With the carbon tax being very much a hot issue, one talk radio producer told radioinfo recently, “the listeners are feral on it, they call and yell down the phone, I haven’t seen anything like this for a very long time.” Talk radio is divided along party lines, with most commercial station presenters tapping into their listeners’ hip-pocket anti-carbon tax sentiment, and the ABC focusing on the political manoeuvrings and examining the science. 2GB’s Alan Jones spoke at the Canberra rally against the tax, admonishing a Herald reporter in the process, and ABC702’s breakfast show recently took apart the claims of climate change sceptic ‘Lord’ Monckton. With sentiments running hot, if you are going to take on this controversial issue, it would be wise to make sure you have done your homework and remember that the presenter should be in ultimate charge of the interview and ask, not answer, the questions. ABC666’s Alex Slone found out some of these rules the hard way when Barnaby Joyce turned the tables and ended up interviewing her.
This report from radioinfo’s Canberra correspondent.
Over the course of an interview last week with Barnaby Joyce, ABC Canberra morning presenter Alex Slone answered multiple questions posed by the senator, outlined government policy and questioned the status of two climate scientists.
The interview coincided with the second anti-carbon tax rally outside Parliament House. The first rally was controversial, with Coalition members delivering speeches in front of offensive signs targeting the Prime Minister. Senator Joyce, a member of the Coalition, addressed both rallies.
Joyce is on the record as being sceptical of anthropogenic climate change. He told Sloane he believes the government’s carbon tax policy will have a negligible effect on global warming, and that Prime Minister Gillard should take the policy to an early election.
In the first few minutes the interview began to lose momentum. Senator Joyce rejected that the carbon tax would necessarily pass both houses of parliament, as he believed at least one Labor member would cross the floor to stop its passage. This meant that Joyce rejected Sloane’s further questions, which presumed that the tax would become law. Instead of moving the interview past these questions, Sloane allowed exchanges like this to occur:
“The bills are in place for [the carbon tax] to be put in place for the next election,” she said.
“I haven’t seen the bills, have you?” Joyce replied.
“But the timetabling, Senator Joyce, is that, unless [a member of the Labor Party] falls over as you suggest, it will all be in place.”
“That doesn’t make it right.”
“It makes it a fact.”
“It definitely makes people poorer.”
The interview lost all structure when Sloane took the advice of a listener, and asked Joyce whether he believed in climate change.
“I believe the climate is changing all the time. I believe in the work of people such as Professor John Christy and Professor Roy Spencer,” he replied. The academics Senator Joyce mentioned are two sceptics of anthropogenic climate change. Less than 2% of climate scientists hold this position. Nevertheless, their articles have been peer-reviewed.
Joyce then commented that he didn’t believe he should be “quarantined” from having a view on global warming. “Neither do scientists,” Sloane replied.
“Well this is an assertion, do you believe that all scientists believe in global warming?” he asked.
“I look to scientists who have been peer reviewed” she replied.
“Which ones?”
“Well to the IPCC scientists.”
“Do you believe Professor Roy Spencer is a member of the IPCC?”
“Look, Barnaby Joyce, has his work been peer-reviewed?”
“Absolutely. Do you believe John Christy and Roy Spencer are members of the IPCC Alex?”
“Barnaby Joyce – ”
“Answer that question”
“Look, Barnaby Joyce let me get to the…”
“Why won’t you answer that question?”
“Barnaby Joyce I…”
“Well that’s because they were, they were the lead atmospheric scientists of the IPCC. Why don’t you read their stuff?”
“Well Barnaby Joyce – ”
“It’s because you choose not to.”
“It’s not because I choose not to, it’s because we lean on peer-review in this country.”
A minute later the senator asked his interviewer whether she believed “this tax will have any effect of the climate”. “Well, probably yes,” she replied, and then spent 20 seconds outlining how the government’s policy would operate.
“The whole point of the tax is to make people poorer,” Joyce asserted.
“Well, that’s not the case with renewable energies coming down in price,” she replied.
Senator Joyce then asked if she thought the ABC Canberra radio station was run on coal power, to which Sloane replied: “It could be run on other sources. If [coal] becomes dearer, the consumer can [use] a different source of power that will not be subsidised.”
“Alex, what are you doing, you are supposed to be impartial,” one listener commented.
Another listener accused Senator Joyce of bullying tactics. However, Sloane did not agree with this characterisation: “I don’t find Barnaby Joyce nasty, I find him feisty.”
Listen to the full interview here.
Meanwhile, 2GB’s Alan Jones was at the Canberra Carbon Tax rally last week and was insulted by the idea that a Sydney Morning Herald journalist would ask him if he was paid for his appearance. He mentioned the exchange on stage at the rally saying “if I had not mentioned it they would have printed Alan Jones refuses to deny he was paid to appear at the rally.” See a video of the incident here (click the picture).
