Who’s this supporting the NZ C”S”C’s idiotic attempt to cast doubt on the NZ temperature record? Why, it’s none other than Rodney Hide, leader of the ACT Party, and Minister of Local Government, Associate Minister of Commerce, Minister of Regulatory Reform and Parliamentary principal climate crank. Hide has written to climate change minister Nick Smith, demanding that the NIWA release the temperature data:
There is only one process that is appropriate for matters of science, and that is to release all data, together with a detailed account of what adjustments have been made, with an account of the reasons for doing so, and the computer codes that have been used to adjust and smooth the final published series, together with details of which measurements have been discarded. All the data and the relevant computer codes should be available for scientific scrutiny.
Free the NIWA code! What a rallying cry. It’s a pity that he thinks the likes of Treadgold constitute independent scientific scrutiny. Hide’s also been taking instructions on the CRU hack, and is seemingly happy to completely misrepresent what’s been going on. Apparently the emails:
…reveal a systematic attempt to manipulate the historical time series data, together with what appear to be arbitrary adjustments to the computer codes which produce the averaged and smoothed temperature data…
Er, no. That’s not true. The Herald does a far better job than the Minister of Local Government of covering the stolen emails and what they actually say. But perhaps Rodney gets his “facts” from somewhere else. So, in the spirit of his letter to Nick, here’s mine to Rodney.
Dear Mr Hide,
In your letter to Nick Smith, dated November 27th, you refer to a NZ Climate “Science” Coalition document entitled Are we feeling warmer yet? and use it as the basis for the request of further information from NIWA. In the interests of open government, and the full disclosure of the interests of Ministers of the Crown seeking to use to use their position to advance the agendas of external organisations, I request that you answer the following questions in full, revealing any email or other communications made in relation to this subject during the period in question.
- Who drew your attention the NZ CSC document?
- Have you actually read to it?
- As an “environmental scientist“, who understands (per your letter) that adjustments to temperature series are necessary, did you not notice that the NZ CSC document deliberately ignored the adjustments in order to make their case?
- If you did not, why not?
- Who drafted your letter to the Minister for Climate Change Issues?
- What correspondence, via email, letter or other means (including telephone conversations), have you had with Bryan Leyland, Alan Gibb, Terry Dunleavy, Bob Dedekind, Owen McShane, Richard Treadgold, or any member of the NZ Climate “Science” Coalition, in respect of NIWA temperature data, the theft of emails from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, or climate science or policy matters in the last month?
- As a Minister of the Crown, do you support the theft of emails and data from universities here or overseas?
- If not, why do you use stolen emails to support your case?
- If you have not read those emails, who supplied your interpretation of them?
- Do you think its reasonable for a Minister of the Crown to join a smear campaign against New Zealand scientists?
Thank you for you urgent attention to these matters. I look forward to receiving a full disclosure of all and any information relating to this issue at your earliest convenience.
(But I won’t be holding my breath…)