Monckton show comes to Noosa

Resplendent in a beige linen suit and tie on a hot Noosa Saturday afternoon, King of the climate sceptics Lord Monckton’s costume appeared to be the salient difference between himself and the 600-strong crowd who turned up at The J at Noosa Junction to hear his climate change denial philosophy.

Lord Monckton, a Harvard classics and mathematics graduate and self-declared Thatcherite, said he hadn’t expected Australians to be so friendly to a “chinless, whinging pom and an aristocrat, at that”. But, certainly, the Noosa audience, who chanted a loud and clear “No ETS” three times at his urging, gave him a warm welcome.

Hecklers. What hecklers?

In his upmarket showmanship style, he greeted the crowd with an Aussie “G’day Noosa” followed by an American accent to mimic Albert Gore (as he was referred to) and on to an imitation Indian accent of an IPCC member.

He certainly did not want any alternatives to fossil fuels challenging the world economy. Because, he said, he did not want the economy closed down because of “bogus nonsense”.

And he believed the IPCC take on climate change and the Copenhagen conference was an excuse for a failed power grab by a potential unelected world government to rule over elected governments.

“Fortunately democracy won over,” he told the faithful.

Curiosity had brought some of the crowd, others were true believers who came to hear a man who was basically pretty happy with the global status quo.

Well except for a few things – the media have their own agenda and would only give out statistics that suited them, he said. He described the UK Guardian newspaper as “Marxist” while Albert Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth was labelled a “mawkish, hi-fi, comedy movie.”

He consistently referred to giving us the truth and told the crowd, “Don’t believe me ... I could be as much BS as the next guy.”

What the good Lord insisted upon was the individual’s commitment to their own research. “I’m here to give you the facts” he said.

“Weigh up what I say and what they say.”

A stylish presentation of his facts demolished IPCC views on glacier melts, rising temperatures, DDT and, of course, the effect of fossil fuels on global warming.

He attributed much of the Third World starvation on the growth of bio-fuel agriculture.

Tellingly, there were no current serving politicians in the audience, although one former National Party identity was among the throng.

Audience members later said the event had been informative.

“He makes a lot of sense in his arguments,” said one Noosa woman.

“There’s a lot of information not being given out,” another said. “The media is being very selective about it.

“There is more information on the internet because the media are not reporting it all.”

Another said the debate was “falling into the hands of people who want to introduce a tax”.

“Most people don’t realise that introducing an ETS won’t make the slightest difference to climate change ... there will be a huge human cost.”

“Weigh up what I say and what they say.”