Mr Abbott referred to and praised Dr Lomborg in his 2009 book Battlelines.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his chief of staff, Peta Credlin. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

One insider said Mr Pyne had "nothing to do with the idea", while another said the Education Minister had been "crucified" for the decisions of others.

The idea to fund the think tank was first discussed in the middle of 2014 and the search for a suitable location began soon afterwards.

The Australian Catholic University's Canberra campus was one of a number of locations considered for the controversial centre, as were a range of other locations before UWA was settled on. The ACU's vice-chancellor is prominent constitutional conservative Greg Craven, who was appointed by the government last year to lead a major review of teacher education.