In a victory for common sense the bizarrely named 'Consensus Centre' has got the boot from the University of WA. Pyne says that opponents to the organisation 'like shouting down those with opposing ideas to their's'.......yes Pyne actually said that!..... Seriously!
The UWA simply didnt believe that Lomborg's research met the academic rigor required for the investment required and grief caused. Apparently Lomborg's books are used to show how not to approach research. Im sure Pyne will find some 'chicken outfit' happy to take his $4 million. I think I know where he'll go.
Below is a story from today's Guardian.
The University of Western Australia (UWA) has handed back $4m in federal government funding to host a “consensus centre” with climate contrarian Bjørn Lomborg, saying that lack of support among its academics made the centre untenable.
But the federal education minister, Christopher Pyne, has vowed to find another university to host the Lomborg centre and said he was seeking legal advice about UWA’s decision to hand back the $4m in funding awarded for it.
In a statement emailed to UWA staff and then published online late on Friday, UWA vice chancellor, Paul Johnson, said that strong opposition to the centre had put the university in a difficult position.
“Therefore, it is with great regret and disappointment that I have formed the view that the events of the past few weeks places the centre in an untenable position as it lacks the support needed across the university and the broader academic community to meet its contractual obligations and deliver value for money for Australian taxpayers,” he said.
Johnson said that the planned Australian consensus centre, which would have been linked to Lomborg’s Copenhagen consensus centre, would have done important work, but “unfortunately, that work cannot happen here”.
“I have today spoken to the federal government and Bjørn Lomborg advising them of the barriers that currently exist to the creation of the Centre and the University’s decision to cancel the contract and return the money to the government,” he said.
Pyne accused the UWA academics of “shouting down” views with which they disagreed.
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