EMMA ALBERICI, PRESENTER: The new One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts has grabbed the media spotlight this week with a series of claims about conspiracies involving climate change. He has also called for part of the Racial Discrimination Act to be replaced so the nation can have an open debate about tax, Islam and the economy.

Senator Roberts is one of three One Nation senators joining Pauline Hanson in the new upper house and he joins me now.

Malcolm Roberts, congratulations on your election to the Senate.

MALCOLM ROBERTS, SENATOR, ONE NATION: Thank you very much, Emma.

EMMA ALBERICI: I was going to say in the last 24 hours, you have said a number of things that I would like to clarify with you, if I could.

First up, you're not a fan of the United Nations; in fact you believe the UN is trying to create a one world Government. Talk us through your concerns there?

MALCOLM ROBERTS: Sure. But first of all before doing that, I would like to mention that you said that I claimed there are some conspiracies. I've never said that. I avoid using the word "conspiracy".

Often a lot of these things, Emma, remind me of the old saying "rather than malice, why attribute malice when stupidity suffices".

What I'd say is, why attribute malice or conspiracy when stupidity, weakness and gutlessness suffice?

EMMA ALBERICI: Explain what you mean with regards to the United Nations?

MALCOLM ROBERTS: Sure. The United Nations was set up in 1944 and 1945 it came into being. Since then it has been on a push for gradually including more power, over individual countries. It is much the same as the European Union in the sense that Britain has just left. We just saw Brexit. Britain was tired of the waste, tired of the control, tired of the regulations, tired of the lack of democracy, tired of their smashing of their sovereignty and they said no thank you very much.

We need to say the same to the UN. And I'll tell you why. In 1975, the Labor Government under Whitlam signed the Lima declaration, which has been responsible for decimating our manufacturing. It was endorsed or ratified the following year in 1976 by the Liberal Government.

In 1992, we had the UN's 1992 Rio declaration for 21st century global governance. That has become known as Agenda 21. Oops, there, I've said it. Agenda 21 is nothing short of an attempt by the UN to implement global governance. It is now, as more and more people waking up to that, it is now being called United Nations sustainable development goals 2030. And all they are doing is imposing rules, regulations and restrictions on us through our Federal Government and that Government is implementing these policies around the country. They have never ever, ever - it is part of Labor Party policy, part of the Greens policy -

EMMA ALBERICI: Let's unpick a bit of that before we run out of time, before I get a chance to ask you anything else but a lot of what your concerns have beep around the UN relate to climate change and the fact that the UN encourages countries to bring down their carbon emissions. But you think climate science is a hoax despite the national science academies of some 80 or more countries disagreeing with you?

MALCOLM ROBERTS: Well Emma. that is a very interesting way you have just gone to a consensus thinking, a political narrative -

EMMA ALBERICI: Not just political but academic and scientific.

MALCOLM ROBERTS: No, you have gone to a political movement because there is no empirical evidence anywhere in the world that our production of carbon dioxide affects global climate in any way at all.

EMMA ALBERICI: Well let me -

MALCOLM ROBERTS: Hang on Emma -

EMMA ALBERICI: Hold on. One thing at a time -

MALCOLM ROBERTS: What decides science is evidence -

EMMA ALBERICI: Let's just talk about things one at a time so we don't get confused. And what I understand from the countless interviews I have done with climate scientists is CO2 in the atmosphere is 40 per cent higher than before the Industrial Revolution. Roughly 35 billion tonnes of CO2 is emitted each year from burning fossil fuels and making cement.

What do you say that's doing to the environment?

MALCOLM ROBERTS: Nothing at all. Carbon dioxide is plant food. It's aerial fertiliser and it's essential for life on this planet. Every cell -

EMMA ALBERICI: But you don't say there is any excess being created by human activity?

MALCOLM ROBERTS: No. It's very simple Emma. Science is decided by empirical evidence.

EMMA ALBERICI: Yes, and I've just given you one example of where I have seen that evidence. The other bit of empirical evidence I have observed reveals that the ocean which is absorbing large amounts of the extra CO2 is having a chemical affect which the Great Barrier Reef marine authority says has increased acidification of the water.

MALCOLM ROBERTS: Well let's come back to basics, the empirical evidence, this is what I want you to understand please, the empirical evidence must be presented in a way that explains cause and affect. The overall temperature has shown nothing unusual at all in temperature.

EMMA ALBERICI: As a matter of fact, the scientists tell me that 11 of the past 12 years are the warmest on record.

MALCOLM ROBERTS: That's not true. The 1930s and 40s were warmer than the recent decade. The 1880 and 90s were warmer than recent decades.

EMMA ALBERICI: Who supports you -

MALCOLM ROBERTS: Hang on, Emma, that's the first thing -

EMMA ALBERICI: Who supports you in terms of global scientific opinion, who is it that you're quoting from to establish your facts?

MALCOLM ROBERTS: As I have said repeatedly, what decides empirical evidence and what decides science is empirical evidence. The empirical evidence proves -

EMMA ALBERICI: Yes, and I am quoting you the evidence from more than 80 national scientific academies, the Bureau of Meteorology here, the CSIRO and pretty much all Governments, including our own?

MALCOLM ROBERTS: Emma, you are not quoting empirical evidence. You are quoting some opinions. You are not quoting empirical evidence. I am quoting empirical evidence in that there is nothing unusual in temperature. That is the first thing. The second thing is that the -

EMMA ALBERICI: According to 97 per cent of scientists around the world, the burning of fossil fuels is the chief culprit of rising CO2 in the atmosphere.

MALCOLM ROBERTS: I'm going to stay with what decides science. Now the empirical evidence shows the level of CO2 in the atmosphere is as a result of changes in temperature. That's the complete reverse of what the UN and Bureau of Meteorology are saying. The third thing is that the UN's own evidence on carbon dioxide levels, the own measured data - let's define empirical evidence, it's observations in the real world, it's measured real world data. That evidence shows that human production of carbon dioxide is not effecting levels in the atmosphere. We can see that in the seasonal, the annual and the long term trend.

Now you've mentioned -

EMMA ALBERICI: What do you mean - I'm sorry to interrupt you - when you blame international banking families for what you call the climate scam?

MALCOLM ROBERTS: Well the international banks are driving this because what they are doing is they are hoping to capture trillions of dollars for no risk basically, just trading paper carbon dioxide credits.

EMMA ALBERICI: Give me an example of one bank that's made a fortune from trading carbon emissions?

MALCOLM ROBERTS: That is just it, they haven't yet because the Chicago climate exchange has collapsed. The European carbon price is in the tank.

EMMA ALBERICI: So you are blaming banks for something that hasn't happened yet?

MALCOLM ROBERTS: No, I am blaming banks for actually stating and admitting that that is what they are seeking to do. They haven't done it -

EMMA ALBERICI: Couldn't they be seeking to do that because they want to help prepare the environment?

MALCOLM ROBERTS: Well Emma, again, you haven't mentioned that there is no evidence showing that humans are affecting climate -

EMMA ALBERICI: No, because I disagree with you.

MALCOLM ROBERTS: You haven't provided evidence.

EMMA ALBERICI: Now you have spent your life working in and for the coal industry, could that help explain why you're taking this contrary view?

MALCOLM ROBERTS: Well let's make it very clear, I have worked on this for eight to nine years and I have not received a cent from anyone. It is entirely voluntary. My wife and family -

EMMA ALBERICI: But it's true that your history is in the coal industry, correct?

MALCOLM ROBERTS: Well what I am going to say to you is that it's also true that people who can't provide the empirical evidence generally turn around and say "But you're working for a coal company or you have worked for a coal company". That is completely irrelevant.

EMMA ALBERICI: I deny that people can't produce empirical evidence. And before we do run out of time -

MALCOLM ROBERTS: But you haven't provided any empirical evidence.

EMMA ALBERICI: I'd also like you to explain for us the way you've identified yourself in correspondence for the Galleleo movement as the free man Malcolm-Ieuan:Roberts., acting as Malcom Ieuan Roberts. Can you just explain that?

MALCOLM ROBERTS: By the way, the middle name is pronounced Ieuan. It is Welsh.

EMMA ALBERICI: Sorry.

MALCOLM ROBERTS: That's fine. No problems.

I spent many years trying to work all kinds of avenues to try and get the politicians to actually take responsibility for their nonsense on climate. Many - majority, according to the current Deputy PM of the Coalition, MPs don't agree with the policy because they don't think that our carbon dioxide is affecting the planet.

Despite that, hardly any Coalition MPs speak up. I know the cabinet ministers disagree with that. We know that Kevin Rudd's cabinet disagreed with it as well. But nonetheless, we couldn't get anyone to speak up. It has to be debated. And so what I tried every avenue, registered mail letters, ordinary post letters, faxes, emails, personal visits and no-one was willing to stand up. Then -

EMMA ALBERICI: We are out of time and we will be cut off the air. I just want to understand because this has been discussed a lot today, why do you refer to yourself like that with all the odd punctuations?

Last one - attached and below is Lateline Story 4 August 5.

MALCOLM ROBERTS: Well what I did was I looked at an alternative way to try and hold these people accountable and that is the advice I got.

When we look at this, I can see now South Australia in a basket case, as a basket case because of its manufacturing being decimated. It's now the highest use of renewable energy.

EMMA ALBERICI: I can see I won't get an answer to my question. We are out of time. I look forward to having the opportunity to talk to you again at some stage.

Senator, thank you.

MALCOLM ROBERTS: And we can talk about that in detail.

You're welcome Emma.