The science broadcaster Karl Kruszelnicki has distanced himself from the Abbott government’s intergenerational report, insisting he had been able to read only extracts of the document before appearing in the associated advertising campaign.
Kruszelnicki – well known simply as Dr Karl – expressed regrets about participating in the campaign, saying he should have demanded a greater focus on climate change and blaming himself for “not realising the nature of the beast” with which he was involved.
But he indicated he had not asked for the advertising campaign to end early.
The treasurer, Joe Hockey, in March released the intergenerational report focusing on the demographic and budget challenges facing Australia over the next 40 years.
The document attracted criticism based on its limited focus on the risks posed by climate change. The government also seized on comparisons of three long-term budget scenarios to criticise Labor, which disputed the underlying assumptions.
Kruszelnicki said he had received hate emails and angry social media messages after appearing in the government’s advertising campaign.
He said he had participated because of his passion about planning for the future, but some people believed he was endorsing a vote “for this political party or that one, which I am not doing at all”.
“I did it [participating in the advertising campaign] 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 on Wednesday.
“I should have insisted that there be climate change in it and, yes, I did not and that was a mistake on my part.”
Kruszelnicki explained his mistake by reference to a fable.
“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’.”
“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 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.”
The advertisements have run in a variety of media including television. The ads star Kruszelnicki giving a lecture about Australian innovation and future challenges. They direct people to a website to see his “full presentation”.
