Dr Karl Kruszelnicki backs away from 'flawed', 'political' Intergenerational Report

Updated

The man promoting the Government's Intergenerational Report, ABC science commentator Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, has backed away from the document, describing it as "flawed".

Released every five years, the report provides a snapshot of how the nation might look in 40 years, covering everything from population size and life expectancy to public spending and the size of future budget deficits.

Dr Kruszelnicki appears in a number of advertisements promoting the report on television and radio, in newspapers and on social media, but he is now criticising the report's reduced focus on climate change.

"I did it on the grounds that it would be not for any political party but for the Government of Australia as a non-political, bipartisan, independent report," he told the ABC's AM program.

"I thought that people would know the difference between a report and a policy document.

"And this actually, as a report, seems to have some policy in it."

Dr Kruszelnicki said he was only able to read parts of the report before he agreed to the ads as the rest was under embargo.

Despite assurances otherwise, Dr Kruszelnicki now believes he put his name and reputation to a report that is highly political and which largely ignores the impact of climate change.

It was my fault for not realising the nature of the beast that I was involved with. Dr Karl Kruszelnicki

"How can you possibly have a report that looks at the next 40 years and doesn't mention climate change?" he told ABC News 24.

"It should have acknowledged that climate change is real and we cause it and it will be messy.

"I shouldn't have done it if there wasn't enough about climate change."

Dr Kruszelnicki said he had received abuse for doing the ads, especially on social media.

"Hate emails, hate Twitters that I am to blame for the one-quarter of scientists being fired from CSIRO, that I am to be blamed for somebody's daughter having to pay a huge amount for her education for a science degree," he said.

"As far as I was concerned, I went in thinking that I was dealing with an independent part of government.

"However a small percentage of people have seen me as saying vote for this political party or that one, which I am not doing at all."

Dr Kruszelnicki said he agreed to do the ads because he was passionate about planning for the future and he supported aspects of the report, including the parts on the ageing population and the impact of the end of the mining boom.

He also welcomed the attention the Intergenerational Report has received through the ads.

"I think that the campaign is terrific in the sense it has people talking about it. Nobody ever talked about IGR 1 back in 2002."

However, he said the fact it devoted only a few pages to climate change was just not good enough.

Dr Karl's retreat from report 'testament to Hockey's ineptitude': Opposition

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen said Treasurer Joe Hockey politicised the Intergenerational Report and it is telling the public face of the report is criticising it.

"You know Joe Hockey has got it wrong when even the person he paid to sell the IGR is rubbishing it," Mr Bowen said in a statement.

"There are posters and billboards up across Australia with Dr Karl's face on them, and every one is now a testament to the Treasurer's ineptitude.

"Joe Hockey needs to end this taxpayer-funded advertising spree right now.

"Then he needs to come clean on how much Australians have had to pay for this bungled ad campaign for his flawed IGR."

Dr Kruszelnicki blames himself for trusting the Government. He turned to Aesop's Fables to explain himself.

"The scorpion says to the frog, 'can you take me across the flooded river?' And the frog says, 'No, you'll stab me and kill me.'," he said.

"And the scorpion says, 'No, I won't do that because I'll drown myself." And the frog says, 'Yes, you'll drown.' So the frog says, 'hop on my back', takes him half way across the river and then the scorpion stabs him.

"And the frog says, 'Hey, you stabbed me, I'm going to die! And so are you! Why'd you do that? Are you crazy?' And the scorpion said, 'I can't help it. It's my nature.'

"It was my fault for not realising the nature of the beast that I was involved with.

"I really thought that it would be an independent, bipartisan, non-political document."

However, Dr Kruszelnicki said he had not asked for the ad campaign to stop.

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