHING IN BRISBANE ‘HEAVEN AND EARTH, GLOBAL WARMING: THE MISSING SCIENCE’.