Under Labor and the Greens, Australia had been taken "hostage" by "climate change madness" he wrote. Mr Neumann responded to the article on Tuesday, saying the claims it contained were ''ignorant''. "These extraordinary comments from one of Tony Abbott's closest advisers prove the Coalition is not serious about taking action on climate change and does not accept the overwhelming evidence of a changing climate," Mr Neumann said. "The worst part about Mr Newman's ignorant comments is that he's only voicing what we know Tony Abbott thinks about climate change.'' In the opinion piece, Mr Newman said Australia's manufacturing sector and overall competitiveness have been destroyed by climate change policies driven by "scientific delusion".

"Climate change madness ... has been a major factor in the decimation of our manufacturing industry," he said. "It is the unprecedented cost of energy, driven by the Renewable Energy Target and carbon tax, which, at the margin, has destroyed our competitiveness." Mr Newman added that he believed the green economy was killing Australian jobs. "For all the propaganda about green employment, Australia seems to be living the European experience, where, for every green job created, two to three jobs are lost in the real economy," Mr Newman said. The scientific delusion, the religion behind the climate crusade, is crumbling

"The scientific delusion, the religion behind the climate crusade, is crumbling." Mr Newman wrote he believed the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change resorted to "dishonesty and deceit" and were "intent on exploiting the masses and extracting more money". Climate Council chief Tim Flannery said he could make little of Maurice Newman's opinion piece, which appeared "at best" to be a selective reading of the data. He accused Mr Newman of being driven by a "denialist ideology" and of distorting the facts about global warming. "Professor Newman's gouty festive season ramblings might easily be forgiven as the product of an extra glass or two of port," Professor Flannery said.

"But as they come from the Prime Minister's chief business adviser they need to be taken seriously. "As the government formulates its climate policies, we've got to be guided by facts. Clearly... Maurice Newman is not. "His contribution is entirely unhelpful." However, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry boss Peter Anderson said Mr Newman offered a "very valid overall perspective". "Australia's competitiveness has been weakened over the past six years, in part because of poor policy responses to climate change," he said.

Mr Anderson said it was not his place to offer opinions on climate science, but he believed Australia's manufacturing sector had been weakened by high energy costs due to the carbon tax and an "overly ambitious" renewable energy target. Fairfax Media has contacted the Prime Minister's office for a response to Mr Newman's comments. Mr Newman is a former chairman of the ABC and the Australian Stock Exchange. Since being appointed as Mr Abbott's chief business adviser, Mr Newman has provoked controversy with his public statements. In November, comments by Mr Newman brought the contentious Howard government industrial relations policy of WorkChoices back in the headlines, despite repeated assurances from Mr Abbott that the policy was "dead, buried and cremated".

Addressing the Committee for Economic Development of Australia on November 11, Mr Newman said Australia's industrial relations system must be reformed, even if the idea brings forth ''screams of outrage and the spectre of WorkChoices''. He said he was speaking in a personal capacity. ''We cannot hide from the fact that Australian wage rates are very high by international standards, and our system is dogged by rigidities," Mr Newman said.